UE/R: Enforce laws that protect the environment and forests – Land Management Board Chairman

A seven-member executive council for the Land Management Board in the Kassena-Nankana West District in the Upper East Region has been inaugurated, as part of the implementation of a European Union funded Landscapes and Environmental Agility across the Nation project by the World Vision Ghana in the Savannah area.

The Land Management Board is expected to initiate activities to mobilize individuals and communities to own and support the implementation and sustainability of the Landscapes and Environmental Agility across the Nation (LEAN) project, as solution to community resilience to climate change.

The board and leadership of the various communities that are participating in the EU LEAN project have been empowered with information and some technical training to complement the activities of relevant regulatory authorities such as the Forestry Commission and the Ghana National Fire Service, as the projects seeks to improve on the landscape of the participating communities.

The European Union funded LEAN project is being implemented in Upper East and Savannah Regions by World Vision Ghana as well as other NGOs in Southern Ghana, and seeks to directly contribute to the national efforts at conserving biodiversity, increasing climate change resilience and improving livelihoods of smallholder farmers. The project also seeks to work towards the reduction in emissions from land use changes in the high forest areas, the savannah areas and the transition zones of Ghana.

The EU LEAN Project Manager at World Vision Ghana, Joseph Edwin Yelkabong, speacking at a brief ceremony at Paga, said the Land Management Board under the project is a landscape governance model, with many key community stakeholders and will adopt an existing community based natural resource governance structure in the Savannah landscape.

“… the Land Management Board under the EU LEAN Project is designed to serve as the main decision -making body in managing, monitoring and controlling forest access in production areas situated within the beneficiary districts as well as nearby forest reserves.” He said.

According to Mr. Yelkabong, the Land Management Board in the beneficiary districts works with rightful stakeholders to coordinate their activities so as to reduce possible ‘conflicts’ in their work due to the different approach to their respective activities, policies, and investments, as they all work towards the protection of their immediate landscapes and the remaining forests in the savannah area.

Mr. Yelkabong urged members of the newly elected Kassena-Nankana West Executive Council to complement the activities of the various regulatory bodies in the area to implement landscapes projects that would build community resilience against effects of climate change.

“… the smallholder farmers who are members of the Land Management Board are very crucial in the fight against deforestation due to their closeness to the lands and all natural resources within.

The Land Management Board’s Executive Council is chaired by Robert Dampare, with Solomon Tarati as Vice Chairman. Others are Sampson Tijamba, Secretary, Samuel Awia, Assistant Secretary, Patrick Yarah the Organizer, Frederick Wugaa Awovire is the Financial Secretary and Faustina Banakwoyem the Treasurer.

Newly elected chairman, Robert Dampare called on regulatory bodies and the District Assembly to be ready and firm to enforce all laws that protect environment and forests, and punish people who flout these laws.

Assistant District Manager of the Navrongo Division of the Forestry Commission, Richard Kyeremeh in an interview commended the EU LEAN project for complementing the commission’s efforts at protecting the forests and landscape in the Kassena-Nankana area.

According to Mr. Kyeremeh, the commission has planted over 300 hectres in its operational area, with 50 hectres in the Kassena-Nankana West District alone.

He called for support from the members of the Land Management Board and community leaders to educate farmers against bushfires and allowing animal to graze without control.

District Commander at the Kassena-Nankana West District office of the Ghana National Fire Service, DFO Boniface Awiah, said partnering World Vision Ghana in the implementation of the EU LEAN project has been good, saying, the partnership has led to the training of close to 1,000 fire volunteers in its operational area, which has helped to reduce incidence of fire outbreaks in the beneficiary communities.

He believes that if the newly executives and all members of the Land Management Board join in educating communities against bush burning and the effect it has on farms and the environment, the act will reduce drastically in the district.

From: Ebo Bruce-Quansah, Paga