Atesikrom (B/A) Aug. 17, GNA - This year's Greening Ghana Project in Dormaa municipality has been launched at Atesikrom where wildfire razed 14 houses and rendered 150 people homeless last February. Launching the project, Mr Atta Amponsah, Dormaa Municipal Chief Executive, stressed the need for Ghanaians to abide by basic environmental protection rules to sustain a sound environment.

He noted that the traditional reverence accorded water bodies, forests and forest products in the past was to protect them for posterity.

The MCE called for concerted programmes to debunk the erroneous impression that if one respected a traditional regulation it was tantamount to down-grading his or her religion and promoting sacrilege. Mr Amponsah appealed to people in the municipality and residents of Atesikrom to draw lessons from the fire disaster and adopt strategies that would help avoid the recurrence of such disasters.

Mr Ebenezer Martin Yeboah, Municipal Environmental Health Officer, blamed poultry farmers, akpeteshie distillers, hunters, farmers and smokers as the sources of bushfires in the municipality.

"Their nefarious activities have a negative impact on the Assembly's efforts at averting bushfires", he said and referred to last year as the worst in the municipality's bushfire records over the past decade.

He said the Assembly in conjunction with the Fire Service and the anti-bushfire committee was working hard to resource community fire volunteer squads to enhance bushfire management.

Mr Odame Antiri, Deputy Municipal Manager of the Forest Services Division explained that "trees exert huge impact on the air we breathe and also utilize the carbon dioxide we exhale for the production of food for our consumption".

He charged communities to complement the efforts of the Division in tracking down illegal chainsaw operators and those who destroy economic trees indiscriminately.

Baffour Atosi Ababio, Chief of Atesikrom, lauded the project and commended the Assembly for the choice of the town for the launch and gave the assurance that the chiefs and people would embark on programmes aimed at averting bushfires.