Fiema (B/A), Jan. 25, GNA - Residents of Boabeng and Fiema in Nkoranza District are preparing fire belts around the Monkey Sanctuary in the area to protect it from bushfire.

The youth have daily been working in groups in the Sanctuary and have ensured that nobody sets fire in the forest.

Mr. George Nsowaah, Chairman of the Management Committee of the Sanctuary, told Ghana News Agency at Fiema at the weekend that a seven-member executive, including three residents from each of the two communities and the Assembly Member, was managing the Sanctuary. He commended the youth for their concern and efforts at protecting the haven, which he said was promoting the development of the two communities.

The people have generated 50 million cedis in revenue from visitors to the Sanctuary to support an electrification project for the two towns.

Mr. Nsowaah advised the people to engage fire volunteers when preparing new plots of land for the cultivation of crops to prevent the outbreak of bushfires. Mr. Anthony Naah Dassah, Head of the Wild Life Commission of the Forestry Division at Boabeng-Fiema announced that more than 10,000 foreign and local visitors visited the sanctuary last year. He expressed gratitude to the people for their co-operation towards the protection of the monkeys and management of the Sanctuary.