Bongo Development Organisation:BONDO
Water and Sanitation for Rural Ghana
Policy and Practice
The UER is located in the extreme northeast of Ghana, bordering Togo and Burkina Faso. It is divided into six districts with a total population of a million. Our operations are centred on Bongo District with 80,000 population in 219 communities covering 460km2. There are 10 townships with smaller communities scattered in the savannah.
Ghana’s Upper East Region & Bongo District
image © BONDO
Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS) recognises clean environment and good health as a means to achieving the country’s socio-economic development. This is however far from being achieved at national and decentralised levels due to the problem of lack of, or inadequate and inefficient water, sanitation and hygiene promotion services to enhance hygienic practices.
The lack or inadequacy of water and sanitation facilities in rural Ghana in particular is more serious and has been noted to result in increased water-related diseases in the country such as cholera, typhoid, bilharzia, dysentery.
Water and Sanitation - A vicious circle.
image © BONDO
Enormous investment is made in the provision of water boreholes and public latrines installed in largely urban communities by Ghana Government and a few in rural and urban communities by several NGOs and CBOs.
Historically the provision of these facilities to communities ignored maintenance responsibility and training. This resulted in contamination of ground water and hence made some communities have unhealthy drinking water. In addition, some communities have broken boreholes and public toilets which is a major route of the spread of oral-faecal diseases. Communities then abandon these facilities which fall into further disuse by community members, forcing the same communities to revert to drinking water collection from streams, open defecation and contamination of the very streams that provide the water.
This is a vicious circle.
To break the vicious circle requires additional financial resources to provide private latrines, potable drinking water facilities, with crucially sustainability through training in correct maintenance and to fund periodic reporting of water quality.
What BONDO Does
BONDO provides through western charitable donations, boreholes for potable water and latrines and crucially ensures that there is a community ownership regime, training in water and sanitation, a source of spares and maintenance capability to ensure that the project serves its community long term. BONDO has adopted a professional staged process for delivery and support, modelled on best practice of the local Department of Water and Sanitation (DWST) exemplified by the following process description.
Systematic and Efficient Process for Delivery
Four meetings are held with each community and beneficiaries. At the first general meeting BONDO initially meet with the community and introduce the project to the Traditional Leaders and the Assemblyperson.
Latrines
Meeting 2
During the second community meeting a transact walk is organised with sectional leaders across the four sections of land. The walk obtains adequate sanitation needs information and this is then used to develop a sanitation map for the Community. Though open defecation is practiced in all the sections of the community, sanitation mapping enables priorities to be set typically that the highest number of facilities should go to areas of relatively higher effects of open defecation.
Meeting 3
BONDO agree a list of direct beneficiaries (households) who are ready and able to meet the project requirement, a meeting is are held with them. At this meeting the project details and responsibilities of the various stakeholders are set out.
Meeting 4
The fourth meeting confirms interest to participate in the project and the signing of an Agreement with beneficiaries and artisans and the introduction of the Artisan to the beneficiaries.
Implementation can then proceed according to the Agreement.
Borehole drilling and Repairs
Meeting 2
During the second community meeting BONDO visit the area and assess the problems with the borehole facility. The costs of replacement or repair including cost of required materials are estimated and the amount of funding available is discussed with the Community.
We also explain operation and maintenance, in the form of a short training course for the entire community – this encourages ownership.
We inculcate the need for regular and accurate book-keeping of the yearly contribution from the Community towards Operation and Maintenance and Spares. The outcome of this meeting is the opening of Bank account(s) at Bongo Rural Bank, for safe-keeping of these important funds.
Meeting 3
At this meeting the WATSAN Committee is formed, comprising Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer, two caretakers and two Hygiene Promoters. These people are further trained in manual repairs on the borehole and how to promote hygiene education in the community.
Meeting 4
This provides a forum and a process for conflict resolution. The processes adopted enhance project acceptability and help to identify and eliminate sources of conflicts among community members.
Geography of the Region
The land is generally flat or low lying with outcrops of granite. The soils are moderately well drained coarse textured soils, and are rich in phosphate. The district is drained by the Red Volta river and its main tributaries. The area has one large dam at Vea, nine small dams and five dug-outs located in townships.The vegetation consists of short deciduous trees often widely spaced and a ground flora composed of different species of grasses of varying heights. Very little of the vegetation exists in its original form and the few indigenous tree species are mainly those of economic value and include baobab, shea and dawadawa trees. A reserve, called the Red Volta Forest supports wild life namely baboons, monkeys, rats, mice, rabbits, dwarf buffalo, antelopes and guinea fowls.On the whole, Bongo District falls within the Guinea Savannah ecological zone.
Impact of Human Activities on the Environment
In the past decades, there has been an increase in the amount and intensity of agricultural and other socio-economic activities involving the exploitation of natural resources. This results in the degradation of the environment. The end result has been to create an adverse effect on the balance between man and nature and also creating an imbalance in natural cycles in the biosphere.
Inappropriate farming practices have led to increased deterioration in both the vegetation and soils. Intensive faming, overgrazing and constant removal of trees and shrubs without adequate replacement have made way for desert-like conditions in many parts of the district.
Owing to increased population growth, there is great pressure on land and water resources. Another practice is farming along river beds, banks of dams and dug-outs thus causing siltation of water bodies in the District.
Wildlife has become threatened as vulnerable tree species die off. These, and many other features, are a manifestation of land degradation, which is a major environmental problem in the district. Land degradation exhibits itself in three interactive forms: physical, chemical, and biological. Generally land degradation can be attributed to the following factors: inappropriate farming practices, high population density, over stocking and overgrazing, bush burning, tree felling, land excavation for road and building construction. Land degradation is also manifested in soil erosion and loss of organic matter, poor animal production due to reduction in available fodder, siltation of water bodies and loss of aquatic life, women and children trekking long distances to obtain fuel wood and increasing intensity and duration of drought.
The over dependence of people on fuel wood and charcoal for both domestic and public use has affected the environment greatly. The few trees available in the district are felled for fuel wood and charcoal for cooking in homes and chop bars.
Soil Erosion
Soil erosion is a major problem in many localities, leading to land degradation. The long dry season exposes soils to excessive run off at the beginning of the rains. In addition, the low organic matter content of the soils renders the latter liable to sheet erosion.Gully erosion has affected many river banks as well as roadsides. Gullies of over 3 metres deep and over 4 metres wide are not uncommon. Many of the river banks in the district portray this feature. Rill erosion is common near the head waters of rivers and streams, where erosion takes place in small, undefined non-permanent excavation, bush burning, removal of vegetation cover, inappropriate farming practices, etc stretches of land bearing scars of excavation can be seen along the major feeder roads in the district.
Desertification
This situation has grave consequences for the district if not addressed properly. The desert is fast approaching the district considering the enormous felling of trees in the localities. The water bodies are dying out coupled with severe soil erosion. This situation has also escalated the already precarious food shortage in the District.
Urgent needs
The district will have to intensify its education on the need to protect the environment especially by planting trees in the localities. The introduction of alternative energy sources could go a long way to curb the intensive felling of trees for fuel wood and charcoal in the District. The intensification of education on the need to adopt modern farming practices is very critical in the district to ensure that the environment is protected.