Mr Ronald Abrahams, Densu Basin Officer of the Water Resources Commission (WRC), has advised communities to protect and maintain the natural vegetation around streams and rivers.

This is because such vegetation which serve as natural filters help in checking evaporation, erosion and provide natural habitat for micro-organism necessary for maintaining the right eco-balance around such water bodies.

He gave the advice at a dialogue session on the proposed River Todze Water Resource Biodiversity conservation Project at Kpetoe in the Volta region.

Mr Abrahams said expert advice and direction were therefore needed at restoring the cover along denuded water bodies.

He said trees such as Neem, Acasia, Cassia Simea and Eucalyptus should not be planted as protective cover around such water bodies because of their intolerance for such environment.

Mr Abrahams said there are certain trees which have poisonous leaves and should not be planted water bodies lest such leaves would poison them.

He explained that it was counter-productive to slash and burn the vegetation around water bodies and replace them with trees because such slash and burn destroy micro-organisms and plants natural to the particular environment.