Need to enforce forest conservation regulations to protect mangroves — CSO
Mangrove forest along Ghana's coastal landscape decreased by more than 1000 hectares between 2000 and 2022.
The decline from 14,922 hectares in 2000 to 11,999 in 2022 represented about 20 per cent decline.
A civil society organisation (CSO), Hen Mpoano, and its collaborators, after an extensive research in the area, have called for the implementation of strict regulations to halt further mangrove deforestation, focusing on regions with significant over-exploitation.
Speaking at a media workshop to share findings on its research, the Programme officer at Hen Mpoano, Justice Mensah, shared the research findings, saying there was an urgent need to promote community-based mangrove conservation initiatives to enhance stewardship and monitoring of the mangroves.
The journalists who were mostly members of the Journalists for Responsible Fisheries and Environment (JRFE) from across the Western, Central, Greater Accra and Volta regions were briefed on the findings of the report and how they could communicate such findings for the attention of the relevant stakeholders.
Research
The research included fish stock assessment and mangrove mapping across Ghana's coastal landscapes, notably Western, Central and Eastern coasts at nine mangrove sites including the Ankobra, Axulenoano, Edobo, all on the western coast, Duakor, Anlo beach and Akwidaa on the central coast and Anyanui, Dzita and Galosota on the eastern coast.
The research was among others to assess fish diversity within the mangrove ecosystem, estimate mangrove coverage along the coast and monitor mangrove forest cover.
It was also to promote a resilient and sustainable ocean economy by improving how coastal communities manage their coastal resource areas.
Funding, restoration
Mr Mensah, sharing more details on the research recommendations, said it was essential that decision-makers increase funding and support for mangrove afforestation projects particularly in areas with declining cover.
He said the projects should involve communities and organisations to ensure more effective restoration and management practices.
Also, he indicated that while successive governments have made efforts at replanting trees, not much had been done to restore mangroves which he indicated were critical to the ecosystem.
"Mangroves store carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the soil four times more than terrestrial trees thereby helping clean the air around us,” he explained.
Efforts from communities
The Programmes Officer for Hen Mpoano said currently, the NGO, together with the communities, had embarked on large-scale community restoration work to restore about 150 hectares of mangrove around the Ankobra Estuary within the Greater Amanzule area.
The Deputy Director at Hen Mpoano, Stephen Kankam, said there was a need for stricter enforcement of conservation laws, investment in sustainable alternatives for coastal communities and integration of mangrove protection into national climate adaptation strategies to halt the decline.
He explained that the research was undertaken under the Sustainable Oceans Project sponsored by the Norwegian government and being implemented by Hen Mpoano, Central and Western Fishmongers Improvement Association (CEWEFIA) and the Environmental Justice Foundation.
