Northern Regional Environmental Committee Monitors GEMP

By; Francis Npong, Gambaga, N/R


The Ghana Environmental Management Proramme (GEMP) initiated by the Ghana Government to check desertification and drought is making inroads in the northern region. The Northern Regional Environmental Management Committee, indicated this when they toured the project sites to solicit first hand information on the project implementation at the community level.
The committee which is under the auspices of the Ghana Environmental management programmes (GEMP) has responsibilities among other things to promote continuous and detailed environmental education programmes with emphasizes on drought and desertification.
Speaking to the Enquirer in an interview, the Northern Regional Director of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Mr. Abu Iddrisu explained that the region was making progress in the implementation of GEMP.
He explained that District and community environmental management committees had been constituted across the region as part of efforts to speed up the implementation GEMP to reverse the advancing desertification and its associated problem of drought in the region.
The Director said the committee initiated monitoring and evaluation to ensure that tree felling, sand mining, environmental and water pollution is ceased while at the same time promoting acceptable environmental practices through trainings, workshops, radio discussions to create awareness on good environmental practices among other things.
GEMP he explained is the Ghana government programme initiated to minimize the trend of desertification, deforestation and drought and is being funded by the Canadian Government through the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) to fight desertification and drought to minimize it impact on livelihoods of small farmers in the northern sector. The programme which is a seven year action programme implemented by EPA cost about 7.2 million dollars.
The members also raised issues of Fulani herdsmen whose activities they observed posed serious threat to the success of GEMP and appealed to the government to seek the review of ECOWAS protocol on immigrants particularly the Fulani herdsmen in Ghana to help the country deal with it.
The committee educated community members on the existing environmental laws, its implication and the need to avoid bush burning, tree felling, and adaptation of good agronomic practices among other things.
Mr. Abu said the committee visited all the district and community environmental management committees, inspected established nurseries points and also educated members of various committees on the Ghana environmental management programme.
Each nursery site which strategically located near the project sites is expected to produce about 50,000 seedlings for the committees to plant by next year.
He said nursery attendants and volunteers have also been given training to manage the nurseries and to help create awareness on environmental issues at their respective communities.
Mr. Iddrisu said plans are advanced to reduce or stop indiscriminate bush burning, tree felling in the region for the successful implementation of GEMP.