Minister calls for German support to rehabilitate waterfall

Ho, Jan. 25, GNA - Mr Kofi Dzamesi, Volta Regional Minister, has appealed to the German government to help rehabilitate the Agumatsa (Wli) Waterfall which has become a major tourist attraction in the Volta Region. The waterfall is the highest in West Africa sub-region, he said. Mr Dzamesi made the appeal in an address read on his behalf at the handing over of the Forest Protection and Resource Use Management (FORUM) project, sponsored by Germany, to the Forestry Commission in Ho on Thursday.

The 15-year FORUM project, which was conceived under the bilateral co-operation between Ghana and Germany, cost 30 million Euros. It sought to inculcate sustainable and collaborative forest management practices in selected communities. Under the project, some 14,212 hectares of degraded forests were rehabilitated while 5,907 hectares of woodlots were established, bringing direct benefits to 10,000 people through alternative livelihood schemes in the region. Mr Dzamesi said the FORUM project in the Agumatsa area would greatly enhance the natural beauty around the Wli waterfall, increase its tourism appeal, create jobs, improve incomes and better standard of living of the people and link them directly to the protection of the waterfall.

He thanked the German government for the FORUM project and gave assurance that the Volta Regional Co-ordinating Council, the Forestry Commission and other stakeholders would do ensure its protection. Professor Nii Ashie Kotey, Chief Executive Officer of the Forestry Commission, said the greatest honour the Commission could bestow on the German government for the FORUM project would be to protect its gains and replicate its methods and lessons elsewhere in the country. Ms Marita Brommelmeier, Country Director of the GTZ, said climate change due to deforestation and its adverse effects on livelihood required international collaboration and local action to deal with. She said fixing the problem was not so much a technical one but people involvement through change management and collaborative learning processes to increase ownership. 25 Jan. 08