“I’ll Not Grant Any Mining Company Access To Forest Reserves”– Inusah declares

Alhaji A.I. Fuseini

The Minister for Lands and Natural Resources Alhaji Abdulai Inusah Fuseini and Legislator for Tamale Central Constituency, has stated categorically that his ministry would not grant any mining company access to the country’s remaining forest reserves to exploit any underground natural resource.

According to him, the forest reserves had enormous potentials to promote eco-tourism if well developed, and emphasised that his ministry in partnership with the Tourism Ministry would develop some of those reserves to enable government generate enough income as well as create employment.   

Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of an event to mark this year’s World Forest Day and second Forestry Commission Week Celebration in Tamale, Alhaji Inusah Fuseini said, “I’ll not grant any mining company access to forest reserves. My ministry will not do that and I will not support it either. These reserves will be developed to promote eco-tourism and also to enable government generate enough income and create employment for people”. 

Responding to a question on why Ghana was signatory to an International Biodiversity Convention yet there was persistent bush-burning and other negative environmental practices in most parts of the country, the minister gave the assurance that such practices would soon cease.

He disclosed that, a rapid response unit had been established and trained to understand the importance of forest and the natural environment and why it must be protected, adding that, they had been equipped to move about and arrest anyone or group of persons engaging in any form of environmental degradation and with the assistance of well trained lawyers and police on forestry matters, expeditiously prosecute such persons.

Alhaji Inusah Fuseini also stated that, since 2001 to date, attempts made by governments through ambitious National Forest Plantation Development drive to increase the tree cover had made significant impacts on the landscapes, citing that, between 2010 to 2012 an area of 7,384 hectares was planted with assorted tree species by the Forest Services Division of the Forestry Commission in the Northern Region of Ghana. 8,974 people, he said were drawn from communities and engaged as hired labour to achieve this target.

The mining companies reportedly pushing for what many describe as "a misguided and outright dangerous plan" to mine in forest reserves include mining giants such as Chirano Goldmines Limited, Satellite Goldfields Limited, Nevsun/AGC, Birim/AGC and Newmont Ghana Gold Limited. 

The forest reserves that the mining firms are drooling over include the Subri River Forest Reserve, a Globally Significant Bio-diversity Area which is also the largest forest reserve in the country and a critical watershed between major rivers such as the Bonsa and Pra. Others are the Supuma Shelterbelt, Opon Mansi in the Western Region, Tano Suraw and Suraw Extension also in the Western Region, Ajenjua Bepo in the Eastern Region, Cape Three Points reserve in the Western Region and the Atewa Range forest reserve near Kibi in the Eastern Region which is also believed to be the most mineralised reserve in the country. 

The Atewa forest reserve which protects the head waters of the Birim, Densu and Ayensu rivers had been declared by various local and international conservation groups as a Special Biological Protection area as well as a Globally Significant Bio-diversity area. Experts disclose that Atewa contains many plants species such as two unusual kinds of tree ferns which are found nowhere else on earth as well as six endemic butterfly species. 

According to environmentalists, the reserves provide sanctuary for a stunning array of species listed as internationally threatened with extinction and these include 34 plants species, 13 mammals, 8 birds and two reptiles. Several species of forest monkeys, frogs, lizards, snakes and over 700 types of trees could also be found in the reserves. 

Also, these forest and game reserves contribute significant amount of revenue every year towards the development of the country as an estimated US$250 million dollars were earned from the sale of game (bush meat) alone.

Report say at the dawn of Ghana’s Independence in 1957, the country had 1.8 million hectares of lush green forests draping parts of the country and nourishing the land and teeming wildlife. But the fabric is now in tatters, slashed by loggers, mining companies, clearance for agriculture and bush fires. Currently, only about 1.6 million hectares of forest are left and annual deforestation rate is 2 percent or 65,000 hectares and an annual degradation cost 10 percent of the Gross Domestic Product. Mining concessions according to another research, had taken over 70 percent of the total land area resulting in the destruction of large tracts of land and the scramble for farmlands. Consequently, food production had decreased considerably, creating the conditions for increased food prices. 

Meanwhile, this year’s World Forest Day which was under the theme: “Protecting The Forest; My Responsibility”, aimed at sensitising the public so as to enable them rethink their attitude towards nature and its surroundings and cultivate the habit of tree growing as well as put a stop to bush burning, illegal chainsaw operation, bad farming practices and among others.

Two Communities in West Mamprusi Educated On Climate Change Risk

The West Mamprusi District Assembly in partnership with Hanns-Seidel-Foundation, an international non-governmental organisation, has undertaken a climate change disaster related risk reduction and management awareness education in some communities in line with the district’s agenda in strengthening local civil society capacity in the fight against climate change. 

Currently, climate change constitutes an environmental and socio-economic development challenge in the entire country especially the West Mamprusi area. The district is generally low lying with numerous streams of varying sizes and the peoples’ livelihoods in recent times had been affected so much by the dictates of climate change induced weather conditions.

