Ghana to lose forests in 40 years

Ghana risks losing its forests within the next 40 years through improper environmental practices, Mr Desmond Doameti, an official of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has said.

Speaking at a seminar on Wednesday, he said the threat could be averted through population control, land reforms, regulation of natural resource exploitation, sustainable agriculture and reforestation.

The Evangelical Presbyterian (EP) Church, Ghana organised the two-day seminar for teachers, chiefs, assembly members and NGOs under the theme: "Sustainable development, the role of the District Assembly".

Topics treated were Management of Wetlands and Environmental Degradation.

Mr Doameti said Ghana's forest cover had reduced from eight million hectares at the beginning of the last century to 1.2 million hectares by 1998 through human activities such as bush fires, mining and physical development.

Mr Emmanuel Nyonyo, a resource person at the seminar, who spoke on Wetlands, said these were important natural features necessary for protecting flooding, cleaning water bodies of dirt and breeding grounds for aquatic and other creatures.

He warned that the abuse of wetlands through irresponsible garbage disposal, filling for constructional purposes among others, would erase the good environmental benefits from such water bodies.

Mr Linus Koffie, Ketu District Chief Executive said sustainable development required a balance in social and economic development with available natural resources.

He said man's role should be to protect the environment so that present developmental needs did not compromise the requirements of generations as indicated during the United Nations Conference on Environment in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil in 1992.

Mr Koffie, therefore, urged participants to become advocates against bushfires, poor agricultural practices and misuse of water resources.