Her family is among 70,000 climate refugees who poured into Ghana’s Bono East region since 2023, escaping the Sahel’s advance. Now, they’re trapped in a cycle of exploitation and violence that exposes the human cost of global inaction
Browsing: Environment
In 2023, Ghana exported over $10 million worth of scrap metal, according to the Ghana Export Promotion Authority.
For generations, Techiman’s farmers cleared fields with controlled burns. “Fire is our tractor,” explains cassava processor Kofi Boateng, gesturing at mounds of rotting mango peels outside Techiman Central Market. But climate change has weaponized tradition:
– *Rainfall has dropped 30% since 2020, desiccating crops into tinder
– Temperatures now spike to 42°C during Harmattan season
– 300+ tons of weekly market waste—with no municipal composting—pile up in fields
The Machine Sees What It’s Told to See
Cadbury’s Cocoa Life program says their AI can spot child labor with 85% accuracy, but only within the GPS locations given to them by cocoa cooperatives. That means if a child like Kofi walks out of the cocoa field and into a nearby mine, the system stops tracking him.
“Our satellites can identify children carrying machetes or cocoa sacks,” said a Nestlé sustainability officer, who asked not to be named. “But if that same child enters a mine pit after school? Our system marks that as ‘out of scope.’”
APEX, a civil society organization advocating for national development, has issued a stern call to Ghanaian authorities to intensify efforts in clamping down on illegal foreign miners, particularly Chinese nationals who have been implicated in destructive galamsey (illegal mining) operations across the country.
Every few months, the Ghanaian public is assured of a tough, no-nonsense crackdown on illegal gold mining, locally known as galamsey. Headlines scream victory as machines are seized and arrests are made. Yet, one inconvenient truth haunts these promises: galamsey thrives deeper, more lucrative, and more destructive than ever before — largely under the shadow of China’s influence and the deep, rotting roots of political compromise that began as far back as the Rawlings era.
The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) has clarified the circumstances surrounding the recent power disconnection at Kejetia Market, following a report by Ghanaian Watch titled ‘Dumsor’ Strikes Kejetia Market for Days, Wreaks Havoc – Traders Face Business Collapse, Drivers Lose Passengers.
Ghana’s Ashanti Region is experiencing a particularly worrisome alliance between illegal miners, colloquially known as galamsey operators, and powerful political figures, which is inflicting serious environmental devastation and economic loss.
By Alex Ababio The Damak Sanitation Health Watch-Ghana held its second annual Sanitation Excellence Awardsin Kumasi, with a passionate…
A 2024 KNUST study, commissioned after a surge in stillbirths, found **mercury levels in the Fena River at 187 times WHO safety limits**. Lead concentrations in village soil exceeded toxicity thresholds by **4,300%**. The source? Unregulated gold mining, where foreign-backed operators dump chemical waste with impunity.