Ashanti Region faces imminent water shortage

Ashanti Region will soon be hit with water crisis, following activities and encroachment on river Offin headwaters forest reserve, Mr. Samuel Afari Dartey, the Chief Executive of Forestry Commission (FC) has observed.

He said: “Sooner than we expect, there will be water Shortage in the Ashanti Region if steps are not taken to nip this problem in the bud”.

The FC boss revealed there has been encroachment in some parts of the Mampong Scarp Reserve and bemoaned that some residents are illegally farming on the buffer zones of River Offin, which is impeding the flow of water in the reserve.

He attributed the looming menace to occasional cases of illegal logging which has led to the exposure of water sources to the vagaries of the weather.

The FC top executive indicated the River Offin headwaters Forest Reserve, which is located in the Mampong scarp, plays a very important role in the supply of portable drinking water to residents of Kumasi and its environs.

He explained that the Offin River takes its source from the Forest Reserve and flows till it gets to the Barekese Dam, where it is treated for onward distribution to the homes and offices of residents of Kumasi and its environs.

On water shortages in the country, Mr. Afari Dartey attributed the situation to the fact that water bodies have dried up.

Climaxing the 5th Forestry Week and Greening Ghana Day celebration at Agona in the Sekyere South District of the Ashanti Region under the theme: “Forest and Water for sustaining Lives and Livelihoods,” Mr. Dartey said “Areas which hitherto, have been declared as riparian buffer zones of the river where logging, road construction or any other development were prohibited to ensure that water bodies are protected are no longer in existence because all the trees have been felled”.

The United Nations has set aside a week to celebrate Forestry and as such FC, which regulate the utilisation of forest and wildlife resources and ensure the conservation of and management of those resources as well as the co-ordination of policies staged a week-long program to celebrate forestry thereby educating Ghanaians on the need to conserve our forestry.

Mr. Dartey advised Ghanaians to spread the tree planting gospel to every nook and cranny of the country saying restoring our degraded landscape is a collective responsibility.

“I am imploring every Ghanaians to save our water bodies in their own small ways because water is an irreplaceable commodity and a very essential component in everybody’s life”, he added.

He expressed worry about the growing cases of forestry officials who are murdered in line of duty at an alarming rate.

Mr. Victor Sesi, a forest guard at Agordeke Camp in Kalapa Resource Reserve in the Ho West District was gunned down on May 8, 2016, by poachers, when he and two of his colleagues, were on their normal duties.

The poachers, who had shot and killed two duikers and pangolin, managed to run away leaving their catch behind.

Updating the media on the forest reserves in Ghana, Mr. Dartey indicated that most of the 293 forest reserves covering an estimated area of 2.4 million hectares and 23 wildlife protection areas, covering about 1.34 million hectares in Ghana serves as an important component of water sheds and in most cases, sources are or headwaters of important rivers .

“Most forest reserves across the country were created and gazetted primarily to protect river and stream catchment areas or corridors ,with many named after the rivers they were created to protect”, he stated.

He mentioned some of the reserves namely: Fure River Forest (Asankrangwa), Yoyo and Boin river forest reserve (Enchi), Pompo Headwaters and Jeni River Forest reserve in the (Bekwai) forest District protects the river Jeni and Pomop respectively.

Addressing the grand durbar, Mr. Andy Osei Okrah, the Deputy Ashanti Regional minister charged FC to enforce its laws and also galvanise the energies and resourcefulness of the youth in forest areas to take up the challenge of re-afforestation in their catchment areas.

Mr. Okrah advised the FC to be guided by the traditional customary laws that seek to protect and preserve our forest land and water bodies.

“Nananom can help by enforcing these customary laws since they have legal backing of the constitution per article 11 of the 1992 Constitution.

According to deputy Ashanti Regional minister, the gravity of deforestation demands all hands on deck to mitigate the issue.

Nana Frimpong Amakye Ababio, the paramount chief of Agona Traditional area who presided over the function advised Ghanaians to take environmental issues serious especially our forest and water bodies. He reminded the FC to be guided by the ethics of their outfit.