Report from Ghana: 'the pothole experience'
Driving the Ugandan roads two months ago, Allan (who wortks with Ugandan organisation NAPE) came up with a wonderful idea to promote tourism to Uganda and add a special exiting and adventurous feature to it. “What”, he told me, “if we would hire an amphibious car and do the Pothole Experience. We load the car with tourists and drive at selected Ugandan roads along the potholes in the road and disappear in the biggest ones at one side and come up at the other side. As an encore we could ultimately experience a water filled pothole, dive into it with the car and see if we manage to come out the water at the other side. If not, we at least had a wonderful time in the previous potholes!”
'Galamsey'
It was a funny, imaginative story, but driving along the Ghanaian roads I thought back to this encounter two months ago. At that time I had organized a successful two-day workshop in Kampala and now I prepared for a similar CoC workshop in Ghana. I travel together with my guide and friend Dr. Adansi to environmentally interesting sites, while encircling abundant smaller and bigger potholes in the roads. We are in Atiwa District near the township of Kwabeng. Still more worrying is another type of potholes which I observe along the road. We enter the area of ”galamsey”.
Illegal gold mining
“Galamsey” is the local word for illegal (gold)mining and has a devastating effect on the landscape. The environment is totally destroyed by the digging and ruined because of the use of chemicals to extract the gold. The extensive erosion and the chemicals are polluting the surface water of the Birim River, source of drinking and household water of the nearby villages. It must undoubtedly have its effect on the groundwater, another source of drinking water. The mining is done in an uncontrolled way by villagers and by people coming from other areas. Although illegal by law no serious attempt is made by the authorities to avoid this kind of activities. Only from time to time police and military actions take place, but afterwards the people just return to resume their devastating work. But the miners are clearly on the look-out for trouble. If we approach them a number of women line up towards us as a barrier for the other workers. “They think we are military”, explained Adansi, pointing to my cap. Soon however they understand that we are not the authorities, and they show us around on the spot.
Water ponds and mosquitoes
Most worrying is the fact that after digging the landscape is not restored. It leads to a barren landscape with lots of hillocks and water filled depressions. These ponds are a perfect breeding place for mosquitoes, that's why malaria is still a major health threat. At all the places we visited only at one site some poor attempt was made to level the area and do some reforestation.
Commissioners, chiefs and village-elders
To explain about and to raise support for our plans to improve the water and sanitation situation in the Kwabeng area, we paid visits to a number of authorities. Governance structures in Ghana are a complex hybrid system of Westminster style government linked with many semi-autonomous bodies, traditional leaders, and local government structures. In a period of two days we visited the community elders of Kwabeng, the MP (Member of Parliament) for the Atiwa Constituency, the District Commissioner (DC) of Atiwa District and a prominent Chief as representative of the Chieftaincy. This was all made possible by the influential position of Dr. Adansi, but left a big impression on me. Some experience to start my (first) visit to Ghana!
Read more about this subject
-
Letter / 22 juli 2024
Joint Call to Action: International Civil Society Demands Justice for Berta Cáceres' Murder Victims in Honduras
This is a joint call to action by international civil society organizations to call upon the Honduran authorities to ensure there is justice for the victims of the murder on Berta Caceres. Eight years and four months have passed since the crime against Berta and the Honduran justice system has not confirmed the sentences of those convicted and has not prosecuted the intellectual authors. We are extremely concerned that independent administration of justice and international agreements on human rights are not being upheld.
-
News / 17 juli 2024
EU Exits Energy Charter Treaty (ECT): A Milestone for Climate Action
The European Union's decision to exit the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) is a landmark victory for climate action. For years, the ECT's Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanism has enabled fossil fuel companies to challenge climate policies, hindering progress towards sustainability.
-
News / 9 juli 2024
‘Dare to Trust’: Both ENDS and the Dutch Postcode Lottery team up to show the power of trust-based partnership
For more than thirty years, Both ENDS has collaborated with partner organisations around the world to advance environmental justice. Our relationships with partners, many of which span decades, are based on shared values, respect and trust. Together, we are strengthening knowledge, networks and movements, and engaging in joint advocacy aimed at bringing about a more just and sustainable world.
-
News / 9 juli 2024
Help the fight for a world without fossil fuels: sign this initiative
The climate crisis can no longer be ignored. With record temperatures and unprecedented extreme weather conditions, we see the devastating effects of climate change all around the world. The Netherlands has recently faced both unprecedented heatwaves and prolonged rainfall that have severely impacted our agricultural sector. These events painfully highlight: we must act now.
-
News / 4 juli 2024
Karin van Boxtel new director of Both ENDS
Karin van Boxtel (35) is the new director of environment and human rights organization Both ENDS. Karin has been running the organization temporarily, together with Annelieke Douma, since the departure of the previous director, Danielle Hirsch. She has now been appointed permanently to make Both ENDS stronger and more future-proof. Karin will take up her new post on 1 September. Until then, she will continue as co-director on an interim basis.
