CSOs/JOURNALISTS TO CAMPAIGN STRONGLY AGAINST BAD ENVIRONMENTAL PRACTISES IN GHANA

Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and environmental journalists in the three Northern Regions of Ghana have jointly committed themselves to intensify their campaign efforts on issues that have the tendency to destroy the planet earth.

The CSOs and the journalists belonging to a group called Media Advocates for Sustainable Environment (MASE), acknowledged that the North is more prone to the effects of climate change due to desertification which was fast approaching the Savannah areas whiles its farming activities also, are mostly rain-fed.

In a communiqué issued at the end of a three-day workshop organised in Tamale, the CSOs said they will provide for awareness creation and sensitisation on environmental issues so as to keep the public informed on the impact of their actions on the environment.

They also pledged to provide information on issues on the environment every month to the media and identify programmes/reporters they can work with on specific environmental issues to make their advocacy effective.

MASE members on the other hand, promised to give adequate attention to environmental issues, particularly those pertaining to the three regions, by giving them prominence, enough space/airtime and regular featuring.

They further committed themselves to take the personal initiative to research, investigate and expose wrong environmental practices such as surface mining, wrongful use of agro-chemicals, charcoal production, deforestation, among others, while advocating for better and sustainable environmental management practices, such as the use of solar energy, organic manure, and liquefied gas.

The livelihood of majority of Northerners largely depend on natural resources like wood, fruits, straw, water and among others, and therefore a depletion in these resources means suffering for about 2 million people across the three regions.

Indeed, over 30 percent of the total landmass of Ghana is seriously under the threat of desertification and the three Northern Regions are the most affected areas where residents experience four to five months rainfall in a year (June-September or October) and six to eight months of harmatan or dry season (October-May).

The CSOs and journalists finally resolved to get development programmes, like the Savannah Accelerated Development Authourity (SADA) initiative and Northern Rural Growth Programme (NRGP), to mainstream environmental issues into their activities by formulating clear measures and strategies to mitigate environmental challenges in their operational areas.

The workshop was aimed at building partnership among CSOs and members of MASE for advocacy on environment and natural resources issues in the Northern, Upper East and Upper West Regions.

It was also intended to take stock of what MASE members had reported so far since November 2009 when the association as formed and see how they could consolidate the gains they had made or eliminate their weaknesses. The programme was organised by Rural Media Network (RUMNET) and funded by KASA-Ghana.