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EJOLT Fact sheet Bui Hydroelectric Power d am Project in 025

Introduction Land Conflicts

The Bui hydroelectric is located on the borders of the Northern and Brong- Ahafo Region s of Ghana. The Keywords – title is a 400 megawatt hydroelectric project under constru ction at the Bui Gorge at > Hydroelectric the southern end of in > Black Volta Ghana (Figure 1). Bui National Park, the third largest protected area in Ghana, > resettlement measures 1820 km2 and straddles the > reliance Black . The Bui National Park > Hippopotamus was established i n 1971 and hosts the largest protected population of hippos in Ghana (approximately 305 hippos) and is one of eight hippo pop ulations in all of West Africa. The endangered black and white colobus monkey and a variety of antelopes and birds are also present. Figure 1: Map of Ghana showing dam site and resettlement activities In 2007, as Ghanaians were suffering an other electricity crisis with frequent to avoid power wastage but the power outages, the then president of government chose to build a new dam. Ghana cut the sod for the country’s third large hydro -electric dam at Bui across Background the Black Volta. The main construction work started in 2009 (Figure 2). The The Bui Dam had been planned since project promised to gua rantee Ghana’s the 1920s as part of the original Volta electricity supply and to develop River Project: harnessing the river by neglected parts of the northern region. producing ample electricity for The project is would be collaboration processing the country’s bauxite. In the between the government of Ghana and early 1960s, when the first president of Sino Hydro , a Chinese construction Republic of Ghana (Dr. Kwame company. The dam project would Nkrumah) began to implement the Volta inundate 21% of the Bui National park River Project by building the Akosombo and require the forced relocation of Dam, Bui was supposed to follow as part 1,216 people. of a grand plan for the industrialization and modernization of Ghana and Africa. This case is unique because Bui dam The Bui hydro -electric dam had first project was part of a bigger dream plan been envisaged in 19 25 by the British- of Ghana’s first president Dr. Kwame Australian geologist and naturalist Albert Nkrumah for the industrialization and Ernest Kitson when he visited the Bui modernization of Ghana and Africa. Gorge. The dam had been on the Since the 1980s, periodic electricity drawing board since the 1960s. crises due to irregular rainfall have undermined Ghana’s reliance o n By 1 978 planning for the Bui Dam was Akosombo, the biggest dam in Ghana. In advanced with support from Australia spite of an increasing international and the World Bank , however, four critique of large on livelihoods military coups stalled the plans . Ghana around the area and the danger it will began to be plagued by energy rationing cause to the environment (Hippocampus which has persisted up to now. The and other animals), the Ghana development of a hydropower scheme government still went ahead to es tablish on the Black Volta River at the Bui this dam which is almost in completion. Gorge had been the subject of many There were other alternatives to solving studies. This includes ; detailed studies the power crises by concentrating on by J.S. Zhuk Hydroprojeckt of the USSR other major dams and managing power julio 20, 2015 - Page 2

in 1966, a Feasibility Study by Snowy US$270 million at 2% interest and a Mountains Eng. Corp (SMEC) of commercial loan of US$292 million. Australia in 1976 and another Feasibility The procee ds of 30,000 tons per year of Study by Coyne et Bellier of France in Ghanaian cocoa exports to China, which 1995. Since the 1980s, due to irregular are placed in an escrow account at the rainfall, there have been periodic Exim Bank, serve as collateral for the electricity crises which undermined loan. Once the dam becomes Ghana’s reliance on Akosombo. Th is is operational, 85% of the proceeds of the justification by the government for electricity sales from the hydropower the construction of the third major dam plant w ill go to the escrow account. As at (Bui dam) in the country after the July this year, civil (concrete) works at and the Kpong Dam. the main dam stood at 95 % completed. Figure 2a: Construction work on And the main focus of activities currently dam. Source: buipowerauthority.com The Bui Hydroelectric dam Project is shifted on the completion of the intake gates to retain water.

