Accra’s overlooked environmental crisis

By Carla OLYMPIO

Every weekend in Accra, dozens if not hundreds of people go walking and running on the grounds of the University of Ghana at Legon, Ghana’s oldest and most prestigious university. With its shady, tree lined streets and grid layout, it is beautiful, serene and safe.
What is sad though – is why. It is practically the only (semi) public space in Accra where you can do that. The university tends to its 2,800 acre campus, protecting its greenery and carefully maintaining its footpaths and shade trees. Elsewhere? Not so much. We have just about only one major public park, and no other comparable green space that is as pleasant for walking, running or just hanging out.

On social media I often see stories praising Accra’s development: the sprouting of high rises, both commercial and residential…ignoring the fact that green spaces and the beautiful, old trees we used to have on our streets, such as neem, flamboyant and ylang-ylang are disappearing at an alarming rate.

These trees were not incidental features: they took decades to grow, and were the result of thoughtful urban planning decisions made generations ago to create a cooler, healthier, and more humane city. Accra is at a crossroads, and there is no doubt that the choices we make today about greenery and urban development will define the city’s liveability, beauty and long term economic value.

In cities we admire, such as Singapore, Paris and Joburg, urban planners have not seen green space as a luxury, it is incorporated as core infrastructure. Parks, tree-lined streets, and protected urban forests are treated as essential to public health, climate resilience, and economic stability. London for example is made up of 40percent green space, with 8 million trees and 3,000 parks covering over 35,000 acres in total. By contrast, Accra’s current trajectory suggests a disturbing reversal – one where mature shade trees, such as the ones that used to line Giffard Road, are cut down for short-term construction gains, often replaced with heat-retaining concrete and little thought for long-term consequences.

Their removal has cascading effects:
• Heat intensification: Without shade, streets become significantly hotter. This particularly affecting pedestrians and those without access to cars.
• Public health impacts: Increased heat exposure, poorer air quality, and reduced mental wellbeing.
• Declining property values: Ironically, the very developments replacing greenery can, if unchecked, end up ultimately reducing the desirability of neighbourhoods. Those diaspora and foreign investors that developers wish to attract? They tend to see parks and recreational facilities as essential to a good quality of life.
• Loss of urban identity: Tree-lined streets are part of Accra’s character – historically much admired by visitors. Once lost, they take decades to restore.
In my opinion this isn’t just an environmental issue. It is a social justice issue. The wealthy retreat into gated communities with private green spaces, while ordinary citizens – especially children – are left with little or no access to safe, shaded, natural environments, where they can walk, play or just spend some recreational time outdoors.

What makes this situation particularly frustrating is that, as with many things, there is a regulatory framework – it is just underutilized. The Environmental Protection Agency Act, 1994 (Act 490) effectively holds trees in trust for the public, requiring permits for cutting or pruning even on private land. The Local Governance Act, 2016 (Act 936) gives Metropolitan Assemblies like the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) authority to regulate tree felling and urban environmental management. AMA Bye-Laws require permits for tree removal and regulate land use and environmental health within the city.
The Environmental Assessment Regulations, 1999 (LI 1652) require prior EPA approval for any activity likely to affect the environment, including tree removal for development. They must be enforced responsibly. The Land Use and Spatial Planning Act, 2016 (Act 925) mandates that development align with approved spatial plans, which should include provisions for green space preservation and landscaping,
The widespread, indiscriminate removal of trees is not just unfortunate – it should be prohibited.

Many cities have successfully balanced development with environmental protection. Singapore, for example, a tropical city-state often called a “City in a Garden,” has adopted mandatory tree replacement policies often exceeding a 1:1 ratio, strict permitting regimes for tree removal, integration of greenery into all developments including vertical gardens and roadside planting, and long-term urban forestry planning backed by enforcement. Similarly, London and New York maintain protected tree registers, enforce penalties for unauthorized felling, and invest heavily in urban canopy expansion.

If we are to follow global best practice in building a healthy city that benefits all of its citizens, we can start to more forcefully implement some of these methods.
The situation in Accra is not irreversible, but it requires coordinated action. Citizens can report unlawful tree cutting to the EPA, AMA, or Forestry Commission, demand that road developers and other state-mandated contractors preserve trees and urban greenery, and organize community-level advocacy and monitoring.

Legal enforcement mechanisms exist, including seeking injunctions in the High Court to halt unlawful tree removal. Public interest litigation would be effectively grounded in constitutional provisions such as Article 23 on fair administrative action, Article 36(9) on the duty of the State to protect the environment, and Article 41(k) on the duty of every citizen to protect the environment, as well as challenging improperly granted development permits.

Policy reform could introduce mandatory tree replacement ratios (such as 2:1 for mature trees), require minimum green space allocations in all developments, and establish protected urban tree corridors and heritage trees. At the same time, stricter urban planning discipline is needed, including rigorous enforcement of zoning laws, particularly for high-impact uses such as noisy churches, clubs and petrol stations, and the integration of green infrastructure into all road and housing projects.

There is a growing sense of helplessness among residents about the state of Accra’s environment. We cannot afford to succumb to it. Action produces results. The law provides tools. The precedent exists, both at home and abroad. What is needed now is responsible action by architects, local authorities, and contractors, at the insistence of civil society.
Accra does not have to continue to become a hotter, harsher, more unequal city. It can instead reclaim and expand its green legacy – ensuring that shade, beauty, and liveability are not privileges for the few, but rights enjoyed by all. The trees we are losing took decades to grow. The decisions we make today will take just as long to undo, or to restore. The choice, for now, is still ours.

>>>Carla Olympio, Esq. is Founder and Managing Partner, Agency Seven Seven

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