WORLD ENVIRONMENTAL DAY OBSERVED AT SHAMA (PAGE 22)

THE Minister of Local Government, Rural Development and Environment, Mr Kwadwo Adjei-Darko, has entreated land owners, community groups, non-governmental organisations, religious bodies as well as industries and institutions to reflect on the essential role that the environment plays in their daily lives.
Such a move, he said, would enable them to be actively involved in the protection of the fragile environment.
Mr Adjei-Darko’s address was read on his behalf by his deputy, Alhaji Awudu Yeremiah, at the National World Environment Day celebration at Shama in the Western Region.
He said climate change was negatively affecting almost all sectors of the national economy.
He cited for instance, that currently there was evidence that Guinea, Sudan, the coastal savannah areas and transitional zones and even part of the forest regions of the country had experienced declines in rainfall, resulting in decreases in soil fertility, forests and livestock.
Ultimately, he said, those adverse impacts, if not well managed, would lead to socio-economic instability and unrest, increased rural-urban migration and potential increase in conflicts as a result of limited, arable lands for farming.
The theme for the national celebration was: “Plant a tree; reduce global warming,” while the global theme is: “Kick the habit; towards low carbon economies.”
Mr Adjei-Darko said an increase in floods, dust storms and other extreme weather events would result in damage to settlement and infrastructure and affect human health.
He noted that most of Ghana’s infrastructure, particularly industry and the two important harbours were along the coast, adding “potential sea-level rise, coastal erosion, salt water intrusion as well as flooding will have significant impact on these infrastructure and the coastal communities”.
According to him, climate change and desertification remained inextricably linked through land degradation and precipitation.
Mr Adjei-Darko added that climate change might exacerbate through alteration of spatial and temporal patterns in temperature, rainfall, solar insulation and winds.
He said potential increases in the frequency and severity of drought were likely to exacerbate desertification.
Conversely, he said, desertification aggravated carbon dioxide from cleared and dead vegetation and reduction of the carbon sequestration potential of deserted land.
Mr Adjei-Darko said an individual, organisation, business or a government, could take a number of steps to reduce carbon emissions, adding “this requires commitment through advocacy, energy efficient practices, switching to low carbon energy and offering or buying low carbon products and services”.
In addition, he said, other efforts at combating the menace of climate had been multi-sectoral in approach with the involvement of key government agencies, non-governmental organisations and community-based organisations in Ghana.
Those actions and measures, the minister said, included tree planting, creation of reserved areas, enactment of bye-laws, greater energy efficiency in buildings and appliances including light bulbs, switching to cleaner and renewable forms of electricity generation and transport systems.
“All these actions and measures are dependent on the authority of the traditional authorities,” he said.
The minister added that it was worth noting that under the President’s Special Initiative on Afforestation, the President in 2001, launched the national development programme aimed at planting 20,000 hectares of trees per year.
By 2003, he said, an estimated total area of 35,000 hectares of forest reserves had been planted using the modified Taungya system.
“ It is very important to note that this plantation development programme involved transplanting both indigenous and exotic tree species such as mahogany, teak and eucalyptus, among others,” Mr Adjei-Darko said.
He said critical areas of much attention in the programme, included the middle belt, the south-eastern coastal and northern savannah ecological zones where the threat of vegetation change and desertification were most critical.
The Western Regional Minister, Mr A.E. Amoah, appealed to the Electricity Company of Ghana to intensify its public education on the efficient use of energy.
The Ministry of Food and Agriculture, he said, must also intensify its extension work so that farmers would upgrade their knowledge on farming practices that promoted environmental protection.
He said, the Factories Inspectorate Division had to be on top of their job to ensure that industries/factories observed proper environmental protection standards in their operations.
The West Africa Gas Project, Mr Amoah stated, was one of the significant attempts by the government to address green house gas emissions, saying “government will continue to do all within its power to preserve the environment for posterity.”
The UNDP Resident Representative, Mr Daouda Toure, said Ghana had embarked upon a programme to support the government’s national development framework and assess the impact of climatic change on the national economy.
He said historical data from 1996 to 2000 showed a progressive and discernible rise in temperature and a concomitant decrease in rainfall in all agro-ecological zones in the country.
Based on this data, Mr Toure said, it was estimated that temperatures would continue to rise on the average of about 0.6 degrees, 2.0 degrees and 3.9 degrees centigrade by the year 2020, 2050, and 2080 respectively.
“Rainfall is also predicted to decrease on the average by 2.8 per cent, 10.9 per cent and 18.6 per cent by 2020, 2050, and 2080 respectively in a agro-ecological zones,” he said.
The Deputy Executive Director of Environment Protection Agency, Mr D. S. Amlalo, noted that climate change was becoming the defining issue in this era.
He added “it is, therefore, important for countries, companies and communities to acknowledge this fact and focus on reducing green house gas emissions.”
Mr Toure said forests played an important role in counteracting the impact of green house gases, and that an estimated 20 per cent of emissions contributing to climate change were the result of deforestation.
The Chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Environment, Science and Technology, Mr Kwame Owusu Frimpong, urged Ghanaians to ensure the sustainability of the environment.