Water Resource Management In Ghana

Ghana in 1977 created the Ghana Irrigation Development Authority (GIDA). The authority was mandated to formulate plans on the development of water resources for irrigation farming, livestock improvement and fish culture. The main aim of this GIDA was to fast-track the processes of development of the large irrigable lands and to increase the production of agricultural products through the expansion of water irrigation facilities on both small and medium level landscapes. Ghana’s reform on Protection of Water Resources (PWR) was enacted in 1991 with the aim to protect water and the environment. This led to the preparation of the Environmental Action Plan and subsequently the formation of the Environmental Protection Agency in 1994 to regulate

The EPA is said to operate in close collaboration with the Water Resource Commission (WRC) on water related issues (www.un.org). In Ghana, Water Resource Management reform was established by government to address the drawbacks of the earlier reforms discussed above (www.un.org). Theoretically and by their sectorial nature and approach, the earlier reforms could not lead to incorporation of water resource organization, improvement and regulation. The WRM policy was to revert the subtle state of functions and authority among agencies towards a more integrated form of water governance (Opoku-Ankomah, Dembélé, Ampomah, Somé, 2006). An Act of Parliament (ACT 522 of 1996) (WRC, 2007) established the Water Resource Commission with the mandate to control and manage water resources and to coordinate government policies (www.un.org). The WRC is made up of technical reps of the main stakeholders involved in the development and use of water resources. It also includes traditional rulers, NGOs and Women groups who have interest in water related issues

However, the current rising demand and pressure on water resources creates an imbalance between demand and availability. The availability of water is decreasing due to rain variability, drought, rapid population growth, increased environmental degradation and pollution of water bodies. Although, the amount of water resources available dwindles from time to time, there is a rising competition for the use of water resources among the various sectors of society. A more important issue that calls for an implementation of the principles of good water governance is the current rate of depletion and degradation of water resources due to mining in river bodies, among other things inter-sectorial competition and the lack of coordination and collaboration between the various management institutions that have been instituted all bring water governance issues to the