Ghana has lost 298,000 hectares of vegetation over the past 12 years, and that destruction is now poisoning the nation’s water supply and threatening millions with contamination, according to a new report released by WaterAid in partnership with Tree Aid.
The groundbreaking research, which analyzed 12 years of satellite imagery across West Africa, reveals that deforestation is not just destroying trees but dismantling the natural systems that keep Ghana’s rivers clean and communities healthy. More than one third of Ghanaians now live in high water-risk zones where forest loss has degraded surface water quality and increased pollution in rivers that once provided safe drinking water.
The report shows that Ghana is losing an average of 24,800 hectares of forest annually, equivalent to wiping out a city the size of Edinburgh every year. As trees vanish around river catchments in central and southern Ghana, rainfall runs off faster, algae blooms proliferate, and water sources become contaminated. The forests that once filtered pollutants and regulated water flow are disappearing, leaving communities exposed to unsafe drinking water and increased vulnerability to both floods and droughts.
Ewurabena Yanyi-Akofur, Country Director for WaterAid Ghana, described the findings as nature’s alarm bell. She emphasized that the trees pulling water from the ground, shading rivers, and cooling towns are vanishing alongside the nation’s clean water supply. Ghana’s battle against deforestation, she argued, is fundamentally a fight for survival because without forests there is no water, and without water there is no future.
The research exposes a troubling paradox. Despite rainfall increasing by an average of 59.5 millimeters annually in Ghana, overall water security is deteriorating. Heavy rains temporarily boost water availability but mask long-term declines in water quality and groundwater recharge. Deforestation, erosion, and flooding are pushing the water cycle off balance, creating a pattern of intense downpours followed by extended dry spells that makes water increasingly difficult to manage and dangerous to consume.
A recent WaterAid poll found that 93 percent of Ghanaians fear climate change will harm their future and their children’s prospects, highlighting widespread public anxiety about environmental degradation.
The West African findings paint an even grimmer regional picture. Across Ghana, Niger, and Nigeria, 45 percent of the population now lives in high-risk water zones, affecting more than 122 million people. In Nigeria, 85.6 million people inhabit areas where water loss is directly linked to deforestation. Niger faces the most severe situation, with 99.5 percent of its available freshwater at risk of becoming unsafe or poor quality.
Abdul Nashiru Mohammed, Regional Director for WaterAid West Africa, warned that deforestation’s catastrophic impact on water access represents a ticking time bomb slipping under the radar of world leaders. He stressed that trees draw water into the earth, enrich soil for farmers, and shield land from floods, but as forests fall, water vanishes at a ruthless rate. He called attempts to address deforestation or water access separately doomed to failure.
The report arrives just days before COP30 (the 30th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) in Brazil, where WaterAid plans to demand that governments integrate forest and water management into climate finance pledges and national climate plans. The organization argues that investing in water systems strengthening access to safe drinking water and protecting vulnerable communities is critical to safeguarding lives and livelihoods.
Researchers documented clear links between forest loss around water bodies and declining water quality. As forests disappear, natural filtration systems collapse, making water less safe to drink and stripping communities of protection against environmental extremes. The report warns that if current trends continue, much of West Africa could face worsening droughts, flash floods, and waterborne diseases even in regions experiencing increased rainfall.
The study represents the first research of its kind to track connections between forest loss and water availability at this scale across West Africa. Conducted with Tree Aid and Ghanaian academic institutions, the analysis examined satellite data spanning 2013 to 2025 from Ghana, Niger, and Nigeria.
Nearly one in ten people globally still lack clean water close to home, and the climate crisis is intensifying this challenge. With the majority of West Africans now living in high water-risk zones, the report concludes that protecting forests has become central to protecting life itself. The research calls for urgent leadership and collaboration to address what it characterizes as the interconnected nature of the water and climate crisis before millions more lose access to safe drinking water.
