At the Shai Hills, we saw baboons (Papio cynocephalus), ostriches (Struthio camelus), antelopes (Kobs) (Kobus defassa), and insectivorous bats (Microchiroptera). The habitat was a tropical savanna - hot climate followed by rainfall, which is perfect for these species. Kobus usually live near water and occupy floodplains and gentle hill country with good grass cover. They feed on grazers, with aquatic species included in the diet in some areas. Baboons sleep in large trees or on cliffs to be protected from predators. They feed on a wide range of plants, including flowers, seeds, fruits, resin, bark, leaves, roots and bulbs. In addition to that, baboons love bananas, which we saw in the reserve. Since baboons are omnivorous and so they also hunt small animals and insects that live in the savanna. According to my view, the habitat was not managed well in Shai Hills to maintain the population of these species. I found that the total population of animals is low. We saw a few baboons walking around for food, two antelopes, and a fewbats, but overall we did not see a lot of wildlife during our visit. According to our tour guide, there were only four ostriches in the reserve. I believe the goal of management of Shai Hill is mostly for the benefit of tourists. Parkrangers were living on the reserve to help tourists learn about the habitat and ecosystem of the reserve, but it is important to properly manage the habitat in order for these people to continue ecotourism.
At the Akosombo Dam, we saw a facility that represented the second largest artificial reservoir in the world. The dam was built to provide electricity for the American aluminum industry. The dam construction resulted in the flooding of the Volta River Basin, which subsequently created Lake Volta (Hinchman, 2010). As a result of its construction, it displaced many people and caused enormous detriment to the environment such as erosion, low rainfall, and higher mean temperature. During the time of dam construction, the agricultural productivity in the surrounding area starteddeclining, causing a great impact on human health. People became the victims of water-born illnesses such as onchocerciasis (river blindness) and malaria due to the presence of aquatic weed along the lake and surrounding area (which provides the necessary habitat for black fly, mosquitoes, and snails) (Hinchman, 2010). During the construction of the dam, local people experienced the loss of their land, creating unplanned migration and resulting in loss of their primary means of income such as fishing and farming (Hinchman, 2010). However, after construction, the dam became a source of economic activities and benefited some industry. It created new fishing, farming activities along the shoreline, and tourism. Furthermore, the generated power has provided some electricity forGhana, while also supplying power to the neighboring countries of Togo and Benin. Akosombo Dam is responsible for 70% of the power in Ghana. Even with the power generated from Akosombo Dam, an increasing demand for electricity is causing the Ghanaian government to encourage the building of other small dams around the country.
The forest in the hills and lands surrounding the dam and lake are tropical rainforests. They have a hot climate and heavy rainfall, which promotes rapid growth of green plant species. Additionally, a variety of small apes, othermammals, reptiles and birds live in the neighboring forest (VRA, Akosombo). Since Ghana is not an industrialized country but well-endowed with natural resources, ecotourism is very important for the economy of Ghana. According to the world fact datasheet, Ghana has low life expectancy, high mortality, and high death rates. In addition, the economy of Ghana is also very poor and the population is growing. Since there is low infrastructure and few facilities, I believe the human population of Ghana is beyond carrying capacity. As our tour guide talked about Ghanaian tradition, he told us that most parents hope for a son in order to keep their family name alive; this has had a great impact on population growth. Families birth more children on average because if they do not have a son right away, they continue to try for one. Due to the high population density, the lifestyle in Ghana is very poor. We saw many small huts made out of soil and thatch.
According to Hinchman’s notes on the Akosombo Dam, Ghana paid for 50% of the construction cost but Ghanaians only receive 20% of the electricity whereas 80% was contractually assigned to an American-owned aluminum plant (Hinchman, 2010). Since dams on rivers shared by two or more countries create conflict, I recommend that the Ghanaian government be aware of the conflict while signing the contract for the benefit of a foreign country rather than encouraging local ecosystems. Constructing small dams across the country whose electric power can be primarily used by Ghanaians will be of more benefit to the Ghanaian economy.
References:
1. Hinchman, Sandra. 2010. Notes on Akosombo Dam. Semester At Sea Fall 2010.
2. Volta River Authority. Akosombo . Akosombo Investment and tourist brochure.
3. World fact datasheet.
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