Kumasi, June 11, GNA - Mr Thomas Osei-Owusu, Coordinator of the Green Earth Organization an (NGO) in the Northern sector of Ghana has stated that about 75,000 hectares of forests is depleted annually in the country through many factors and activities. He said a research conducted by the Forestry Commission, indicated that if the trend of depletion continued there would be no forests in the country by the year 2010.

Mr Osei-Owusu was speaking at a symposium organized by the Green Earth Organization to mark the World Environment Day celebration in Kumasi at the weekend.

The function attended by over 200 students selected from some second cycle schools in Kumasi was on the theme: Forest Conservation an effective Tool against Climate Change". He attributed some of the causes of the depletion to over logging, illegal activities of chainsaw operators and subsistence farming practices.

Mr Osei-Owusu appealed to the law enforcement agencies to team up with the Forest Services Division to check such practices to help conserve and preserve the forests for posterity. He said the Organization had been actively involved in educating people on the need to embark on re-forestation and agro-forestry projects towards the preservation of the forests. The Coordinator appealed to the members of the Green Earth Organization Clubs in schools to also intensify their sensitisation programmes in the communities to plant more trees to protect the environment.

Mrs Mercy Derchie, Executive Director of the Conservative Development Foundation also an NGO, said the loss of the forests had resulted in climate change, poverty, loss of plant species and other forest resource.

She noted that it was in the light of this that the government launched the National Plantation Initiatives in 2001 to revamp the forest resources to ensure economic gains for the country. The Executive Director urged NGOs to support the government in planting more trees to prevent the environment from destruction. During an open forum the participants appealed to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Forest Services Division to monitor and check illegal tree felling and other human activities, which degraded the forests and the environment. 11 June 07