The area is characterized by unpredictable severe harmattan winds, heavy rainstorms, annual flooding emanating from silting up of the rivers, drought and serious land degradation arising from bushfires and indiscriminate tree felling. This had left deep-seated damaging effects on farmlands and farm produce, animals and even human casualties with accompanying immeasurable psychological impacts on the affected people with respect to coping with the menace. 

Noticing this fact, the German-based NGO Hanns-Seidel-Foundation, financially supported the West Mamprusi District to implement a climate change combat project dubbed “Fighting Climate Change Through Reforestation”.

The overall goal of the project as also captured in the district’s development plan and supported by Ghana’s Climate Change policy interest, was to build the capacity of local civil society to enable them take up their own local initiatives against climate change effects.

To this end, the West Mamprusi District Assembly recently organised a climate change disaster related risk reduction and management awareness education, intended to strengthen the capacity of two river fringed communities such as Zua and Mishio, so that they could respond appropriately to the changing patterns of climatic conditions in their areas. 

The workshop according to Issifu Sulemana Jobila, Project Coordinator, sensitised all at-risked and vulnerable communities’ members on series of management and prevention skills of various subjects relating to climate change associated disasters. This was to enable the communities prepare adequately, manage and prevent all disasters associated with climate change for the purpose of poverty reduction and economic growth. 

Mr. Jobila explained that, the workshop increased the understanding of participants on disasters such as floods, bushfires, windstorms, droughts, among others associated with climate change induced factors and equipped them with the appropriate skills and knowledge to enable them adapt to climate change effects.

A total of 268 people from both communities made up of fishermen, traders, farmers, chiefs, opinion leaders, women, and children as direct beneficiaries were reached and trained, he disclosed.  Out of this, 86 were female whiles 182 were male beneficiaries.  

Participants were taken through topics such as overview of climate change, disaster, types of disasters, forms of disasters, categorization of disasters relating to climate change specifics, skills and knowledge of managing and reducing climate change related disasters and among others.

As Mr. Jobila put it, so far the programme is having a positive impact in the lives of the people of the two communities as they were adequately responding and managing climate change related disasters in their localities, given that knowledge from previous workshops was being adopted and utilised.

Capacity Of Communities In West Mamprusi Enhanced Towards IWRM

Zua and Mishio are two agrarian communities located along the White Volta River running through the West Mamprusi District of the Northern Region of Ghana. Both communities depend greatly on the river water resources for their livelihoods, thus the two communities and the river seemed almost inseparable just like a baby and its mother’s umbilical cord. 

Thus, as part of efforts to promote efficient and judicious use of water resources in the communities under a climate change project dubbed “Fighting Climate Change Through Reforestation” that was financed by German non-governmental organisation Hanns-Seidel-Foundation, the West Mamprusi District Assembly and her decentralised departments, carried out Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) awareness education in the aforementioned communities in line with the district’s agenda to strengthen local civil society capacity in the fight against climate change. 

Currently, the livelihoods of the communities were under threat by sharing and utilising the river water resources due to the dictates of climate change induced weather conditions. 

Consequently, IWRM was considered as a coordinated attempt to manage water related resources in the areas in order to maximise economic and social welfare benefits by protecting the district’s environment, foster economic growth and sustainable agricultural development, promote good governance, and improve human health.

According to the Project Coordinator Issifu Sulemana Jobila, the IWRM education enhanced the poor rural communities’ capacity to practice and manage scarce water resources in the district by making prudent decisions and taking actions while considering multiple view points of how water resources should be used or shared.

The basis for IWRM, he explained, was that the many different uses of limited water resources were interdependent, citing for instance, small scale irrigation demands and polluted drainage flows from agriculture means, less freshwater for drinking or domestic use, contaminated wastewater from chemical fishing as practiced currently by the communities pollute the river and threaten ecosystems. “If water has to be left in a river to protect fisheries and ecosystems, less can be diverted to grow crops”, he emphasised. 

Realising this, Mr. Jobila said the project’s overall goal as also captured in the district’s development plan stipulated that, local civil society capacity be strengthened to enable them take up their own local action or initiatives against climate change and its affected crucial sectors of natural resources. 

He also noted that the introduction of IWRM awareness education was intended to build the capacity of the people of Zua and Mishio so that they could manage scarce water resources during the lean season (dry season) very well, thereby reducing conflicts among different competing farmers over the use of water resources.

The programme was also to instil in members of both communities the knowledge of integrated water resource management practices so as to enable them adapt to climate change effects and impact.

In all, a total of 212 people comprising of fishermen, traders, farmers, chiefs, opinion leaders, women, and children participated in the programme. Out of this, 72 were female whiles 140 were male.

Participants were taken through topics such as overview of integrated water resource management under climate change, types of water resources and principles of integrated water resource management, international agreements and conventions under integrated water resource management, district development agenda on water resources, upper and downstream issues of water resources, among others.