Chemu Lagoon is the most polluted water body in the Tema.  On 10 September 2002 CSRM organised its maiden seminar to educate community residents about the nature and extent of the lagoon’s pollution. Organisations that participated in the seminar
included the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other environmental NGOs.

The seminar was used to gather hard data, evidence and facts, as well as perceptions, about the effects of corporate irresponsibility. The seminar was not viewed as the end-goal by itself but rather as a way of finding out how big the problem of corporate irresponsibility was in the community, its causes, and how it was impacting society. The seminar has made substantial contribution to the efforts of the Movement.

1. The seminar provided baseline measurement of the Chemu lagoon’s problem. It clarified how bad the problem was and how costly it was for society.

2. The seminar provided direction in the development of
   business-community-relations strategies. It identified areas where corporate irresponsibility was impacting negatively on community and the priority domains where corporate responsibility demand initiatives needed to be taken.

3. The seminar helped to mobilize and motivate community members and develop cohesive constituencies for reform. The data and hard evidence provided by resource persons strengthened the
   conviction of individuals and interest groups that something really had to be done to change irresponsible corporate behaviour in the community.

The data provided by resource persons established irrefutable information about the nature and extent of industrial pollution in the community. The data detailed the volume, source and pollutant
concentration of industrial waste discharge into the Chemu Lagoon.

It helped people understand the 5 ‘Enhancing Business-Community Relations’ – Corporate Responsibility Movement Case Study, Ghana
root causes of the problem and understand the real costs it imposed on the community in terms of reduced quality of air, destruction of aquatic life and inappropriate waste disposal methods. This kind of information helped mobilise people in all sectors of the community to be more concerned and turn their words into deeds. [The above text was extracted from a 2003 case study by Joseph Yaw Boateng.]

Click images below to see larger version.

	Channelized portion of lagoon near entry to the Gulf of Guinea
	Broken culverts along channelized portion of lagoon
	Fish processing and other industries on edge of lagoon
	Polluted water entering lagoon
	Buildup of silt in lagoon