Two non-profit-making organisations, Network for Women’s Rights and Environmental Governance (NEWREG) and Livelihood and Environment Ghana (LEG) have jointly organised sensitization programmes on environmental conservation at Bibiani-Anhwiaso in the Western-North region as part of this year’s World Environment Day celebrations.
The two organizations organised a float through the principal streets of the town and took part in a radio discussion programme to create awareness about the need to protect the environment for the future.
They were supported by the Global Greengrants Fund, a donor organization that assists communities to protect, restore, and transform their environment for a sustainable future.
The World Environment Day, which was introduced at Stockholm in Sweden during the first World Environment Conference in 1972, holds significant importance as it serves as a global platform for raising awareness about environmental issues and promoting actions to protect the planet.
This year’s World Environment Day celebration focused on land and drought with the theme “Land Restoration, Desertification and Drought Resilience.”
The District Manager of the Forest Services Division of the Forestry Commission, Mr. Saviour Attu and his deputy Mr. Sylvester; the District Environmental Health Officer, Mr. Cephas Deakah; the Executive Director of LEG, Mr. Richard Adjei-Poku and Ms. Peace Nyande, the Deputy Convener NEWREG constituted the panel for the radio discussion on Adehyie FM, a local FM radio station at Bibiani.
The panelists discussed how to restore degraded lands for sustainable use and plans to reduce further desertification and degradation in Ghana.
They further educated and encouraged the people of Bibiani and its environs on the adoption of sustainable practices such as renewable energy sources, waste reduction, and recycling to minimize environmental impact.
The Assistant District Forestry Manager said illegal mining and logging cause serious depletion to the country’s forest cover and further pollute water bodies. our forest resources.
Mr. Richard Adjei-Poku, on his part, spoke about climate change, which has become a global canker because of industrial revolution and land use change.
He mentioned sustainable farming practices as some of the surest ways to mitigate the effects of climate change and explained that these farming practices are essential for a balanced relationship between agricultural productivity and environmental stewardship such as crop rotation, cover cropping, and reduced tillage, help maintain soil structure and fertility, reducing erosion and nutrient depletion.
“Integrated pest management and organic farming support diverse ecosystems by reducing chemical inputs, promoting organic farming, and the use of perennial crops can sequester carbon in plant biomass and soil, mitigating climate change”, he explained.
He also stated how deforestation has been a major threat to the forest, which is fueled by infrastructure development, illegal logging, mining and increased agricultural production. Adding that between 1990 and 2020, Ghana lost an estimated 43 million hectares of forest cover, representing a 23% decline. (FAO, 2020).
He further played emphasis on how the felling cycle of timbers uses to range from 60years to 100 years which has now reduce to 20 years to 30 years due to the reason which he encourages everyone to plant more trees to protect the mother earth and promote sustainable forest management, saying: “By raising awareness through events like World Environment Day, we can work towards a more sustainable and environmentally conscious future for our planet.”
The District Environmental Health Officer spoke about sanitation as a major issue and mentioned areas as breeding grounds for mosquitoes in the municipality and entreated citizens to take sanitation as something dear to their heart because cleanness is next to Godliness.
He said if we want to combat many of the communal diseases which are killing people, then we must take cleaning of our surroundings very serious.
As part of the radio discussion program, the audience were also given the chance to phone in and ask questions or contribute to the discussion.
NEWREG is a network of 15 women Associations from five administrative regions in Ghana who have come together for a bigger voice to promote women’s rights and environmental justice including climate change awareness creation.
Livelihood & Environment Ghana (LEG), on the other hand, is a research and advocacy not-for-profit and non-governmental organization established in 2004 to promote environmental sustainability, community rights and minerals governance, sustainable livelihoods for rural and marginalized people in society particularly women, girls, youth and persons with disability for social change.
Richard Kofi Boahen | Modern Ghana
Source: https://www.modernghana.com/news/1320884/newreg-leg-embark-on-environmental-awareness-camp.html
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