Govt committed to sustainable management of environment- Minister

Accra, April 6, GNA - Government on Monday reiterated its commitment to the sustainable and integrated management of the environment. "Government therefore recognizes the need to sensitize all stakeholders, especially the youth, to ensure that they give such issues due attention".

Mr. Alex Tettey-Enyo, Minister of Education made the call at the opening of a regional workshop on wildlife clubs of Africa. The workshop, organized within the framework of the Birdlife Wildlife Clubs project has participants drawn from 17 African countries and has the Theme; "Linking African children to the global conservation community-for the benefit of nature and people".

Mr. Tettey-Enyo said Ghana would avail itself of the opportunity to

expand the activities and programs of Wildlife clubs in basic and high schools to bring about effective interface between the schools and the communities in addressing issues of the environment. He called on civil society organizations to engage in improving their communication facilities to enable children in wildlife clubs throughout Africa to exchange experiences with other children as a way to help arrest the pitfalls in environmental conservation.

Mr.Tettey-Enyo said the long term impact of the results of the project if well executed would be immense, in raising awareness about biodiversity and sustainable development among African children. He pledged his support for the project and challenged his colleague ministers in the related sectors to do the same. Dr. Chiambeng Paulinus Ngeh, Sub-Regional Coordinator of Birdlife International said the contribution of ecotourism to the country's economy was growing steadily.

He said, in spite of its importance, wildlife was subjected to numerous and varying threats and pressures such as, deforestation, bushfires illegal harvesting and mining. Dr.Ngeh noted that the workshop on wildlife clubs falls under its aim to empower people to enhance and sustain biodiversity on which about seventy percent of people in local communities depend for their livelihood.

He said the overall objective of the workshop was to lay the foundation on which the platform for the regional integration of the wildlife clubs will be developed. The project involves a two year grant of 286,360 Euros as support from the Jensen Foundation in the UK, to bring together scientists and environmentalists from all over Africa to work together to create awareness and educate the youth on biodiversity conservation. It is based on a need assessment carried out in 2004 among the Birdlife partner NGOs in Africa who are involved in providing environmental education to children by means of wildlife clubs which is focused on the protection of the environment. 6 April 09