At a recent workshop held in Whuti, Lawrence Kisseh Tetteh-Ocloo, Protected Area Manager for the Keta Lagoon Complex Ramsar Site, highlighted the urgent need to protect Ghana’s coastal ecosystems. The Keta Lagoon Complex, one of Ghana’s most pristine wetlands, spans a 40-kilometer coastal belt and is home to vital biodiversity, including nesting sites for endangered turtles such as leatherback and green turtles.
The event, organized by the Coastal Civil Society Organizations Forum (CCF) and the West Africa Coastal Areas Management Program (WACA), focused on empowering local communities through conservation strategies under the Community Resource Management Areas (CREMA) framework.
Tetteh-Ocloo emphasized the threats facing the lagoon, including overharvesting mangroves for firewood and the ecosystem’s vulnerability to climate change. Without immediate action, rising sea levels and land degradation could result in irreversible damage.
The CREMA approach promotes community ownership in natural resource management, with initiatives like the Anloga and Seliu CREMAs already protecting mangroves and encouraging sustainable practices. Stakeholders hope this will balance conservation with development, ensuring long-term ecological and economic resilience for local populations.
The workshop also aligned with the WACA Resilience Investment Project (ReSIP 2), launched in August 2024 to combat climate challenges and human pressures on coastal regions. Ken Kinney, Chair of the CCF, stressed the importance of community involvement, noting that empowering locals is key to CREMA’s success.
