Communities urged to manage environments well
The Executive Director of Green Globe Society International (GGSI), Mr Samuel Deh, has called for more community management of the environment in order to reverse the rapid degradation of natural resources and the extinction of some species.
He said community participation was essential for the restoration of lost values relating to the climate, soil and other vital ingredients required for sound agriculture and related occupations.
Mr Deh was speaking to community gangs formed at Anfoeta-Tsebi, Saviefe-Gbogame and Saviefe-Agorkpo in the Ho West District for the implementation of a Community Development and Knowledge Management (COMDEKS) project in the Weto Range of the Volta Region.
The project, which was aimed at promoting conservation practices in the range, stretching from Kpeve to Afadjato, to prevent loss of biodiversity, as well as restore biodiversity in the area, was jointly sponsored by the United Nations Development Project (UNDP) Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the Japan Biodiversity Fund.
Mr Deh inspected ongoing livelihood projects such as the construction of cages for rabbitry at Anfoeta-Tsebi and a pig sty at Saviefe-Agorkpo.
He told members of the group to take the project more seriously, since it was rated to provide solutions to the high rate of poverty in the area and provide employment for the youth of the area.
At Anfoeta-Tsebi, the project coordinator, Mr Humphey Wedanu, said they were ever prepared to fully implement the project and that its success would enlighten the youth to embrace it and stop drifting to the cities to look for non-existent jobs.
He said 4,500 seedlings of Ofram, Mahogany and Prekese had been nursed for distribution to farmers for transplanting for land demarcation to ward off land litigation.
“We are ready for everything,” he declared, but suggested that credit facilities should be extended to members of the group in order to motivate more youth to embrace the project.
The project coordinator at Saviefe-Agorkpo, Mr Joseph Degboe, disclosed that 25,000 seedlings of cocoa had been supplied to cocoa farmers in the area under the project and said the initial capacity of the piggery project could contain 16 piglets.
By Tim Dzamboe/Daily Graphic/Ghana