AU meeting agenda must consider environmental issues

Accra, June 30, GNA- Mr. Theo Anderson, Director, Friends of the Earth-Ghana (FoE-Ghana) has appealed to the African Union members meeting in the country to include issues relating to the environment on their agenda.

In a press statement issued on Saturday, he said in as much as Friends of the Earth-Ghana recognized Africa's political unification as a worthy cause, the AU must not ignore the pressing environmental problems that the continent is currently facing which underlie its stability and unification.

He said it was important to note that Africa's political viability and economic prosperity, including its ability to integrate into the global economy, flowed from its natural resources such as forests, fisheries, clean water and oil and mineral deposits. He added that currently the continent is beset with a host of very serious environmental challenges which include land degradation, water pollution and scarcity, air pollution, desertification, among others.

Mr. Anderson said all these problems carry profoundly worrying implications for peace and stability and must therefore take a central position in the AU discussions.

The Director said the primary units of society were the community and the household, and ignoring the linkages of these basic national and regional contexts brings great detriment to the unification plans.