Tongo (U/E), Nov 10, GNA - The livelihood of subsistence farmers in the Talensi-Nabdam District of the Upper East Region is under threat, as the youth in the area engage in surface mining on farmlands. Most of the farmers can no longer cultivate their farmlands as a result of land degradation caused by the activities of the illegal miners.

When the Ghana News Agency (GNA) visited some of the affected areas the situation was very deplorable and appalling, as most of the farmlands were excavated and were no longer suitable for cropping. Some of the affected farmers the GNA spoke to expressed concern about the situation and said their lives and those of their dependants were being threatened by the miners each time they protested against the use of their farms as mining fields.

Forest reserves in the area are also being destroyed as a result of mining activities.

To reverse the trend and protect the environment from being degraded, 91Action on Youth Drug Abuse and Development', a local non-governmental organization, has integrated community sustainable land management and biodiversity as part of its programme to educate the people.

Under the programme the people of the area, especially the youth, are sensitized on the effects of mining on the environment and are given loans to go into animal rearing, shea-butter extraction and smock-weaving instead of mining.

Additionally, they are provided with seedlings to plant around their individual communities in order to preserve and conserve the environment for posterity.

Ms Zenabu Wasai-King, Upper East Regional Director of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), appealed to the communities to see the preservation and conservation of the environment as a shared responsibility since Government alone could not single-handedly solve the problem.

The Assemblyman for the Duusi Electoral Area in the Talensi-Nabdam District, Mr William Gana, said he would impress upon the District Assembly to brainstorm on the issue and find a lasting solution to it.

Meanwhile, a vast majority of the youth in the area who have completed Junior and secondary schools are engaged in mining activity. They told the GNA in separate interviews that they got themselves involved because of the lack of other employment avenues.