By
Anthony Apubeo, GNA
Bolgatanga, June 17,
GNA – Stakeholders working on the environment at a workshop held in Bolgatanga
have called on government and communities to adopt the Farmer Managed Natural
Re-generation (FMNR) method to protect and re-green the environment and forest
reserves.
They said the
environment was constantly degraded and lost its natural resources, and so
there was the need for them to employ concerted efforts to protect it.
The FMNR, is being
implemented by World Vision Ghana (WVG) in some Districts including; the
Talensi, Garu, Kassena- Nankana and Bawku West Districts in the Upper East Region.
It adopts
centuries-old methods of woodland management, called coppicing and pollarding
to produce continuous tree growth, systematic re-generation and management of
tree shrubs from trees, roots, and seeds.
The low cost and
sustainable land restoration technique involves the selection of sprouts from
the stumps of a tree and decision on how many stems should be allowed to grow
on each stump and branches pruned off at regular intervals to stimulate
straighter and faster growth.
The workshop brought
together representatives from the beneficiary farmer groups from 20 communities
in the Talensi District, staff of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA),
Municipal and District Planning Officers, Forestry Commission staff, the
Forestry Research Institute of Ghana, the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS),
and the media among others.
The stakeholders
identified indiscriminate bushfires, overgrazing, felling of trees for
agriculture, domestic and commercial purposes and unguided human activities as
causes of environmental degradation and called for pragmatic measures.
Mr Stephen Edem
Akpalu, Research Scientist at the Forestry Research Institute of Ghana
disclosed that Ghana was ranked third behind Togo and Nigeria in Africa in tree
losses and indicated that only 20 percent of the country’s forestry remained.
“Ghana losses about
20,000 hectors of trees annually and the country losses about two to five
percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) through tree loses.
The country has also
lost about 70 percent of wildlife some few decades ago and more than 80 percent
of rural dwellers in Sub-Sahara Africa depend on medicinal foods.” The Research
Scientist announced.
He indicated that
trees played critical roles in the socio-economic development of each country
and the continuous loss of the forest reserves and other plants could lead to
loss of soil fertility leading to low crop yields, destroyed biodiversity and
eco-system of the forest, loss of water reservation, adverse climate change,
inconsistent rainfall pattern.
Mr Akpkalu stated
that trees had multiple purposes ranging from agriculture, air quality,
provision of income through the sale of the produce from plants such as
moringa, mangoes among others.
The Research
Scientist therefore advocated the
adoption of the FMNR by communities and farmers, institutions and enforcement
of environmental protection by-laws and training on bushfire management to
combat bushfires.
Mr Timothy Anan-Bay
Akanpabadai, the WVG Northern Region Operations Manager said, “it is easier to
practise FMNR because the people would be introduced to its practices to
replicate it in other places.”
Mr Samuel Abasiba,
the Talensi District Manager of FMNR, showcasing the gains the District had
made through the implementation of the FMNR technique, said the involvement of
traditional leaders and the District Assembly was key to achieving success as
they wielded much influence in the communities.
Whilst urging
government to subsidize Liquefied Petroleum Gas to help reduce the demand for
charcoal, he called for attitudinal change and the development of positive
mind-set towards protecting the environment.
GNA