Human activities are fast degrading our beaches- Researcher

Mr Ekow Jonah, Researcher, Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Science, University of Cape Coast, has cited human activities at the beaches as the main causes of degradation.

He noted that sand winning, which has become the main source of income for the youth in most coastal communities, was a major cause of the degradation.

Speaking during a national stakeholders’ conference on beach restoration and preservation in the country, Mr Jonah noted that a research conducted on some beaches in the country indicated that if care was not taken, Ghana might not to be able to boast of beaches in about 50 years to come.

He said a survey he conducted in the Central Region also indicated that in a day; about 60 trucks draw sand from beaches in communities such as Elmina, Moree and Cape Coast, thereby, making those beaches susceptible to serious erosion.

He said such activities did not only cause erosion but also affected organisms which use the beaches as their habitats.

He said organisms such as ghost crabs and sea turtles were fast becoming extinct as they find the beaches to be unsuitable for habitation and nesting of their young ones.

He urged Government to enact stronger regulations to curtail people from embarking on commercial beach sand winning.

“We can win this war by enacting environmental laws which are too expensive for anyone to break as the sanctions will be too much for such commercials sand winners to bear,” he added.

He appealed to communities to protect the beaches and help prevent sand winning as they would be the first to bear the brunt of erosion should they occur.

He said beaches in other parts of the world and even in Africa were contributing significantly to the socio-economic development of their countries and wondered why in Ghana, we chose to abuse our beaches.

Mr Kwamena Quayson, Deputy Director of Environment, Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology, called on all to be committed to the saving of our beaches to curtail erosion and extinction of some sea animals.

He noted that if we treat our beaches well, they would not only be comparable to beaches in the Western world, but would also rake in the needed foreign exchange.