Accra, June 26, GNA - Conservation International - Ghana (CI-Ghana), on Tuesday kick against the removal of tree stumps in the Volta Lake, rebuffing claims that it was a major cause of disasters on the Lake.

"While it is necessary to reduce the risk to lake transport, it is also important to design a mechanism to conserve or protect the biodiversity, the artisanal fishery industry, the livelihoods of the fishing communities as well as the ecological integrity of the Volta Lake," CI-Ghana stated in a statement in Accra.

The statement signed by Okyeame Ampadu-Agyei, CI-Ghana Country Director, warned that any indiscriminate removal of the stumps and the submerged forest would pose significant risk to biodiversity. It explained that the submerged forest or the base of the stumps served as feeding or breeding grounds, aggregation devices for increasing fish population as well as conducive habitat for various aquatic species in the Lake.

CI-Ghana called for a review of the any possible agreement that the government had entered into for the removal of the stumps as its negative impact on the aquatic life of the Lake far outweighed the economic benefit.

The organisation noted that the removal would destroy the economic base of the artisanal fishery industry along the Lake, the main economic activity of thousand of impoverished and vulnerable fishing communities located within the Lake's catchment areas.

Mr Joe Clark, Former Canadian Prime Minister and Executive Chairman of Clark Sustainable Resource Developments (CSRD) Limited, a firm involved in under-water resources management recently expressed its readiness to assist Ghana to dislodge stumps under the Volta Lake. According to the firm it had the technology to get rid of tree stumps under the Lake without destroying the lakebed, using underneath water robot-driven cutting saw to cut and pull the trees to facilitate the safety of lake transport.

"We believe that Ghana has immense commercial value under the Volta Lake, which could be tapped to help to improve the economy and there are real ways in which the environment can be protected and improved by a serious programme of harvesting," Mr Clark had said.

However, CI-Ghana suggested that the technology should be scrutinized to assess its efficiency in cutting wood, adding; "extensive environmental impact assessment should be conducted on its aquatic base to provide adequate scientific data for the delineation of sensitive fish pawning areas on the Lake for conservation."

The lake transport routes should be defined and delineated for selective felling to proceed rather than logging for money under the pretext of cutting all stumps to prevent boat disasters, the organisation pointed out.

Even though the Canadian firm claimed it had capabilities to remove stumps under lakes without destroying the lakebed, CI-Ghana urged the government and the Volta River Authority to "pay particular attention to the harvesting process and the technology to be use "so that the lakebed harbouring about 80 per cent of aquatic species were not punctured or destroyed."

CI-Ghana also called for environmental education involving all stakeholders especially fishermen, boat operators and owners to ensure cooperation. Ghana will be the first country outside Canada to try the new technology.