Landcover Change Patterns in the Volta Gorge Area, Ghana: Interpretations from Satellite Imagery

In much of the developing world, shifting cultivation is the predominant agricultural system usually practised by farmers, which is associated with increasing the unit of land under cultivation in order to increase the output. This small-scale shifting agricultural practices based primarily on burning has been the factor responsible for the conversion of forest fringe vegetation into cropland and pasture and it initiates a continuum of changes in the land cover and consequently fragmentation of the landscape. Since the construction of the Akosombo Dam in 1965, the potential for farming and fishing has increased tremendously within the Volta gorge area and this has resulted in the influx of many settler farmers and fisher folk into the area. This brought so much pressure on the natural resource base of the area and has transformed the landscape accordingly. Within this paper we aim at the estimation of the trend in changes of the landscape using multi-temporal satellite image processing and spatial change analysis. We also seek to determine the land use / cover change in the Volta gorge area of the Volta basin of Ghana for the period 1975 to 2007. Land cover change and agricultural expansion was observed through digital processing and classification based on five multi-temporal medium resolution satellite imagery (Landsat: 1975, 1990, 2000, 2003, 2007) into five classes. From this, accurately classified pixel information was used to determine each landcover class size and the number of changed pixels into other classes through change detection. The study shows that significant changes in the landscape involved a general pattern of conversion of both Closed forest and Open forest and woodland into cropland, fallow lands, pasture, and Bare areas consisting of settlements, roads and exposed soil surfaces. For the period under consideration 1975-2007, the Agricultural class increased from 52,605 hectares in 1975 to become the land cover type with the highest proportion of cover at 221,567 hectares in 2007. The study concludes among others that the expansion of agriculture has increased in all directions with the amount of land devoted to cropland and pasture increasing for all slope categories but more especially for less steeper slopes. Keywords: Landuse/landcover, Multi-temporal, Digital processing, Change detectio

The Negative Impacts of Poor Municipal Solid Waste Management on Livelihoods in Walewale Township, West Mamprusi District, Ghana: A Social Survey and Assessment

In much of the developing world, district and municipal authorities have struggled to manage the waste generated in their area of jurisdiction due to a plethora of factors ranging from inability to enforce a comprehensive set of laws pertaining to the sector, through the dearth of technical capacity to the financial limitations imposed by budgetary constraints. The study considered the case of waste management by selecting five communities within the Walewale Township in the West Mamprusi District, Ghana. This social assessment of the impact of poor waste management employs interviews, personal observation and site visits, literature review and secondary data to identify the problems, examine its level and relationship with other variables.  The prevailing system of solid waste management was found to be overly inclined to early approaches of collection, transportation, transfer but with little attention to disposal and final landfill site (reduction, reuse, recycle).  The waste management in the District was frought with many challenges such as irregular collection of waste, proliferation of illegal dumping sites, overflowing of waste receptacles and partial involvement of stakeholders such as residents.  The research sheds light on the many areas of poor waste management, particularly on disposal, since such poor practices are not only common to the other towns in the district but also with many of the towns in the country as a whole.The paper proposes as solutions to the above, the expanded involvement of private sector actors, communities and the empowerment of the District Waste Management Departmnet to enforce its bye-laws on sanitation and waste. Keywords: Solid waste, Segregation, Waste collection, Waste receptacles, sanitary site, Walewale, West Mamprus

Assessing the Impact of a Dam on the Livelihood of Surrounding Communities: A Case Study of Vea Dam in the Upper East Region of Ghana

River basins are well known as the origin of advanced human social development and cultural heritage which ancient and modern communities have depended on for livelihood, commerce and habitat. Dam is one of the many man-made alterations to river basins that have been built for centuries and without doubt have contributed to the development of many nations. However, their social, health and environmental impacts have in too many cases not been assessed most often in developing countries. This research sought to explore and understand the Vea Dam within the context of socio-economic and health impacts on the host communities. Secondary data were collected from Irrigation Company of Upper Region and Bongo District Assembly in Ghana whilst primary data were obtained through random and stratified sampling. The results revealed that 2.6% and 66% of the respondents are employed in the fishery sector and irrigation sector, respectively. The dam necessitated the relocation of about 34% of the communities and on the average two people are drown annually in the Dam. The prevalence of water borne diseases after the construction of the Dam was also perceived by the communities to have increased. The Dam has both positive and negative socio-economic and health impacts on the surrounding communities with the benefits outweighing the negative impacts. The availability of potable drinking water in the area has created development with inevitable rise in standard of living. The study also revealed that agricultural activities, freshwater fishery and availability of water for irrigation of farmlands have improved. However, an enhancement in the beneficial impacts and minimization of the adverse impacts would help better livelihood in the communities. Keywords: Bongo District, Impacts of a dam, Livelihood, Socio-economic, Vea Da