Ghana has for decades had a very erratic electricity supply due to its over - The project's environmental a nalysis reliance on hydropower from large seems to be ignoring the potential for dams. The 400 megawatt hydroelectric climate change to reduce the dam's power to be generated at the Bui Gorge electricity output, and glossed over the is said to increase electricity generation project's climate -change impacts. Most capacity in Ghana by 2 2%, up from 1920 of the country's electricity now comes MW in 2008 to 2360 MW. Together with from dams, and the nation has seen three thermal power plants that are severe load-shedding in times of being developed at the same time, this drought. dam is said to contribute to alleviate power shortages that are common in Impact Ghana. It was later included to the plan of the dam to develop an irrigation of The Bui dam project has two major Figure 2b: Construction work on high-yield crops on 30,000 hectares of categories of impact, social and dam. Source: buipowerauthority.com fertile land in an Economic Free Zone environmental. and presents an opportunity for enhanced ecotourism and fisheries. The Social impact current status of the irrigation p roject is The Bui dam project requires the forced however unclear. relocation of 1,216 people. There was no proper planning ahead of resettlement Bui Power Authority Act, 2007 (Act 740) so so me communities were forced into was enacted by the Parliament of Ghana temporary structures creating much and assented by the then President in inconvenience for the communities. July 2007 to establish an Authority Four years down the line, some people known as the Bui Power Authority (BPA) have yet to be resettled. As at which was to plan, execute and mana ge November, 2013 statistics on the the Bui Hydroelectric Project. The resettlement were: project is a collaboration between the -Total of 1,116 people settled out of 1,; government of Ghana and Sino Hydro, a -183 out of 219 households were settled; Chinese construction company. The total -Seven (7) communities settled out of project costs are estimated to be eight (8). US$622 million. It is being financed by New resettlement townships were given the government of Ghana's own the following communal facilities; resources (just US$60m) and tw o credits community centre, a nursery school, a by the China Exim Bank : a concessional place of worship, a borehole (water) and loan of US$270 million at 2% interest KVI P (places of convenience). Most of and a commercial loan of US$292 the houses contained two bedrooms, a million. It is being financed by the kitchen, a bath and a living room. government of Ghana' s own resources (just US$60m) and two credits by the For crop compensation, the Land China Exim Bank : a concessional loan of Valuation Division of the Lands julio 20, 2015 - Page 3

Commission of Ghana acting on behalf local people. of government and with the assistance of Bui Po wer Authority (BPA) did the Conflict and Consequences valuation. A grant of GHS 100 (USD 50) was paid for resettlement and GHS 50 The Bui dam project has seen forced (USD 25 to ti ll new farms. This money is resettlement of eight (8) communities not sufficient for tree crops which may with some yet to be resettled. There take 6 years to bear fruit. One year of have been several conservation groups income support at GH S 100 (US D both international and local who 50)/month was given to each household. advocated against the dam project but On average, USD 50 was deemed the Ghana g overnment did not give a acceptable per month but a year is too listening ear. short a time for them to become self - Figure 3: Hippopotamus in water sufficient. Also some fishers were The challenges and errors in planning at the Bui National Park Source: resettled on dry land and prohibited from the Bui resettlement have therefore www.arocha.org fishing in the river, meaning a loss of marred its successful implementation, livelihood. resulting in adverse impacts on the affected people. These people have not Environmental impact been duly consulted and giv en the The Bui National Park will be platform to effectively participate in order significantly affected by the Bui Dam. to influence the decisions made. They About 21% of the park will be have been relegated to the background submerged. This will affect the only two and positioned at the receiving end Ghana (Figure 3), whose population is instead of being key participants in an estimated at between 250 and 350 in the issue which is about their lives. None of park. It is unclear if hippos can be the three major livelihood activities of the relocated and if there is any suitable affected people; farming, fishing and habitat near the area to be inundated. trading and their corresponding assets of Even if there were such a “safe haven”, fertile farmlands and fishing grounds it is not clear if the country's game and have been restored after four years of wildlife department has the means to resettlement. Concurrently, income rescue the animals. support given to the people i s for a year The Environmental and Social Impact (a daily wage which was less than USD Assessment states that hippos will be 0.50 per person) has ended. vulnerable to huntin g during the filling period of the . It also claims that The lands offered to affected persons they would ultimately "benefit from the eligible for land compensation have increased area of littoral habitat provided been identified to be of poor quality and by the reservoir". The dam could also the shifting cultivation farming practice of have other serious environmental these farmers i s no longer possible since impacts, such as changing the flow they now have limited and fixed lands. regime of the river, which could harm Furthermore, trade is on hold and downstream habitats. A survey by the picking forest products will not be University of Aberdeen has revealed that possible since the portions of the Bui the Black Volta River abounds with 46 forest reserves the people could access species of fish from 17 families and will will be inundated. New farmland be affected. Waterborne disease could preparati on assistance was insufficient also occur. Schistoso miasis in particular and some farmers have not received could become established in the crop compensation yet. reservoir, with severe health risks for

