2021 Wildlife Day commemorated in Accra

This year’s World Wildlife Day was yesterday commemorated in Accra with a call by the Executive Director of the Wildlife Division of the Forestry Commission (FC), Mr Bernard Asamoah-Boateng, on the people to help preserve and protect water bodies and forests in the country.

He said since water, flora and fauna were essential to the survival of human beings and animals, it was the responsibility of all to maintain and save lives on earth by abstaining from acts that contributed to the degradation of the country’s wildlife resources.

“Constant indiscriminate felling of trees and pollution of our water bodies lead to drastic decline in the population of many wildlife species, thereby affecting the environment,” Mr Asamoah-Boateng said.

The event was on the theme: “Forests and livelihoods: Sustaining people and planet”.

It was aimed to raise awareness of the immense value of forests and forest-dwelling species which form part of the human race.

Effect

The executive director said not only did those negative activities affect biodiversity conservation, but also posed increasing threat to national and global security.

“As such, we see the event as another great opportunity to drum home the importance of conserving our natural resources since they are linked to the sustenance of life as well as the country’s economic development,” he added.

According to Mr Asamoah-Boateng, every civilisation depended on its natural resources to develop and it was for this reason that his outfit continued to pursue rigorous programmes in line with its core mandate to conserve wildlife in the country, particularly within ecological zones.

He said the FC was working with other stakeholders to ensure sustainable management and development of the country’s wildlife including their habitats for accelerated socio-economic development.

“The Wildlife Division of the FC is mandated to protect and manage the 21 wildlife protected areas, totalling 1,347,600 ha or 5.6 per cent of the country’s land area.

“The Protected Area (PAs) network includes seven national parks, six resource reserves, two wildlife sanctuaries, one strict nature reserve and five coastal wetlands,” the executive director added.

Concerns

Mr Asamoah-Boateng said in spite of globally recognised values of forests and their importance to livelihood, they were being destroyed and overly exploited due to lack of awareness, poverty and negligence.

He, therefore, urged traditional authorities and opinion leaders to revive practices such as enactment of taboos and totemic systems that would discourage people from destroying the environment.

The executive director also called on the media, civil society organisations and other stakeholders to carry out public education to create awareness of forest and wildlife conservation.

“I appeal to our local hunters and other stakeholders in the bushmeat trade to respect the closed hunting season - August 1 to December 1 of every year.

“This period is to allow for the regulation of wildlife resources and its sustenance and also serves as a time of respite for animals to breed.

“I also call on the Judiciary, who have been our major stakeholders, to issue deterrent court sentences to offenders who impede on the measures put in place to regulate illegal activities such as killing of endangered species and illegal mining (galamsey),” he added.