Physical and Natural Environment

It is an undeniable fact that, the society man lives in is not devoid of problems. However, as these problems are identified efforts have to be made to propose solutions as a way of addressing these problems in a sustainable manner to improve upon the quality of life of the people.

Development planning as a discipline takes conscious efforts to identify societal problems, analyze them critically with the aim of bringing improvement in the lives of the people. This section of the report looks at the location and size of the District, relief and drainage pattern, climate and vegetation, soil and crop potentials, aesthetic features and finally geology and minerals.

Location and Size

The Berekum West District shares boundaries with Dormaa-East in the South-West, North-East by Jaman-South, and North-West by Tain Districts. It has a total number of about 19 Communities with major towns as Jinijini, Koraso, Jamdede, Amankokwaa, Adom, Domfete, Nsapor, Nkyenkyemam and Nanasuano.

The District capital, Jinijini is about 47 km from Sunyani, the Regional capital of Brong Ahafo. The road network from Sunyani, the regional capital to Jinijini is a first class road while most of the feeder roads linking other communities in the District are all in a deplorable state. The District is sub divided into four local administrative areas known as Areal Councils. They include the Koraso Area Council, Nsapor Area Council, Fetentaa Area Council and Jinijini Area Council. The land size for Berekum West District Assembly is 385sqkm.

The road network from Berekum to Jinijini is a first class road while most of the feeder roads linking other communities in the District are all in a deplorable state. The District in terms of trade is strategically located since it is able to transact business with all the four (4) other Districts it shares boundaries with. The location of the District makes transportation of goods and services to and fro easy encouraging inter-District trade.

Implication of the location of the District on Development

The location of the District offers it the opportunity to interact or exchange goods and services with seven MMDAs in the Brong Ahafo Region namely Sunyani and Dormaa Municipals, Dormaa East, Jaman North and South, Tain and Sunyani West Municipality and two Regions of Ghana namely Ashanti and Western Regions. The Western frontier of the Region also makes it imperative for the people to interact and exchange goods and services with the neighboring Cote D’Ivoire.

In the case of the latter, the youth turn to drift to Kumasi, Accra and other regional capitals in search of jobs giving marked deficit of males in the age classes of 20 to 35 years of the Districts population.

 Also, the proximity of the District to Kumasi and Sunyani has made most communities enjoy basic goods and services from them which the District lacks. This has improved upon the living conditions of the local people.

In a similar vein, the location of the District and its nearness to communities like Berekum East Municipal, Dormaa Ahenkro, Sunyani, Sampa and Techiman has also provided opportunity for farmers to market their produce in these towns where there is always ready market.

Climate

The District lies within the wet semi-equatorial climate zone marked by double rainfall maxima; June and October with a mean annual rainfall between 1,275mm to 1,544mm.The first rainy season is from April to July (maximum) and the second rainy season is from September to October (minimum) when the District comes under the influence of the wet maritime air mass.

The beginning of the rainy season is marked by heavy storms which sometimes cause the ripping of roofs and collapsing of buildings. There is a sharp dry season between the two rainy seasons, the main one coming between November and March when the tropical continental air mass in the country sweeps over the area. Relative humidity is generally high ranging between 75% to 90% during the two rainy seasons and 70% to 80% during the rest of the year.

Vegetation and Forest Resources

The District lies within the green belt. The over-bearing vegetation is moisture laden semi-deciduous. The typical vegetation is basically determined by rainfall and ground water supplies. The forest is rich in tropical hardwoods like Wawa, Esa, Kyenkyen, Odum, Ofram and Fununtum. In recent times these natural vegetation cover is fast depleting into secondary forest. This is due to excessive and indiscriminate felling of trees especially by illegal chain-saw operators. Improper farming practices such as shifting cultivation and uncontrolled bush fires also add impetus to the depletion of the forest.

These developments call for immediate measures to protect this sensitive ecological zone. There is however, large area of forest reserves. This includes the following:

Tain II Forest Reserve at Nkyenkyemam

These forest reserves together cover a total of about 31% of the entire land surface area of the District. As far as human settlements are concerned, these forest reserves are seen as a big asset for future generation. Nevertheless, bush fires and other illegal human activities are degrading the forests at an alarming proportion. The forest also provides timber which serves as a source of revenue and foreign exchange to both the District and the Central Government. It serves as employment source to some of the people who engage in logging.

