Vital Signs Ghana
I recently made a traverse of Ghana to expand an image library for Conservation International. We have been helping to tell the story of the Vital Signs monitoring network since its inception as a pilot project in Tanzania in 2011. The network will soon monitor agriculture, nature and human well-being in six African countries with plans for expansion to other parts of Africa and the globe. Conservation International, along with CSIR and Columbia University, is leading the initiative with support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Our past work had focused on farmers and fieldwork in East Africa and, with Ghana coming online, the program needed new images that chronicled the culture, landscapes and team members in West Africa. Over 10 days I traversed from Accra in southern Ghana to the hot and dry cattle country of the north and back to make images of farmers, livestock, food and ecosystem services.
One major challenge Ghana faces is mineral extraction, particularly from unregulated gold mines. In addition to large multinational digs, the landscape is littered with small, illegal operations that have a significant impact on fresh water sources. I spent some time making photographs of a group of young men digging gravel out of such a site in central Ghana. They were understandably nervous about my presence but Dr. Anthony Duah, the director of Vital Signs Ghana, quickly put their fears to rest and I was soon splattered in mud like everyone else.