Day against desertification and drought held at Bawku

Bawku (U/E), June 19, GNA - Mr. Stephen Asamoah-Boateng, the Minister of Local Government, Rural Development and Environment, has appealed to Municipal and District assemblies and traditional authorities to support civil groups, schools and individuals committed to forestation to combat desertification and drought. He said they should review laws on environmental practices and implement proactive measures to reverse the decline in environmental degradation.

Mr. Asamoah-Boateng said this in a speech read for him at the national celebration of World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought at Bawku.

It was on the theme "Desertification and climate change: One Global Challenge". It was to draw attention on the potential implications of global desertification and climatic change on poverty and sustainable development.

He said in Africa desertification and climate change had contributed to poverty and that drought was the real threats to human existence Mr. Asamoah-Boateng said the day should remind Ghanaians about food security, conflicts on land use and ownership. He said realizing the effects of desertification in northern Ghana in 1953, the Soil Conservation and Land Planning Ordinance of 1953 was an attempt to address issues of deserts and dry lands through innovative environment planning policies.

The minister said irrigation schemes in the three northern regions were seriously threatened and that if no attention was made to conserve rainwater, food security could be compromised. Mr. Asamoah-Boateng said Ghana, as a signatory to United Nations Convection to combat desertification, prepared a national active plan to mitigate the effects of drought and was approved in 2003. He said the objective was to place emphasis on environmentally sound and sustainable integrated local development programmes for drought-prone semi-arid and arid areas based on participatory mechanism. He said Ghana has also ratified the United Nations Framework Convention of Climate Charge and has acceded to the Kyoto Protocol to signify to the world it commitment to a clean environment. Mr. Abdul-Rahman Gumah, the Bawku Municipal Chief Executive, called for efforts to combat desertification and urged Ghanaians to undertake tree-planting exercises seriously.

He said the impact of bad environmental practices on the socio-economic development of the country was devastating and needed urgent attention to remedy the situation. Mr. Jonathan Allotey, the Executive Director of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), said the management of natural resources was vital to the livelihoods of communities and called on community leaders to incorporate aspects of environmental issues into their development planning agendas.

He expressed worry over the non-incorporation of dry lands and environment issues in the Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS) National Development Planning Framework (NDPF). Naba Asigri Abugrago Azoka II, Paramount Chief of Bawku, expressed worry over the decline in forest reserves and said this was having serious effects on farming in the area.