Recently, the environmental impact of large water reservoirs has gained increased public attention. For dams to generate electricity or supply water, it comes at an expense towards the environment. When these reservoirs are constructed, it causes a barrier in the river which affects the ecosystem. Governments create these dams for economic development without seeing the environmental impacts that are occurring. If no solution is agreed to solve this issue, the environment will be greatly impacted. The construction of dams impacts the environment exceedingly. For example, this is expressed in countries like China and Ghana.
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In Ghana, the environmental impact of dams is witnessed in the Volta and Bui regions. Ghana is a country that is dependent on hydropower electricity, having invested in three huge reservoirs. The Ghanaian government considers the dams as an important and cheap source of energy. However, they do not realize that these reservoirs have a negative impact to the environment. The dams are impacting downstream water quality and they are affecting biodiversity of organisms. These reservoirs are said to be impacting river temperature, nutrient load, turbidity, dissolved gases, concentration of heavy of heavy metals and minerals (Girmay 2006). This therefore means that the soil and water around the area are lacking essential nutrients. If this is the case, then many of the water based organisms such as fish will be affected because the water would be lacking essential nutrients. A study by the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) in October 2006 and an environmental monitoring by the BPA stated that soil erosion and land degradation were some of the environmental issues impacting the Bui Dam area. When soil is infertile, it means that farmers won’t farm on the land. If there is no vegetation on the ground due to farmers not farming, the soil is prone to sheet erosion and there is a superior chance of a landslide. In addition to the impact on water quality, the reservoirs are also affecting the biodiversity of organisms. The environmental impact was mainly the inundation of parts (21 per cent) of the Bui National Park, home to the only two populations of black hippopotamus in Ghana, whose population is estimated at between 250 and 350 (Banor, 2014). These reservoirs are affecting how the ecosystem works. There are many other biodiversity issues associated with the building of dams in Ghana. If this issue isn’t elucidated, the consequences could be fatal.
The only possible elucidation to save organisms that were affected is to demolish the reservoirs. Although this might seem unproblematic, it would cause many problems. The government and the public would see this as a huge waste and wouldn’t care to go through all the effort for a few organisms. It could also have a huge impact on the economy for...
