The provision of clean and reliable water is being threatened in the Atewa area in the Eastern Region.
This is due to illegal mining activities being undertaken in the Atewa forest reserve by some residents in the region
The Atewa forest reserve is a highly important ‘water tower’ for Ghana.
It contains the headwaters of three river systems that are crucial resources for domestic, agriculture and industrial water on which millions of people in the Central, Eastern and notably the Greater Accra Region of Ghana depend.
Two of these three river systems are part of the geographical focus area of the Ghana Netherlands Programme.
But the lack of meaningful participation of local stakeholders in decision making and management of the Atewa Forest Reserve in combination with a lack of direct economic benefits from the reserve have contributed to local encroachment and illegal activities in the area.
In view of the challenges facing the Atewa forest, the the Netherlands‘ Embassy, the government of Ghana and ARocha Ghana have embarked on a multi-annual programme in Water, Sanitation & Hygiene (WASH) to address the challenges.
The main objective of the project is to protect the Atewa forest for its crucial water provision function.
The project implementing partners and direct targeted stakeholders will actively engage with the organization and networks now active within the GNWP.
Thus the Living Water from the Mountain projects supports the sustainability of GNWP investments and contributes to Ghana’s commitment to achieve the MDG 7 target.
From: Arocha Ghana