Chief appeals for pragmatic policies

Pampaso (B/A), Jan 31, GNA - Barima Oppong Yaw Boabasa Ababio, Gyasehene of Dormaa traditional council, has called on civil society groups, as well as governmental and non-governmental organizations, to implement pragmatic policies to salvage water bodies from degradation. The chief made the call during an interview with the Ghana News Agency at Dormaa-Ahenkro, following public outcry against bushfires and other human activities and their negative impact on the environment in the district.

Barima Oppong, who is Chief of Pampaso, near Dormaa-Ahenkro, noted that the drying up of water bodies due to human activities had made the district to suffer tremendously in the past years. He blamed the situation partly on farmers engaged in dry season vegetable cultivation who cleared the banks of river, lakes, ponds and streams to make their farms.

"Although the practice offers employment to the people, it must be done in a manner that would not compromise the water bodies," he said and called for the intensification of forestation along water bodies. The chief called for strict adherence to traditional rules that sought to protect water bodies, sacred graves and forests, noting that a multi-sectoral approach would be the best antidote to the raging fires in the district, especially during the harmattan season. He deplored the indiscriminate manner in which hunters and smokers handled fires during the dry season and advised both the young and the old to behave responsibly.