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Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, the Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, has said the continuous destruction of the environment is self-inflicted and must be halted.

“When we destroy the environment we destroy ourselves. We rely on nature for our critical needs including medicine, food, air and water for free, yet we show signs of ungratefulness by destroying nature through activities such as deforestation, mining, air pollution and improper waste management,” he said.

The Minister said it is the sacred duty of all to take steps to protect and conserve the environment by growing trees, using water wisely and disposing of refuse especially plastics appropriately.

Speaking at the opening of the Ninth Biennial Supreme Subordinate Convention of Knights of Saint John International and Ladies’ Auxiliary (KSJI), Prof Frimpong-Boateng said nature does not need humans but man needs nature to survive.
The three-day convention, which is on the theme “Our Environment, Our Heritage: The Role of Civil Society (KSJI) in its Preservation,” seeks to review the activities of KSJI and plan for the future.

Prof Frimpong-Boateng said due to love for money, some people are resorting to harmful practices such as preserving salted fish with formalin, a chemical used to preserve dead bodies and using pesticide in the palm wine business to pollute the environment and harm the health of people.

As part of steps by the government to conserve the environment, the Minister said that it is implementing climate change programmes to promote renewable energy, afforestation and use of clean cooking stoves.

Prof Frimpong-Boateng said $ 20million has been invested in projects in the Savannah to provide access to water to farmers in the dry season, inputs supply and the promotion of sustainable land technologies.