EPA combats desertification

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is calling for multifaceted approach to combat desertification especially in the three regions of the north of Ghana.

Despite government’s attempt to stop charcoal burning by freely distributing Liquefied Petroleum Gas cylinders in some rural communities, desertification is on the rise in Northern Ghana.

It is against this backdrop the EPA is deepening its collaboration with other major stakeholders to combat the danger.

Ahead of the 2015 World Day to Combat Desertification, the EPA in partnership with the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation organized a day’s stakeholder’s forum on desertification in Tamale.

Christened as the sixth National Desertification Forum, it was on the theme, “Invest in sustainable land and water management and your food security is assured.”

The event brought together technocrats from various departments, lecturers, farmers and civil society groups to brainstorm and proffer solutions to combat desertification.

Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Mahama Ayariga in a speech read on his behalf said, “The process of land degradation in Ghana is increasingly being recognized as a key development issue because of its impact on the productive capacity of land: In Ghana, rural households are the most affected because of their heavy dependence on natural resources for their livelihoods.”

He said government was committed to conserve non-degraded areas for sustainable mass food production.

“The Government of Ghana is making efforts to avoid land degradation in non-degraded areas, restore soil fertility in degraded lands, avoid deforestation and adopt drought preparedness policies: importantly, land use decisions are being made as well as official investments including extension services for smallholder farmers and technology to support environmentally sustainable mass food production.”

Mahama Ayariga affirmed that government under the auspices of the World Bank was implementing the Sustainable Land and Water Management project in the Northern Savannah Ecological Zone.

He remarked, “The ministry is spearheading the sustainable tree growing and nurturing of about 30 million trees to reverse land degradation situation in Ghana which is demonstrating improved sustainable land and water management practices aimed at reducing land degradation and enhancing maintenance of biodiversity in selected micro-watersheds and these activities are being scaled and we hope to cover the nation.”

Executive Director of the EPA, Daniel Amlalo lauded the global theme for the 2015 World Day to Combat Desertification dubbed, “Attainment of food security for all through sustainable food systems.”

“Food security is not only a matter of food production and distribution: it requires sustainable ecosystem management, research, education and the application of appropriate technologies,” he underscored.

Daniel Amlalo observed, “Practices that reduce nutrients in the soil, limit carbon sequestration, degrade the topsoil and ultimately reduce the productivity of the land and its water retention capacity have long term impact on the ecosystem and economic development: to respond to this challenge, well managed land resources can increase agricultural productivity and support long term food security.”

He recalled that the EPA and its allies between 2009 and 2015 implemented the Ghana Environmental Management Project (GEMP) aimed at supporting Ghana’s National Action Plan to Combat Desertification and Drought with support from the Canadian Government.

He explained, “The five-year project was aimed at strengthening Ghanaian institutions and rural communities to enable them to reverse degradation and desertification trends in the Northern, Upper East and Upper West Regions and to adopt sustainable land and water management technologies that improve food security and reduce poverty.”

Northern Regional Director of the EPA, Abu Iddrisu described desertification as a human catastrophe which required rapid response.

He posited that the region was inundated with practices contributing to desertification which affected human livelihood.

Abu Iddrisu bemoaned that climate change had changed the rain regime in Northern Ghana.

He said attitudinal change was the panacea to manage and sustain land and water resources.

He reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to enforce laws on environmental protection within his jurisdiction.

At the forum, there were presentations by resource persons including Professor Charles Quansah of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kingsley Amoako of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA), Dr. Boasiako Ohene Antwi of the Soil Research Institute, Paulina Addy of WIAD-MOFA and Professor Gordana Kranjac-Berisavijevic of the University of Development Studies (UDS).

The presentations focused on topics such as investing in sustainable land and water management practices to ensure climate change adaptation and mitigation for resilience in agriculture and food security in the Northern Savannah Zone of Ghana, integrated watershed management planning, the surest way for food security, economic growth, social benefits and environmental sustainability, how soils can be managed sustainability and equitably to ensure food security-the role of the CSIR-SRI and ensuring sustainable food system to increase women’s income in rural areas and ensure household food security-the role of WIAD.

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By: Abdul Karim Naatogmah/citifmonline.com/Ghana