Inviting floods: Ghana’s Ramsar sites at the mercy of encroachers

In Tema Community 5, a neighbourhood called “Christian Village” provides an unsettling spectacle: piles of sand, stones, and gravel stand outside many homes. These large collections of building materials are not for ordinary construction or landscaping. They are essential survival tools against frequent, devastating floods.

“Every year, we do filling,” says Baba Dollar, a unit committee member who has lived in Christian Village for 18 years. His community sits in the Sakumo Ramsar Site, a protected wetland area that floods at least once every rainy season. To protect their homes, residents repeatedly raise their foundations with sand and gravel, attempting to outpace the encroaching waters.

“If there’s no water in that poly tank,” Baba says, pointing to a 20,000-liter storage tank he bought for the community, “the flood can carry it away. It can rise to my chest.”

Christian Village residents, many with limited incomes, cannot afford the one-time, large-scale filling that wealthier individuals undertake to solidify wetland plots before building. Instead, they fill their land in smaller increments whenever floods threaten. Even so, the cost is high. Baba spends about GHS7,000 every year on sand or stones to rebuild his foundation. During heavy rains, many families are forced to move out and shelter in nearby schools until the water recedes.

Why the wetlands matter

Ramsar sites are wetlands designated under the Ramsar Convention, to which Ghana is a signatory, to protect and use wetlands sustainably. These ecosystems help regulate floods by acting as natural sponges, absorbing runoff and gradually channeling water into rivers and seas. They also filter pollutants and support wildlife.

Yet in places like Tema, Sakumono, and surrounding areas, this flood-buffer role is compromised. Wetlands are being drained, filled with garbage, sand, and stones, then sold or used for construction. According to Emmanuel Taye, a research assistant at the University of Ghana’s Centre for Biodiversity Conservation, “Wetlands increase residency time for runoff water, allowing sediment to settle before water flows out. But if you build on these wetlands, you disrupt that entire process.”

One reason people continue to build in these flood-prone areas is affordability: land in the Christian Village portion of Tema Community 5 is relatively cheap. Residents pay a steep price in constant flood damage, but some still choose it because it’s within their budget.

“See, all this place is part of the Ramsar,” Baba points out. “But the rich have the money to fill it quickly and build, so they do it one time and move on.”

Some fill the land with concrete and heavy gravel, allowing them to construct multi-story homes on what was once waterlogged territory. But majority of the middle- to low-income residents must periodically rebuild their foundations, and still deal with invading floodwaters carrying debris and even fecal matter into their homes.

Despite official warnings, construction continues. Illegal developers sell or lease plots, sometimes for hundreds of thousands of dollars, especially in prime parts of the wetlands. Most of these constructions are done without the requisite building permits.

“The Ramsar site has been encroached and is still being encroached,” Ms. Felicia Edem Attipoe, a former Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) of the Tema West Municipal Assembly, laments. “If we are not careful, in five or 10 years, Tema West will be doomed.”

A Rocha Ghana’s Deputy National Director, Daryl Bosu observed that Ghana’s Ramsar sites “over the years have significantly degraded.”

“There is no Ramsar site that I can say has maintained its full extent at the time of establishing,” he said.

Sir John’s will

A major controversy surfaced when the will of the late Forestry Commission CEO, Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie(popularly known as Sir John), was made public. Among other properties, he claimed ownership of a 5.07-acre tract of land at the Sakumono Ramsar Site and bequeathed it to family members. It took the intervention of the government to stop Sir John’s relatives from taking over a significant portion of the Ramsar site. But Sir John’s case only highlights a broader trend: influential individuals and real estate developers have acquired large portions of wetlands intended for conservation.

Ironically, Sir John, while in office, had warned the chiefs of the area against selling the ramsar site lands only to turn around and will part of it to his sisters.

Designated in 1992, the Sakumo Ramsar Site in Tema covers 1,364.4 hectares and supports an array of migratory birds. Yet a simple glance shows that it’s under severe threat: Numerous completed and unfinished structures dot areas once filled with water. Waste dumping is widespread. Some local farmers also turn parts of the wetland into vegetable patches during the dry season.

“People put up apartments on the storm drains,” says Ms. Attipoe. “When it rains, the water hits back and floods the residences in and around the Ramsar site.”

