By Kwesi Johnson | 5 November 2012 Poor fishing communities in Western Ghana are struggling to maintain their livelihoods in the

face of oil interests, environmental degradation, and unresponsive government agencies. In the battle of fish versus oil, the black tide is winning. Fishermen are always the first to spot changes in the environment where they work after all, their livelihood depends on it. So, when large amounts of oil were spilled from the Jubilee Field oil rig off the Ahanta-West district in November 2011, it was fishermen who carried the news back to their communities before the tide of oil reached the shoreline. Their concerns were picked up by our local NGO, Friends of the Nation, which works in the coastal Western Region of Ghana, empowering fishing communities to participate in the governance and decision-making processes that affect their livelihoods. We are increasingly concerned at the impact of offshore oil drilling on the marine environment and on the frontline coastal communities who make their living in its wake. Ghana is ill-prepared to deal with oil spills because it lacks a tracking system to monitor tankers and identify the source of spills. As a result, communities bear the cost of cleaning up, while the oil company responsible for the spills avoids paying for their mistakes. Fishermen, whose living is precarious at the best of times, are not compensated for their work in cleaning the beaches, or the loss of income as fishing areas become restricted. Interviews with fishing communities reveal a gradual and disturbing decline in their livelihoods. This oil business has disturbed my work a lot, says local fisherman John Edward Afful. I cannot go to places on the sea I used to go any more because of restrictions since oil exploration and production started, and these are increasing. Friends of mine have had their nets destroyed by supply vessels to the oil rig, without any redress or compensation. As well as having their fishing curtailed, communities are concerned about the impact on the local ecosystem. Joseph Ebambey, who is Chief fisherman of Asanta, close to the Ankobra River estuary, says that oil production is causing environmental damage and encouraging the growth of seaweed that strangles nets: I now harvest weeds when my crew and I go fishing, he says. No fish for me means no income and no life for my family. How do I cater for them? The oil spills have also taken their toll on the local whale population, with nine whale washed ashore dead over the past two years. Locals say that they have never seen so many whales washed ashore before the bodies of which they also have to bury without investigation or action by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Working with local communities give us a different perspective on Ghanas oil reserves, believed to have the potential to generate around $1.8 billion per year. At its peak, this could see oil accounting for 30% of government income. Clearly, oil income has the potential to increase Ghanas ability to tackle the poverty that continues to afflict its population, particularly in rural and coastal communities. But it should not be at the cost of existing livelihoods and irreversible environmental damage. The Environmental Impact Assessment by Jubilee Oil partners stated that they would put

measures in place to minimise the impact of the drilling on all marine animals, including whales. This was a condition of their environmental permit. The EPA is supposed to monitor their activities, but there is no sign so far of effective monitoring or penalties for environmental damage. To date, the EPA has failed to implement the enforcement element of its mandate, instead treating the oil companies with kids gloves and, in the process, sacrificing the livelihoods of fishing communities, about 10% of Ghanaians, to the lure of petrodollars. Without a proper monitoring system, future oil spills will continue to cost those who can least afford to pay for them. Friends of the Nation is working with local communities and media to throw light on the issue, including the production of a video documentary on the socioeconomic and environmental impacts of oil and gas. We hope that by engaging policy-makers and big business with the challenges facing ordinary people, we can help the fishing communities of Western Ghana hold their government to account to protect their interests. Kwesi Johnson is Coordinator of Friends of the Nation, a Ghanaian NGO supported by the Mwananchi Programme and Participatory Development Associates Ghana, funded by the UK government to improve citizens abilities to hold their governments to account in six African countries.