The first-ever Vodza-Adzido Eco-Tourism Development Initiative in collaboration with the Keta Municipal Assembly organized a one-day Community-led regatta on Easter Saturday, 16th April 2022 to kick start five years project aimed at developing it to become a national and Global tourism site to provide sustainable jobs for the indigenes.
The organizers of this year’s Regatta Competition and Tours to the Islands on the Keta Lagoon Complex in the Volta Region were full of praise for massive participation in accordance with domestic tourism.
The Initiative represents a dream that has existed since the reclamation of the land from the sea (Atlantic Ocean) and the dredging of the Keta Lagoon in the 1990s.
It is a dream aimed at transforming Vodza- Adzido’s ecological and cultural resources into an iconic tourism destination with conservation of biodiversity for present and future generations; through investment in infrastructure and superstructure facilities.
According to the organizers of the project, “the Plan seeks to create synergies among stakeholders and planning approaches to provide much-needed investment, jobs and income streams and to set the path for the development agenda of Vodza-Adzido and for that matter the Keta Municipality.”
The former Chairperson of the Public Services Commission now-retired public servant and currently the Chairperson, Board of Trustees of The Initiative, Bridget Katsriku (Mrs.) in an interview with gbcghanaonline.com said, the objectives of the Five-Year Ecotourism Development Plan to promote livelihoods and tackle poverty, in the Municipality in general and Vodza-Adzido, in particular, through harnessing of natural and cultural resources to encourage international and domestic tourism has just begun.
According to her, the project will also enhance supply and value chains to diversify local economic development as well as promote investment in infrastructure and superstructure facilities.
Mrs. Katsriku said this Easter’s Regatta and tour event has also provided an opportunity for residents and service providers to promote the Municipality’s tourism-related amenities (hotels, cuisine, dance, music, souvenirs etc.).
Keta Lagoon, also called Anlo-Keta lagoon, is the largest of the over 90 lagoons that cover the 550 km stretch of the coastline of Ghana. This lagoon is 126.13 km in length. It is located in the eastern coast of Ghana and separated from the Gulf of Guinea by a narrow strip of sandbar.
Keta Lagoon Complex Ramsar Site covers part of the Volta River estuary. It comprises several small islands and a complex of lagoons with varying salinity. The dominant vegetation includes swamps, scrublands, and mangrove forests, which are heavily exploited by resident communities for fuel woods and commercial fishing
