Hohoe, Feb. 12, GNA - Mr Henry Ametepe, the Volta Regional Coordinator of NADMO, has said the annual bushfire menace was an affront to the realization and sustainability of the green belt re-forestation project. He therefore called for introduction of cutting edge strategies and reward schemes to combat the menace and hold environmental degradation at bay. Mr Ametepe, who spoke to the GNA in an interview, called for the deepening of the involvement of major actors, especially traditional authorities.

He suggested agreements to be signed with traditional areas for them to assist to curb the scourge within their jurisdictions. He also suggested that an award scheme should be instituted with prizes including scholarships to individual citizens in the locality and infrastructural projects for communities. Mr Ametepe said the award scheme should be at the traditional, district, regional and national levels backed by proactive and enforceable legislation.

He expressed regret that the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) Law 229 which empowers MMDAs to constitute anti-bushfire sub-committees had not been effective. Mr Ametepe said the involvement of traditional authorities would give them a sense of ownership, whip up enthusiasm among community members on the need to sustain and protect such environmental resources. He said Tafi-Atome and Gbledi areas in the Hohoe Municipality were already enjoying huge benefits for the protection of forest resources. Mr Ametepe said if chiefs and elders would be answerable to violations and allowed to punish offenders such culprits would "no longer be unreachable."

He called for cross-border bushfire management, formation of volunteer squads and appealed to MMDAs to wake up to the realities of environmental degradation and climate change. Mr Ametepe cited Volta Region as tops in cases of bush burning and appealed for a "change of heart." He called for the establishment of a disaster fund to make the country ready for disasters when they strike.