Farming along banks of Lake Bosomtwe banned
Farming along the banks of Lake Bosomtwe has been banned, as such any individual or organisation caught farming within 60 metres to the lake would be arrested and prosecuted.
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The decision had become necessary because farming along the shores of the lake had exposed it to direct rays from the sun, making it lose quite an amount of volume. In addition, the farming activities have caused environmental degradation resulting in grave threat to the sustenance of the ecosystem of the lake.
The ban was instituted by the District Chief Executive for Bosomtwe, Madam Veronica Antwi-Adjei. She expressed her discontent over the level of degradation and destruction of the vegetation cover along the shores of the lake.
“If the practice is not checked now, it could lead to the outright destruction of the vegetation cover protecting the lake, which serves not only as a tourist attraction but also as a source of livelihood for hundreds of families within its catchment area,” she said.
Madam Antwi-Adjei issued the ban after a tour of some farms along the lake at Pipie in the Bosomtwe District in the Ashanti Region.
Vegetation
The DCE’s visit followed reports that the queen of Pipie, Nana Akosua Boatemaa, had cleared a portion of land on the banks of the lake and had planted plantain and other food crops, in the course of which a number of trees previously planted as protective shield along the shores of the lake were cut down. The visit also revealed additional farms by other individuals.
Tree planting
A non-governmental organisation, Friends of Rivers and Water Bodies, has over the past decade planted trees along the banks of the lake to help preserve vegetation. The district assembly has also planted trees at Abono, the main tourist centre at the lakeside.
Assurance
The DCE assured the people that the assembly was working hard to ensure that the road leading to the community, which was in a very deplorable condition, was improved upon to improve transportation to and from the area to other parts of the country.
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The Chief of Brodekwano, Nana Kwame Acheampong, who accompanied the DCE on the tour, called for peace among the people of the area and urged them to rekindle the spirit of volunteerism in order to promote the development of the communities in the area.