NGOS TAKE MEASURES TO STOP ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION (PAGE 22)

The Coalition of non-governmental and community-based organisations in the northern part of the Volta Region has mounted a massive drive to halt environmental degradation in the area.
At an extra-ordinary meeting held at Jasikan to re-strategise on what to do to reduce the menace, the organisations discussed the problems of illegal felling of trees and bush fires.
The meeting also took into account the uncontrolled sale of lands by chiefs, elders and landowners to some people, especially chainsaw operators whose activities turned out to degrade the forest with their blessing.
The meeting, which was at the instance of the Association of Jasikan District Civil Society Organisations (AJADSCO), attracted 60 participants.
The association urged the district assemblies, Forestry Commission, Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) and the Department of Wildlife, to rigidly enforce the laws on tree felling and bushfires, which not only destroyed the forest, but also made the area uninhabitable.
The Chairman of AJADSCO, Alhaji Issaku Buraimah said it was high time the activities of illegal chainsaw operators were curtailed to save the land for production for other future uses.
In this vein, he said, the coalition would collaborate with chiefs and land owners on how to reduce environmental degradation.
Mr Buraimah said the incidence of bushfires had destroyed the Rivers Odomi and Kabo and other forest reserves leading to the reduction in the livelihood of the people.
“ We have lost our Rivers Odomi, Kabo and many different species of trees and animals such as Odum, Wawa and deers”, he lamented.
Mr Buraimah stated that the extinction of certain animals like antelopes, bush cats, squirrels, monkeys and deers created an imbalance of the eco-system.
He also bemoaned the fact that the area, which used to be a major producer of cocoa and coffee, could no longer sustain the production of such crops.
The consequence, Mr Buraimah said, was the devastation of houses at Jasikan and Kute by a recent rainstorm and called for concerted efforts to reverse the trend.