EPA task lawyers to specialise in Environmental Law

Tamale, Oct. 5, GNA - Mr Abu Iddrisu, Northern Regional Director of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), has called on lawyers to specialise in environmental law to make them versatile with issues relating to the environment.

He said environmental law is a novelty, which requires specialisation by legal practitioners to be able deal with related cases from the global perspective, particularly the international conventions on the environment.

Mr Iddrisu made the call in Tamale on Monday during a three-day capacity building workshop on proposal writing in relation to Ghana Environmental Management Project (GEMP). The workshop is aimed at equipping the participants to be able to write good proposals to source for funding from the EPA for the implementation of the GEMP. Mr Iddrisu said currently there is no lawyer with specialisation in the field.

He called on Ghana Law School to integrate environmental law into the legal system to enable the country to be able to tackle offences relating to the environment holistically. Dr Raymond Babanawo, Project Technical Assistant of Ghana Environmental Conventions Co-ordinating Authority, urged institutions interested in participating in the GEMP's implementation process, to submit their proposals which must meet the specifications and standards of the project for consideration. He said the proposals would be vetted through the Districts and Regional Environmental Management Committees and then to the national level. Dr Babanawo said drought and desertification are among the priority areas of the GEMP project, which aims at reducing poverty through sustainable land management in the North.