A Rocha, an environmental conservation organization, has launched a campaign for the elevation of the Atewa Forest Reserve to a National Park.
According to the organization, the menace and impact of galamsey has affirmed the urgent need to secure Ghana’s natural heritage and water resources for the wellbeing of present and future generations.
They added that it is imperative for Ghana to prioritize “green landscape” development strategies and build socio-economic resilient frameworks to sustain its development agenda.
“We need to secure Atewa Forest against all odds and generate public independent actions to encourage government to reverse bauxite mining plans and ensure the long-term sustainability for the forest landscape”, a statement by the A Rocha has stated.
Speaking at the launch, spokesperson of the Concerned Citizens of Atewa, Dr. Francis Amo, said “if the nation is not conscious of preserving its natural resources, it will have future consequences. If we are not careful as a nation, very few years ahead of us, we are going to be water-stressed.
So, we are urging government to do what is best, and what is best is the elevation of the Atewa Forest Reserve to a National Park. What we want is for government to leave a lasting legacy we can hold onto, and we believe that a national park with a surrounding buffer zone which the economic analysis itself has said is the best, should be the one that will regulate any activity within that area”.
Outdooring a publication by A Rocha on the Atewa Forest Reserve at the exhibition, a Retired professor from the Department of Plant and Environmental Biology at the University of Ghana, Professor Alfred Oteng Yeboah, said “going by the adage ‘Science informs policy’, expectations are that the publication should provide baseline information for policy formation especially in the larger discussion of climate change, biodiversity and land degradation”.
The Deputy Dutch Ambassador, Katja Lasseu, iterated their commitment and interest in sustaining a green environment.
“As the world commits to the Sustainable development goals, our effort will greatly depend on how to secure and manage our forest areas. We are very interested in exploring development pathways that will not throw questions into the systems and environment.”
Partners at the exhibition include Adovacate for Biodiversity Conservation, RainForest Trust, National Committee of the Netherlands, Herp Ghana, and others.
In 2018, the Ghanaian government signed a $2billion dollar deal with a Chinese Engineering firm, Sinohydro Group Limited.
The deal was described as a barter between the two countries, with Ghana exchanging refined bauxite for infrastructural projects by the Chinese government.
The announcement by the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori Atta, aroused a lot of conversations, controversies and questions.
The authenticity of the deal was queried, especially by the Minority in Parliament.
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By: Bervelyn Longdon | citinewsroom.com | Ghana | [email protected] |
The post Elevate Atewa Forest to a National Park – A Rocha appeared first on Citi Newsroom.
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