From Michael Boateng, Bomaa
In their quest to support the government in the fight against illegal chainsaw operations to protect the forest reserves of the country, the chiefs and people of Bomaa in the Tano North District have seized tonnes of illegal lumber worth thousands of cedis.
The Brong-Ahafo Regional Minister, Kwaku Asomah-Cheremeh, visited the chiefs and people of Bomaa to commend them for their tremendous support in the government’s quest in fighting illegal mining (galamsey) and chainsaw operations in the country.
Mr. Asomah-Cheremeh charged chiefs and people in communities where there are forest vegetations to eschew personal interest and think about the future of their generations, and the effects of deforestation and destruction of the environment, and support the campaign against illegal chainsaw, galamsey and other negative environmental practices.
According to him, the forest vegetation of the country is depleting at an alarming rate through illegal logging by chainsaw operations and other harmful environmental practices.
The Regional Minister noted that the fight against illegal chainsaw operations was a collective responsibility and should not be a sole responsibility of government and its agencies.
According to him, it was unfortunate that some traditional leaders are apathetic to the protection of the forest and environment while a few individuals destroy it for their personal gain.
“We all have to adopt a positive attitude towards the protection of the environment to salvage it from unscrupulous persons who care less about the future,” he stressed.
Mr. Asomah-Cheremeh lamented that the country’s forest reserves were under siege, and the unfortunate thing was that the unscrupulous persons, who have invaded the various reserves, transport the illegal sawn lumber to neighbouring Burkina Faso, while the country gains little as revenue.
“If we fail to put stringent measures in place urgently to protect the remaining forests, which are under siege, Ghana will soon lose all her forest vegetation, which will contribute to storms ripping off roofs of buildings, incursion of harsh weather conditions, and scarcity of quality sources of water and food,” he said.
As means of motivating the chiefs and people of Bomaa to continue with their efforts in clamping down illegal chainsaw operations in the Bosom Kese Forest Reserve, the Regional Minister allocated one-third of the confiscated lumber to the Bomaa Traditional Council to be used for projects in the community, another one-third was allocated to the Tano North District Assembly to be used to provide furniture for schools in the district, with the remaining going to meet the request of the Brong-Ahafo Regional Library Board for the provision of shelves at the Sunyani Regional Library.
He personally gave the youth who were instrumental in the confiscation of the lumber GH¢2,000, and promised to provide enough security for them in their efforts.
The Akobeahene of Bomaa Traditional Area, Nana Poku Nyantakyi, bemoaned that the rate at which the forest was being destroyed by some illegal chainsaw operators was alarming, and that it had become a major concern of the Chief of Bomaa, Barima Opoku Agyemang, who has, since, summoned all his sub-chiefs to strategise on how to fight the canker.
He said Barima Opoku Agyemang and his delegation of sub-chiefs went to the regional office of the Forestry Commission for directives on how best they could assist in the fight against illegal chainsaw operation in the Bomsom Kese Forest reserve.
According to Nana Poku Nyantakyi, to sustain the fight against illegal chainsaw operations in the area, the youth must be supported with logistics and security, since the illegal chainsaw operators are well-armed and sometimes fight them with cutlasses and guns.
He hinted that the confiscated lumber was only about 25% of the total lumber left in the forest which had been packed and ready to be transported to Techiman, but with the support of the Regional Minister and security personnel, the lumbers in the forest could be retrieved.
From Michael Boateng, Bomaa In their quest to support the government in the fight against illegal chainsaw operations to protect the forest reserves of the country, the chiefs and people of Bomaa in the Tano North District have seized tonnes of illegal lumber worth thousands of cedis. The Brong-Ahafo Regional Minister, Kwaku Asomah-Cheremeh, visited […] Read Full Story
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