Study 3: Ecodestruction and the Right to Food: The Cases of Water ...

Starving the Future Study 3
In the long run 62 similar mining projects from Troy to Pergamon are planned and finally 560 projects all
over Turkey.
Case 2 (Western and Ashanti region/Ghana, 2000)
Gold mining versus right to feed oneself
Several thousand people in the Western and Ashanti Region of Ghana suffer from the consequences of
increased gold mining activities threatening their right to feed themselves. Generous incentives (e.g. the
reduction of corporate income tax from 55% in 1975 to 35% now) have contributed to a booming interest
of transnational investors in Ghana’s gold mining sector. Around 30 percent of Ghana´s surface is
planned to be given out as concession areas for gold mining. It is estimated that more than 70 percent
of the land surface in the Tarkwa-Prestea- Bogoso- Aboso-Nsuata axis is under concession of mining
companies. The concessions cover farming areas. The affected farming communities are rarely
informed about details and have hardly any chance to get their land rights recognised. Even if
companies only need 25 percent of their concession area for the actual mining activity, the legal status
of the other 75 percent of the concession area is dependent upon them. For the farming communities
that live off the land, this causes extreme legal insecurity for their future access to land and their ability
to feed themselves. Furthermore, the amount of compensation payed is not defined in fixed regulations
but rather to be determined by the parties concerned. The people of Atuabu village, for example, were
offered new houses at a new location and financial compensation. Both housing and financial
compensation were totally inadequate or simply non existent. The financial compensation provided to
the people only covers the crops on the farm and not the land itself. As soon as the meagre
compensation package is exhausted people will face hunger and malnutrition. There is no seriously
effort to provide alternative farm lands. If new housing is provided, it is often inadequate in size and
location. If communities go to court, the cases are often pending for several years due to frequent
adjournments: Meanwhile people are fighting for their subsistence. In the case of Atuabu, FIAN
contributed to an out of court settlement securing people’s right to feed themselves.
Human Rights Impact
• Access to food and resources:
The consequences of Ghana´s expanding gold sector jeopardises the right to feed oneself for several
thousand people. Giving prospecting licences to mining companies for land, on which people´s
livelihoods depend, and without adequate compensation violates the population´s right to feed
themselves. Companies try to "clear" the areas and consequently, resettlement and relocation
procedures are on the daily agenda. These are most often implemented by forced evictions with the
help of police, military and private forces. Such forced evictions are gross violations of human rights. It
was reported that certain companies pressurise the affected people and communities by cutting their
electricity and water supply. For instance, on February 6, 2001, Kyekyewere village was demolished by
police forces. 300 villagers were evicted to make way for the Australian TNC affiliate Aboso Ghana Ltd.
• Violation of the right to food - States´obligations:
As a State Party to the African Charter on Human Rights, Ghana has the obligation to ensure that „All
peoples shall freely dispose of their wealth and natural resources. This right shall be exercised in the
exclusive interest of the people. In no case shall a people be deprived of it. (Article 21.1). More
specifically, Article 21.2 states that „In case of spoliation the dispossessed people shall have the right to
the lawful recovery of its property as well as to an adequate compensation“.
FIAN International 123
June 2002