Bauxite mining at Atewa Forest Reserve, Ghana: a political ecology of a conservation-exploitation conflict

Abstract

Atewa Forest Reserve in the Eastern Region of Ghana represents one of only two reserves with upland evergreen forests in Ghana but is also a possible site for bauxite mining. The Government of Ghana deployed an infrastructure in anticipation for a refined bauxite agreement with China. Ghana’s Government seeks to develop an integrated Bauxite-Aluminum Industry; however, several NGOs try to protect the Atewa Forest and propose that the area should be upgraded to a National Park. In this study, this conservation-exploitation conflict is analyzed from a political ecology perspective elaborating on who are the involved key actors, their relations and what strategies are used. Political ecology is about recognizing the power that actors have at the moment of deciding what, how, and where to conserve nature. Based on interviews done during fieldtrips in 2018, 2019 and 2020 complemented by an analysis of political documents, the identified strategies the NGOs are using in this conflict, can be described as demonstration and upscaling. The aim of this paper is to draw attention on the politicization of nature, in particular Atewa forest reserve and its bauxite resources.

Same Same, but Different: Ghana’s Sinohydro Deal as Evolved ‘Angola Model’?

“…They are likely to affect disproportionately an already vulnerable population. Due to the lack of transparency, environmental issues and concerns, the Sinohydro deal increased a growing movement against bauxite mining in Ghana, especially at Atewa forest a possible extraction site (Purwins 2020). The Ghanaian government is therefore under a lot of pressure, not only from local but international NGOs, intellectuals (or actors like Leonardo DiCaprio) and major manufacturing companies as members of the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative openly opposing mining in Atewa forest (Birdlife International 2021).…”

“…According to Ingulstad, Storli, and Gendron (2013), in order to produce one tonne of aluminium, the mining process generates 10 tonnes of waste rock and three tonnes of toxic red mud. Environmentalists as well as the local officials criticise the plans for mining of bauxite in the Atewa forest (Purwins 2020). They fear deforestation, pollution of water and other environmental damage will affect especially the local population.…”

Crisis conservation and green extraction: biodiversity offsets as spaces of double exception

“…In turn, many extractive companies have coercively pushed against resistance to their projects, generally with the active support of host country authorities and local elites (Condé and Le Billon 2017). Discourses of enmity and coercive types of practices have been deployed by parties on all sides, with civil society groups denouncing companies, boom-town speculators (including pro-extraction local elites) as reckless, heartless and greedy (Dahlgren 2019;Wouters 2020); companies criticizing environmental and land defenders as subversive anti-development radicals (Middeldorp and Le Billon 2019) and local pro-extraction groups attacking environmental activists (Welker 2009); and governments portraying local -often Indigenous -communities as backward people in need of modernity (Dunlap and Jakobsen 2020;Prause and Le Billon 2021;Purwins 2020). The result has often been escalation of conflicts over extractive activities, leading in turn to grave human rights abuses including murders (Le Billon and Lujala 2020).…”

“…Political ecology studies have extensively considered both resource extraction and biodiversity conservation, but more rarely their interactions (Huff and Orengo 2020). Here, I seek to contribute to the growing literature addressing this gap through a discussion of the political ecologies of extraction and conservation (Adams 2017;Büscher and Davidov 2016;Enns et al 2019;Norris 2017;Purwins 2020;Symons 2018;). Building on studies from within political ecology and other disciplines (see Sonter et al 2018), I hope to help map out -both conceptually and literally -some of the main extraction-conservation relations.…”

Class dynamics and relationship between land-use systems and surface temperature in south-eastern Ghana

“…Several scholars (Kpare 2016;Amproche et al 2020;Ampim et al 2021) opine that population growth is critical to LUCC and sustainable development in least developed countries. Some scholars (Eldridge 2005;Purwins 2020;Ampim et al 2021) have argued that technological, socio-political, cultural and economic factors could trigger massive LUCC.…”