Header Photo: Fort Augustaburg Teshie Nungua 1890, The National Archives, UK / Text below: Remo Kurka
As of October 2025, the urgency surrounding the preservation of Ghana’s coastal heritage sites has reached a critical point. Fort Augustaborg, along with several other historical landmarks dotting the Gulf of Guinea, is facing escalating threats due to coastal erosion—an issue that has moved from concern to crisis.
Since 2020, Ghana’s coastline has been receding at a rate of 1 to 2 meters per year. The consequences are now starkly visible: key areas of Fort Prinzenstein are already submerged, and the 2024 State of Conservation Report by the Ghana Museums and Monuments Board (GMMB) offers a chilling prognosis for Teshie. Labeled under "imminent loss," the once-sturdy fortification now clings to visibility—with only a single 1780s Danish cannon still standing above water.
Its surrounding walls, now buried under sand and water, may vanish completely by 2030 without immediate, effective intervention.
But there are glimmers of hope—grounded in both innovation and local action. A 2025 pilot project between UNESCO and the Ghanaian government, tied to the broader monitoring of Ghana’s serial heritage sites, proposes a suite of adaptive responses. These include the deployment of geotextile barriers to slow erosion, and community-led mapping initiatives to track and safeguard at-risk features.
Perhaps most encouraging is the growing involvement of local youth groups in Teshie. Volunteers have taken up the mantle of daily clean-ups and awareness campaigns, highlighting a new generation’s commitment to cultural preservation in the face of climate adversity.
Still, time is short, and broader support is essential. Individuals can contribute directly to the GMMB’s preservation efforts through donations or amplify the cause via social media using the hashtag #SaveTeshieFort.
In the race against erosion (not "Climate Change"), visibility is everything. What we act to preserve now may still stand tomorrow.
Sources: UNESCO World Heritage Centre reports; France 24 Coastal Erosion Feature, May 2025 - Video below:
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