This document should be cited as: Tornyie, Ferdinand. 2015. Bui Hydroelectric Power dam Project in Ghana , EJOLT Factsheet No. 25 , 4 p.

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The first group of settlers face challenges of poor housing, inability to negotiate and participate for a better resettlement and compensation package, empty and false promises from officials, and in the end they were used more or less as a sample test for subsequent settlements which receive some form of improvement. Later settlements have seen improved conditions because the resettlement officers and the other af fected communities have had the chance to see and learn from the situation of the first settlers. Some new settlements however, are also faced with issues such as small rooms, leaking roofs, crowded settlement, broken locks and infertile farmlands. Additio nally, one new References settlement that was planned to be • Boateng, M. (2007) ‘Ghana: Banda temporary is now being turned into a Traditional Council Supports Bui Dam permanent settlement with only one Project’ additional room for each household. • Convention People’s Party (CPP) Compensation is distributed as a single (2007), ‘CPP Blames govt. wholly f or payment based on market value. Studies the energy crisis’ Posted in Energy – have shown that thi s is insufficient Bui Dam, Media Watch, compared to the loss and hardship ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/Ne suffered by dam affected people. Also, wsArchive during the resettlement processes the • Fink, M. (2005) ‘Integrating the World companies did not know much about Commission on Dam forced resettlement and some of the Recommendati ons in Large Dam pressing issues about it in Ghana. Planning Processes: the Case of the This made them lose s ight of some Bui Dam, Ghana,’ University of important issues such as chieftaincy and Dortmund . power relations between host and settler • communities. Thus the potential has Adu-Aryee (1993). Resettlement in been created for chieftaincy disputes. Ghana: From Akosombo to Kpong. In There is an increase pressure on social Cernea, M. M. and Guggenheim, S. This publication was developed as a amenities such as clinics, schools, E. (Eds.), Anthropological Approaches part of the project Environmental to Resettlement: Policy , Practice, and Justice Organisations, Liabilities and toilets, and boreholes due to the influx of Trade (EJOLT) (FP7-Science in workers to the area causing social Theory (pp. 133 -151). West view Society-2010-1, under grant upheavals. Also more people from press, Inc . agreement no 266642). The views and opinions expressed in all EJOLT resettled communities are leaving their • Chambers, R. (1970). The Volta publications reflect the authors’ view farming business to look fo r jobs at the resettlement experience. Paul mall and the European Union is not liable dam construction work and so press, London . for any use that may be made of the advocating for priority for employment information contained therein. • EJOLT aims to improve policy before others and this creates tension Matilda Mettle (2011). Forced responses to and support and soon to come conflicts. Resettlement in Ghana: the Dam and collaborative research and action on There has been a total ban on fishing in the Affected People. MPhil. Thesis. environmental conflicts through Department of Geography, Faculty of capacity building of environmental the Black Volta without alternative justice groups around the world. fishing grounds. All the abov e issues are Social Sciences and Technology Visit our free resource library and creating tension between the affected Management, Norwegian University of database at www.ejolt.org or Science and Technology (NTNU), Facebook (ww w.facebook.com/ejolt) communities and officials of the project or follow tweets (@EnvJustice) to as well as the government. Trondheim, Norway . stay current on latest news and events. All sources last accessed 07 .02.2015