GOVERNMENT Officials, departmental heads, journalists, as well as members of the public who travelled to Kotoso, near Kwahu Tafo in the Eastern Region to participate in the launching of the Environmental Day got astonished by the degree of bushfires which have destroyed vast stretches of forests.

It came as no surprise that some of the people living in the town have termed the seasonal bushfire as "ritual bushfires" which have turned the forest area into a grassland.

The destructive nature of these "ritual bushfires" has resulted in the erosion of mountains slopes. No doubt the residents of the affected areas report of landslides every now and then, as a result of the land exposure caused by bushfires and soil erosion.

The 11-kilometere road journey from Kwahu Tafo to Kotoso has also been badly affected by erosion because of unavailability of plants to check it.

Large manhole-like potholes that have developed on the road prolong the journey, as drivers have to take their time and drive carefully, while the tossing to left and right of cars caused by the potholes makes the journey tiresome and uncomfortable.

As travellers could see, the pipelines connected from Mpraeso to Kotoso to supply water in the Kwahu area are also exposed to heavy sunshine and bush fire.

Also due to these, almost all the metal supporting the joints have rusted and can cause damage anytime. Kotoso, an exchange point where a lot of foodstuff from the Afram Plains cross River Afram to other districts and the nation's capital, Accra, is said to have a large forest belt, but due to farming activities and bushfires the forest is no more.

The area is also well noted for misuse of agro-chemicals, unauthorised fishing practices, such as pouring petrol into River Afram and using bamboo sticks to trap fishes, actiocvities that poison the river.

At the launching, Mr. Y.K. Oppong Boadu, Eastern Regional Director of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), noted that basically the activities of man in a attempt to make a good living have been the cause of environmental degradation and therefore we should take the World Environmental Day as an opportunity to raise environmental awareness and to mobilise action.

The theme for the regional launching was "Our environment, lets manage it together."

In the Eastern Region, he said the environmental problems range from land degradation caused by farming activities, lumbering, mining, soil erosion and bushfire as well as water pollution and unsanitary practices.

Accordingly, the Kwahu Akuapem and Atewa ranges which form major water sheds for Birim, Densu, Ayensu, Afram and other numerous tributaries are all under threat of unfriendly environmental activities.

This is because the trees which have been providing a canopy over water bodies have been cut down or consumed by wildfires.

Downstream water users are at risk of contracting various diseases closely related to this problem of pollution and poor sanitary practices in all the settlements along the banks of the Afram river.

Mr. Oppong-Boadu entreated students, youth and other identifiable groups to ensure that the trees that are planted to sustain the degrading forest are tended to maturity.

In addition to this, the youth should be tasked to cultivate the habit of undertaking regular clean-up exercises which when kept, will maintain a clean and green environment.

The district assemblies were also tasked to liaise with the EPA and other relevant institutions to undertake regular environmental enhancement programmes.

Chiefs and opinion leaders were advised to always compel an Environmental Impact Assessment Report (EIAR) on all developmental projects to be set up in their area.

The purpose is to foresee any impact, be it positive or negative, on the environment for good measures to be taken to address them.

In a speech read for him, the Eastern Regional Minister, Dr. Francis Osafo-Mensah, who doubles as an MP for the area, observed that the level of poverty, being experienced at present and the problems of water availability for both domestic and industrial requirements can all be traced to environmental abuses.

"As users of the earth resources, it is very important for all of us to note these pertinent facts and develop improved attitudes in the use of our natural resources through the adoption of renewable and conservation practices to ensure their sustainable exploitation" he said.

He condemned the misuse of agro-chemicals and the indirect disposal of night-soil into some rivers as injustices being done to the invaluable water bodies.

Earlier in a welcome address, the chief of Kotoso, Nana Abu Bonsra, appealed to the Kwahu South District Assembly (KSDA) and the government to rehabilitate the 11-kilometer unmotorable road from Kwahu Tafo to Kotoso to improve food security.

Again, he appealed to the KSDA to improve market structures in the township since they generate a lot of revenue for the assembly.

Responding to the appeals, the District Chief Executive for the KSDA, Mr.

Raymond Osafo-Djan, pledged the assembly's readiness to rehabilitate the road and improve the market structures.

In a passionate appeal, the Eastern Regional fire officer, Mr. Solomon Osei, exhorted all to enforce the law to protect the forest by reporting bushfire setters to their chiefs and police for arrest and prosecution to serve as deterrent to other recalcitrant bushfire settlers.