More lands to be released to farmers along depleted forest reserve

Accra, Nov. 22, GNA - About 352.86 hectares of degraded lands have been released to 2,141 farmers located around the degraded forest along the Sui River Forest Reserve in the Sefwi Akontombra constituency for cultivation under a regulated system, Professor Dominic Fobih, Minister of Lands, Forestry and Mines, said in parliament on Wednesday. He said the performance of the participating farmers was found to be high and therefore there were plans to release an additional 400 hectares to them within the next three years.

The Minister was responding to a question from Mr Herod Cobbinah (NDC-Sefwi Akontombra) on plans to release farmlands and portions of the depleted Tano Satoma-Sui Forest Reserves to farmers for food crop production.

Answering another question on the relocation of the Accra Zoo, Prof. Fobih said government had released 1.2 billion cedis to rehabilitate and improve facilities at the Kumasi zoo to receive the animals from Accra as well as cater for their transportation cost. "Because of the amount involved in the exercise, we had to go strictly by the Public Procurement Act (Act663)." "The work has been divided into two lots to speed up its completion for the animals to be moved to Kumasi by the end of November, 2006," he added.

He said in the meantime, boxes for the transportation of the animals were being constructed in Accra and immediately any of the cages in Kumasi was ready, the respective animals would be taken there. Mr Ofosu Asamoah, (NPP-Kade) wanted to know why the animals could not be relocated to the game reserve at Shai Hills, to free them from the cages.

The Minister said it was considered but the environment was unsuitable because the animals were domesticated and it would not be proper to leave them in the wild.

In answer to another question on plans to develop the Bia National Park in the Western Region to attract tourists, Prof. Fobih said a management plan to harness the eco-tourism potentials of the park has been completed since 2002.

"Implementation of the management plan began in 2004 and is expected to be completed in 2009."