The Catholic Bishops Conference has advocated the immediate abolition of surface mining because of its obvious harmful social and environmental consequences.
According to them, they commend traditional rulers who are making great efforts to protect the environment.
“Pollution is something that stares us in the face every day. Air, water and noise pollution is increasing at an alarming rate today, so much so that it appears to have been taken for granted. However, its harmful effects are as alarming as they are subtle. Air pollution, for example, occurs with the addition of harmful chemicals to the earth’s atmosphere,” it said.
In a communiqué issued by the Catholic Bishops Conference during an end of their annual plenary assembly held at Sefwi Wiaso in the Western Region, the bishops said mining as an activity has been going on in the country for a long time.
“But regrettably we cannot affirm that the advantages derived from the mining activities are in any way commensurate with their disastrous impact on the natural environment,” they said.
The bishops noted “as pastors, we also want to single out for attention the worrying development of mining in forest reserves. It is gradually becoming the trend for the government and some traditional rulers to grant foreign mining companies the concession to mine in forest reserves.”
The Catholic Bishops further expressed concern about the recent introduction and widespread use of agro-chemicals and harmful weedicides and pesticides in view of the negative effects on the soil, plants, animals, human beings, lakes, underground water and rivers.
They said that it is very sad to note that many of the rivers, for instance, the Ankobra, Birim and the Pra, among others, are no longer potable due to excessive pollution.
“We also deplore the ever-increasing pollution in the air, the making of excessive noise that can be injurious to our health and the indiscriminate littering with plastics and refuse. In this connection, we commend the efforts of refuse collecting agencies in our cities, towns and villages,” they said.
Turning their attention on deforestation, the Catholic Bishops said it has taken an enormous toll through the ages in environmental damage, economic deterioration and human misery.
“For example, the escalation of prices of food items in the country is often due to shortages in agricultural production as a result of poor soil fertility and erratic rainfall patterns. The world market prices of oil and gas continue to rise, thereby forcing people to switch demand to charcoal and firewood as sources of domestic energy which leads to the depletion of our forests,” they said.
However they stated that “we are alarmed at the rapid rate of deforestation in the Western Region where we have held our conference, as a result of excessive lumbering of timber”.
It said that it is estimated that when one mature tree is felled and conveyed out of the forest, a good number of non-economic trees die in the process.
“At present, according to reliable sources, the forest cover of the country is only 1.2 million hectares, down from 8.2 million hectares in 1957. The annual deforestation rate is 65,000 hectares per year and yet there are numerous officially licensed timber companies in addition to the illegal “chain saw” operators still at work in our forests”, it said.
“From the foregoing, it becomes clear that the greatest challenge facing humanity and for that matter Ghanaians, is that of safeguarding our environment. Scripture is emphatic: “God saw everything that He had made, and indeed, it was very good”
On the Oil and gas find, the Bishops said God has blessed Ghana with many resources. “Apart from cocoa and timber, our country abounds in minerals like gold, diamonds, bauxite and manganese”.
“Furthermore, our country is now blessed with the discovery of oil and gas in commercial quantities. We would like to commend the government for allowing debate on the oil find and how best Ghana as a country can maximize its share. We further urge the government to factor the real concerns of the people into the contracts with the oil companies and the management of the oil revenues for the benefit of all,” they said.
It suggested that to ensure transparency and accountability, oil companies and the government need to develop the culture of publishing regularly all information regarding contracts, exploration and planned production activities as well as annual audited accounts by reputable audit firms of their fiscal activities.
“As shepherds, we are calling on and encouraging Faith-Based and Civil Society Organizations and all well-meaning Ghanaians to see it as an obligation to ensure good practices and just operation in this new petroleum industry,” they said, adding that Christians and especially Catholics in leadership and responsible positions have a major duty to influence government policies in respect of equitable, transparent and responsible management and utilization of petroleum wealth in Ghana in the interest of the common good.
On the international community and donor community, the bishops said it is surprising and painful that sections of the International Community enforce best practices elsewhere but relax or even ignore these requirements when dealing with African countries, and instead connive with unscrupulous elements to defraud unsuspecting countries.
“We urge the International Community to insist on transparent, fair and accountable processes in the exploration and production of the oil as well as the management of revenues for the creation of wealth to enhance the quality of life of all people in the country,” they said.
They said the protection of creation cannot be complete if the human person is not accorded the protection and dignity that he or she deserves.
“The human person is the centre of creation and indeed the protector of creation. The rights of the human person must therefore be upheld,” they said.
They added “In this connection, we observe that there can be no peace in our country if the human person is not respected and if we do not put an end to the culture of insults that is so rampant, especially in the political arena”.
The bishops said the Ghanaian’s traditional respect for elders and people in authority seems to be no longer upheld.
“We indeed pride ourselves of our democratic achievements, and justifiably so, but it would be wrong to perceive democracy as a licence to violate the dignity of others.”
They called on Ghanaians in the interest of peaceful coexistence, to desist from the culture of insults, which militates against the growth of democracy in our dear country.
They stressed that while acknowledging the good work being done by our security agencies to protect us, we are still unhappy about the spate of armed robbery in our country and encourage the security agencies to intensify their efforts.
The bishops said however, “if we destroy creation, we destroy ourselves. Let us endeavour, in all that we do, to protect creation and thereby safeguard our own future.”
They concluded by asking for God’s blessings upon all Ghanaians by praying that the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit may be with you all (cf. 2 Cor. 13:14).
