Mr. James Ware, Upper East Regional Director of Forestry Commission, has decried the alarming rate of deforestation in the Region and called on communities close to forest reserves not to misuse the vegetative cover as that would adversely affect the environment.
Mr Ware said trees were for life and therefore continuous felling of them resulted in food insecurity, environmental degradation and facilitated climate change.
He noted the efforts most environmental and civil society organisations put into growing trees, and said some of the planted trees ended up poorly because of acts such as burning, poor rain fall and destruction by animals.
The Regional Director, who was speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Bolgatanga, expressed worry at the increasing spate of galamsey activities, which he said contributed to destruction of trees in reserve areas and, in some cases, land reserved for infrastructural purposes.
He said the Forestry Commission placed high priority on the protection of reserved areas and tackling of deforestation, adding that personnel of the Commission were on the lookout to ensure that perpetrators of acts of felling trees were brought to book.
He condemned the annual phenomenon of bush burning in the Region and urged communities to be vigilant in ensuring they protected the environment.
He called for a fire tender, as a standby resource at the Region's Commission to augment efforts in reducing incidence of burning in reserve areas.
Source: GNA
| Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. |
