Ghana – Ghana is gradually losing its historic forts along the 550-kilometer coastline to intense tidal waves from the Atlantic Ocean.
In addition to the loss of these forts, several coastal communities are also at risk of disappearing due to powerful tidal waves and other natural events.
It is estimated that Ghana loses an average of two meters of coastline annually to coastal erosion, with some areas having experienced as much as 17 meters of losses in all, according to a study by the Institute for Environment and Sanitation Studies.
Rising sea levels, driven by climate change, are not only threatening the livelihoods of low-lying communities but also posing a significant threat to the country's historic slave forts and castles.
Historic Forts at Risk
The 240-year-old Fort Prinzenstein in Keta, Volta Region, once stood as a resilient fortress.
However, it now tells a different story after a decade of destruction by powerful tidal waves from the Atlantic Ocean. According to James Ocloo Akorli, the fort's caretaker, about two-thirds of the fort now lies beneath the ocean.
“Eight of its ten dungeons, originally built to hold enslaved Africans during the trans-Atlantic slave trade, were completely submerged before a sea defense wall was erected to protect what remains of the monument," Akorli said.
Just over 100 -kilometers west of Fort Prinzenstein, the 18th-century Fort Kongenstein in Ada, Greater Accra Region, could not withstand the relentless assault of tidal waves either.
Today, where the former slave post once stood is now open ocean, with no trace of the fort remaining. Similarly, Fort Fredensborg in Old Ningo, now 289 years old, has been reduced to a small remnant of what was once the armory of the fortress.
According to Joyce Ayorkor Guddah, the Tourism and Culture Officer in Ningo Prampram district, "Fort Vernon has become a death trap, as the tidal waves have severely damaged it."
Communities on the brink
In addition to the forts, coastal communities from the Western Region to the Volta Region are facing extinction due to the encroaching sea.
Akorli Simon, a former resident of Fuveme, recalls, "the Sea began swallowing our community. We were devastated and had to abandon Fuveme in 2016 after a powerful tidal surge washed away the land."
The displaced residents relocated to the nearby coastal village of Dzakplagbe, but Simon now fears that Dzakplagbe may suffer the same fate as Fuveme.
In the Western Region, the once-thriving Anlo village has been reduced to a narrow strip of land, trapped between rising tides and the swelling lagoon fed by the River Pra. The village has shrunk to a stretch of land only 60 to 100 meters wide between the sea and the lagoon.
The story is no different at Ghana’s capital Accra, in Glefe a suburb of the capital where many people have deserted their homes following the destruction from the tidal waves.
Ongoing Interventions
Efforts to combat this coastal erosion include the construction of the 8.3-kilometer Keta Sea Defence Wall, a project that began over a decade ago with funding from the United States Export-Import Bank (EXIM Bank) at a cost of $94 million (90 million euros).
In addition, the West Africa Coastal Areas Resilience Investment Project, Ghana 2, has been launched. This initiative aims to strengthen the resilience of Ghana’s coastline while restoring and protecting critical coastal ecosystems.
The Minister of Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovation, Ophelia Mensah Hayford, noted that, "the $155 million project (151 million euro), funded by the World Bank, will be implemented in key areas such as the Korle Lagoon, Densu Basin, and Keta Lagoon. These areas have long faced challenges from tidal waves, flooding, pollution, and erosion."
