By Laudia Anyorkor Nunoo
Tema, Oct. 03, GNA — Fishing associations, coastal communities and civil society organisations working on fisheries, coastal livelihoods, environmental protection, natural-resource governance and human rights, have called on the government to halt further progression of a reported offshore gold exploration project and undertake a comprehensive review of the licenses.
In an open letter to President John Dramani Mahama, the groups expressed concern over the reported granting of 10 contiguous Offshore Reconnaissance Licenses to GoldCoast Resource Corp., covering approximately 10,000 square kilometres of Ghana’s western offshore area and extending about 300 kilometres from Half Assini towards Winneba.
The groups said their concern was not with mineral exploration itself but with the scale of the licensed area, its location within a productive marine environment and the potential implications for artisanal fisheries and coastal livelihoods.
They said the marine space supported thousands of artisanal fishers, fishing communities, fish processors, traders and other coastal businesses, while also containing fish habitats, spawning and nursery areas and other ecological systems that supported food security and coastal livelihoods.
The organisations acknowledged that a reconnaissance licence should not be confused with a mining lease or authorisation for commercial extraction.
They said, however, that the reported programme included geophysical surveys, bathymetric and seismic investigations, coring and sediment sampling, while the company had publicly discussed prospecting and the potential for future shallow-water dredging.
The letter said such activities could have implications for the seabed, water quality, fisheries and coastal communities, particularly in the absence of appropriate safeguards and baseline information.
The groups therefore called for an immediate suspension of further implementation and progression of the offshore gold project pending a transparent and independent review.
They said the review should examine how the 10 licences were granted, their precise coordinates and boundaries, the technical and economic justification, the proposed work programme, consultations undertaken, their relationship with fishing grounds and fisheries management areas, environmental and social risks, and the adequacy of the existing legal and institutional framework.
They further called for no progression to prospecting, bulk sampling, dredging, substantial seabed disturbance or other higher-impact activities until the review was completed and its findings made public.
The organisations also urged the government to commission an independent environmental, fisheries and livelihood impact assessment covering the entire licensed area and potential development pathway.
They said the assessment should establish baselines on fishing grounds, fishing seasons, catches and fishing effort, fish spawning and nursery areas, seabed and benthic habitats, sediment movement, water quality, marine biodiversity, navigation and the livelihoods of fishing communities, processors, traders and other coastal businesses.
They also called for assessment of the potential impacts of seismic surveys, coring, sediment sampling, bulk sampling and possible future shallow-water dredging.
The groups said independent scientific review, fisher participation, community consultation and public disclosure should form part of the assessment process.
They further proposed a formal multi-sector and community review mechanism involving the Minerals Commission, Fisheries Commission, Environmental Protection Agency, relevant ministries, Ghana Maritime Authority, research institutions, fishing associations, coastal communities, traditional authorities and civil society organisations.
They called for public disclosure of the licenses, maps and coordinates, work programmes, applicable environmental requirements, regulatory approvals and conditions, consultations undertaken and the proposed pathway from reconnaissance to any future prospecting or extraction.
The groups said fishing communities should have a meaningful voice in decisions that could affect their fishing grounds, safety, livelihoods and future.
They also called for commercial offshore gold extraction or substantial seabed disturbance not to proceed unless independent evidence demonstrated that such activities could be undertaken without unacceptable harm to marine ecosystems, fisheries, food security and coastal livelihoods.
Among the safeguards proposed were environmental, fisheries and livelihood assessments; cumulative-impact assessment, environmental performance standards, sediment and turbidity controls, independent monitoring, public reporting, grievance and redress mechanisms, and appropriate mitigation and compensation where legitimate losses occurred.
Ghana’s ocean should be treated as a productive economic, ecological and social system supporting food security, employment and coastal communities, rather than simply as an area for mineral exploitation, the organisations said.
They therefore requested an urgent meeting involving the government, affected fishing communities, fishers’ associations and civil society organisations to discuss the concerns raised in the letter.
The letter was signed on behalf of 46 fishers’ associations, fishing communities and civil society organisations, including the Canoe and Fishing Gear Owners Association of Ghana (CaFGOAG), Fisheries Alliance, ISODEC, Natural Resources Governance Institute (NRGI), Resource Justice Network Ghana and the Human Environment and Livelihood Platform Foundation (HELP Foundation Africa).
GNA
Edited by Christabel Addo.
Reporter: Laudia Anyorkor Nunoo, GNA