It also serves as a source of raw materials to feed local industries s such as carving, carpentry, sawmilling and a host of others in and outside the District. Farmers also depend on the forest for farming to produce food for human consumption. The forest in its entirety provides a major source of energy for cooking as the people get firewood and charcoal from the forest. Importantly, shrubs and trees found in the forest also used for medicinal purposes.

Implications of Climate and Vegetation on Development

From the aforementioned analysis, it could be seen that vegetation and climate have certain implications for planning and development of the District. The double maxima rainfall supports two cropping seasons to ensure continuous food supply throughout the year within and outside the District. Extensive dry seasons also lead to a long period of drought which does not augur well for agriculture. The rainfall pattern and adequate sunshine support the growing of crops like Maize, Cocoa, Oil Palm, Cashew, Cassava, Plantain, among others.

Relief and Drainage

The District lies within the forest dissected plateau physiographic Region with average height of about 880feet above sea level. The lowest part is about 640ft above sea level found along the river basins whilst the highest point is found within a chain of elevations the North East reaching a height of 1,620 feet above sea level. These elevations serve as water-sheds of some rivers and some streams. There are out-crops of some rocks found over Birimian rocks basement standing about 860 – 1,350feet above the broad plateau surface.

The District is drained by Kora, Maasu, Jinijinimu, Nanaasu, Kyinmira and Suntreso Rivers and their tributaries exhibiting dendritic patterns. These fast flowing rivers have cut up the plateau surface giving rise to the dissected nature of the plateau.

The persistent clearing of the catchment areas of these rivers and streams for farming purposes has adversely affected their level of flow and volume. They have virtually become seasonal rivers. During the dry season too, some of the rivers lose the level of flow and streams dry up. Several communities also face acute water shortage, albeit the rivers serve as major sources of domestic water supply.

Rivers and streams take their source from these hilly areas. These rivers and streams ultimately serve as a source of drinking water to various communities in the District. On the other hand, the relief and drainage influence climatic conditions in terms of rainfall patterns and farming activities.

Implications of Relief and Drainage on Development

The relief and drainage have implications for the development of the District. First, the existence of several streams and rivers in the District enhance irrigation potentials which promote all year round farming activities. In addition, streams and rivers found in the District provide sources of water for domestic use. Furthermore, rocky hills and out-crops serve as employment for the people.

In spite of importance of relief and drainage to the District, there are also associated problems that go with them.  Soil erosion is very pronounced in the highlands. As a result, top soils on the highlands are always washed away, especially, when it rains making farming difficult. The undulating nature of the land in certain parts of the Municipality makes construction of some projects especially roads in the District very difficult.

Geology and Minerals

Within the Birimian and Dahomeyan formations with natural resources or potentials such as granites, clay, sand, gold, diamond deposits and the like.  The Birimian formations are known to be the gold bearing rocks. The Birimian rocks also have a high potential for Manganese and Bauxite. Studies have shown that gold abounds in Namasua and prospecting yet to begin.

Implications of Geology and Minerals on Development

In the Berekum West District like elsewhere, geology helps to determine the distribution of minerals. The geology, with regard to the District gives an insight into the general nature and pattern of the soil. It has major influence on the drilling of wells and boreholes as compared with other places where drilling becomes difficult because the nature of the land is sandy without rocks.

Physical Development Challenges and Control

Physical development and control in the District poses problems for development. Most of the human settlements are not planned hence they do not have proper layouts. The uncontrolled nature of some human settlements invariably creates land disputes and litigations. The inability of some property-owners to maintain their structures have made most of them death traps and the Assembly would have to take measures to demolish these dangerous structures.

There has been increase in the springing up of structures for human settlement as a result of business activities in the District particularly in Berekum and its environs coupled with non- adherence to planning guidelines. This situation has resulted in upsurge of unauthorized buildings in prohibited areas such asflood prone areas. Land developers are fond of using poor or sub-standard materials for their buildings. Limited provisions are also made for toilet facilities in many settlements resulting in people defecating in nearby bushes often resulting in high incidence of preventable diseases like cholera and dysentery.