A striking concern is the potential for bird strikes near the Kotoka International Airport. Wetlands attract migratory birds, and if forced out of their natural habitat, birds may stray into flight paths. Ms. Attipoe, who once worked at the Ghana Airport Company Limited, explains: “We used to have meetings with the municipal assemblies to educate them on the dangers.”

Having worked as an aircraft marshaller, giving take-off and landing clearance to aeroplanes and helicopters for years before entering politics, she also described the situation as a “national security risk.”

The Densu Delta Ramsar site

Ghana’s battle to save wetlands isn’t limited to Sakumo. At the Densu Delta Protected Area, factories and businesses have sprung up on wetland territory. Some sections, about 100 meters from Mallam Junction, serve as a makeshift refuse dump, with men stationed to guard the site.

The Densu Delta covers about 176,134 hectares of estuary, freshwater marsh, and mangroves. It also supplies water to about half of Accra. Yet, despite laws requiring building permits, many structures here have no authorization from local planning authorities.

Clement Adjei, a government appointee at the Weija Gbawe Municipal Assembly, notes that because these lands are technically Ramsar-protected, “the assembly told them they can’t give them a permit. So they stay there at their own risk.” Nonetheless, development continues unabated.”

Ada Songor Ramsar Site

The Ada Songor Ramsar Site, another crucial wetland, faces similar challenges: unchecked construction, refuse dumping, and rapid deforestation of mangroves. Ernest Apenkwah of the Wildlife Division of the Forestry Commission in the Ada East Municipal Assembly says population pressure and urbanization are fueling the destruction.

Mangroves are vital for stabilizing shorelines, filtering water, and supporting marine life. Yet many residents fell mangrove trees for firewood, believing it gives a better taste to smoked fish and burns faster. Amanor Dzeagu, an environmental journalist from Radio Ada, sees this as a cultural preference and so difficult to change.

Mangrove losses also reduce habitat for birds, especially migratory species that have traditionally used the Ada lagoon. With feeding grounds diminished or converted into salt pans, fewer birds arrive each season, affecting not only biodiversity but also tourism revenues. “These birds generate revenue for the Forestry Commission,” Mr. Apenkwah explains.

Attempts at preservation
Local assemblies sometimes demolish illegal structures or issue warnings, but these efforts often yield little to no results. Many blame insufficient political will or tangled legal processes for failing to protect wetlands. The need for affordable housing, poverty, and rapid urban expansion only intensify the challenge.

On March 13, 2025, the Greater Accra Regional Minister, Linda Akweley Ocloo, together with the management of the Tema Development Corporation (TDC) and the National Security embarked on a demolishing exercise at the Sakumo Ramsar Site.  The team demolished newly constructed buildings and those under construction in the Ramsar Site.

In previous administrations, government officials demanded a halt to all construction in Ramsar areas. However, enforcement on the ground remains inconsistent. Even when assemblies deny permits, some residents build at their own risk, hoping there will be no demolitions.

Despite the flood risks, many people cannot afford to relocate. The Christian Village in Tema Community 5 continues to expand. Every year, families brace for the rainy season, evacuating to schools or relatives’ homes when floods overwhelm their houses.

“By all means, I will get somewhere to stay,” says Aunty Diana, who has lived in Christian Village for four years.

Meanwhile, wealthier homebuyers are confident that extensive filling can protect their buildings from floods. They may install stronger foundations, but such developments endanger the broader ecosystem, displacing floodwater into neighboring communities.

The Way Forward
Experts argue for stronger enforcement and public education. Solutions include halting all new construction in designated wetlands, restoring damaged mangroves, preventing illegal refuse dumping, and clearing blocked drainage channels. A collaborative approach involving local authorities, environmental agencies, civil society, traditional leaders, and the real estate industry is necessary if Ghana is to protect its wetlands.

Ms. Attipoe believes the authorities must crack down on all illegal developments in Ramsar sites. She calls it a ticking time bomb, noting that an ecological and humanitarian crisis is inevitable if the trend continues.

In an era of climate change, wetlands serve as natural shields. If they are destroyed, heavier rains and flooding become more likely, hurting both human communities and biodiversity.

In Tema Community 5’s Christian Village, residents keep piling up gravel and sand, hoping to stave off each new flood. Yet the real solution lies in preserving the wetlands beyond their doorstep. Unless the government takes decisive action, the collapse of Ghana’s Ramsar sites could become a cautionary tale of how unchecked urban sprawl and weak enforcement can undermine both public safety and ecological balance.