China facing protests amid environmental projects in Western Africa

"Yet in all the worry that seems to be rising within economic circles of different African nations, the primary concern that is constantly being pushed under the rug is the irreversible ecological damage Chinese projects are exerting in sensitive regions," reports Colombo Gazette.

West Africa has begun engaging with China in recent times.

China has begun specifically focusing on western African nations such as Senegal, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Nigeria, Gambia, and Togo, the news portal.

In this respect, most of these countries have had untapped natural resources which China has seen as a reserve to exploit for its own natural resource needs.

Gambia, an African nation, is currently witnessing demonstrations against Chinese firms due to widespread contamination of the waters in the Gunjur beach.

In 2016, a Chinese owned fishmeal firm opened up a factory in the area, discarding all its waste material into the ocean, reports Colombo Gazette.

This subsequently led to a long pile of dead aquatic animals washing up to the shores. Soon after the contamination began to spread, locals alleged that the colour of the water began to change and preserved wildlife began to die once more, the news portal reported.

China’s investment in Sierra Leone for fishing development projects has been severely criticized by environmental groups for causing damage to waterbed and aquatic lives in the region.

The Sierra Leone government received USD 55 million in 2021 from China to construct a fishing harbour and fishmeal plant similar to the one in Gambia, the news portal reported. 

Prominent advocates for environmental protection have stated that the fishing industry would find it hard to sustain an ecologically sound factory as it is inevitably designed to ruin maritime wildlife and would endanger the prospects of food security within the small nation.