Urban Wetland Ecology And Floods In Kumasi, Ghana

Abstract

This research sought to investigate the interlocked issues of urbanisation, climate change, wetland ecology and degradation and flooding in Kumasi. The results show that whilst there were some plant species common to all the wetlands, the species composition for each wetland was unique. In each wetland, the level of soil water saturation was found to influence species composition. The percentage organic carbon of the wetland soils was the strongest factor that explained the observed spatial heterogeneity of wetland vegetation in Kumasi. There is no significant change in rainfall of Kumasi for the flood prone months of June and July and, therefore, the floods were not due to climate change. Two types of floods were, however, identified in the suburbs studied: flash floods due to heavy rainfall events and effluent stream floods caused by a rise in the water table during the peak rainy seasons. People continued to live in the flood prone areas because, other forms of capital developed after living in these suburbs for a while, far outweighed the push factors to relocate.