-
News / 3 juli 2024
-
Video / 3 juli 2024
Jonila Castro of AKAP KA & Kalikasan People's Network for the Environment
Jonila Castro works for AKAP KA Manila Bay and/or Kalikasan People's Network for the Environment (Kalikasan PNE). The livelihood of the majority of the Filipino people depends on the environment, on the seas and the lands and mountains.
-
News / 3 juli 2024
Illegal logging is devastating Suriname's forest: The Saamaka and their fight against deforestation
The Saamaka people of Suriname have long resisted the government's violation of their land rights. Despite a 2007 ruling by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) against such violations, the government continues to grant logging and mining concessions on Saamaka territory without free prior and informed consent (FPIC). New report shows this has led to deforestation, land dispossession, and disruption of their livelihoods. A recent example includes a 42.7 km road built through their lands for logging access.
-
Publication / 2 juli 2024
-
Blog / 21 juni 2024
International coorperation - especially now!
This blog is written in Dutch
-
News / 19 juni 2024
Recognition for PROBIOMA from the Chamber of Deputies of the Plurinational State of Bolivia
PROBIOMA have received recognition from the Chamber of Deputies of the Plurinational State of Bolivia. The presentation of this tribute took place at the Museum of Natural History Noel Kempff Mercado, in the framework of the Environment Day.
-
Publication / 18 juni 2024
-
News / 18 juni 2024
Impact of oil extraction on women's health in Bayelsa
In the context of Shell's imminent divestment from onshore oil industry in the Niger Delta, Both ENDS partner Kebetkache publishes a new report showing severe health and environmental challenges faced by the women of Otuabagi in the Niger Delta due to Shell's crude oil exploration. -
News / 18 juni 2024
Dutch government threatens to put human lives at risk again in infamous TotalEnergies gas project in Mozambique
The Dutch government threatens to blunder again by providing export support for TotalEnergies' controversial gas project in Cabo Delgado, Mozambique. This follows from an analysis of 9000 documents from FOI requests, commissioned by Milieudefensie and Both ENDS. Anne de Jonghe, Both ENDS: “When the export support was issued in 2021, critical voices were minimized, while TotalEnergies was heard and trusted. That should not happen again."
-
Event / 17 juni 2024, 15:00 - 16:00
Environmental Litigation: An Underestimated risk for Investors
Extreme weather events, environmental degradation and stakeholder activism force companies to reconsider climate change as an aggravating risk with tangible impacts on global supply chains, business performance, brand reputation and ESG ratings. Business strategies that neglect adequate environmental action can lead to consumer boycotts, negative media attention, investor runs and even legal action.
-
Dossier /
Transformative Talks
At Both ENDS we aim to connect people for change. Together with environmental justice groups from the Global South, we work towards a sustainable, fair and inclusive world.
-
Pathway /
Promoting people-driven solutions
Our goal is a massive upscaling and mainstreaming of bottom-up, planet-friendly practices, supported by favourable governance systems and availability of financial resources. There are many examples of successful community-led livelihood models based on collective participation, healthy ecosystems, gender justice and a vision of wellbeing beyond individual wealth. Approaches such as Regreening focus on ecosystem restoration led by forest communities or local farmers in the Sahel. These initiatives recognise and respect the interdependence between human prosperity and healthy ecosystems. They help to empower women, youth and other groups that often lack access to decision-making processes and tend to be excluded from land, water and forest management to assert their agency and rights to self-determination.
-
Pathway /
Supporting a powerful civil society
Our goal is that civil society can work openly and safely, make their voices heard and influence decision-making on ecosystem challenges and matters of environmental justice and human rights. A strong civil society is indispensable to a healthy society. It checks the power of both state and corporate actors, holds decision-makers accountable, and defends the rights of those marginalised from positions of influence. A strong and independent civil society can advocate for fair and ecologically responsible policies as well as challenge structural inequalities in decision-making. It can also use accountability mechanisms to seek redress for the negative consequences of such inequitable decision-making, and instead promote, implement and upscale transformative practices.
-
Pathway /
Advocating for just governance worldwide
Our goal is to achieve systemic change at all levels of social, political and economic institutions, to ensure that these unconditionally respect human rights and planetary boundaries. This requires policy coherence and consistent decision-making across all sectors - from trade, finance and energy to food production, agriculture, climate action and water management - and across all sections of society - from individual to family, farm, neighbourhood, city, province and national levels.
-
News / 11 juni 2024
Stand in solidarity; sign the petition
Together with a vast majority of Dutch NGO's, political movements and other concerned professionals we have started a petition to call out to the Dutch new government to invest in international cooperation and stop the planned budget cuts (2,5 billion euros).