Accra, Feb. 15, GNA - The Government on Thursday expressed concern about the alarming rate of wildfires throughout the country since the beginning of the year.

"We are becoming loose in our wildfire management to the extent that the trees planted by the Ministry of Lands, Forestry and Mines along roadsides are being set on fire," Professor Dominic Kweku Fobih, sector Minister, told stakeholders in forest management who met Accra. He was launching the first comprehensive national wildfire management policy in Accra. The drafting of the policy went through a number of consultative sections through all the 10 regions.

The 17-page document has a background of past policies and initiatives in wildfires management, constraints in management and challenges in the adaptation of a national policy, guiding principles, policy goals, objectives and strategies as some of the contents. Prof. Fobih said the success of the current government initiatives on forest plantation development, including Taungya, plantation established from the HIPC Fund, community forestry management project and private plantations, depended to a large extent on how best wildfires were controlled nationwide.

He said the wildfires were not only reducing the productive capacity of forests but were also having major negative impacts on the other benefits such as forest cover, water supply, soil fertility and wildlife.

Prof. Fobih estimated that about 65 square kilometres of forests were lost annually due primarily to wildfire, poor agricultural practices, over-logging and excessive mining.

"The annual loss of timber, cash and food crops to wildfire alone is currently about three per cent of GDP, estimated at over 120 million dollars,"

Prof. Fobih said the increase in wildfires, especially during the past two decades had seriously threatened the survival of some of the premium timber species and tourist sites.

He said significant efforts, including awareness creation campaigns, legislations and the introduction of improved farming practices had been made in the past to address issues on wildfire/bushfire. However, "in spite of these efforts, annual fires continue to cause serious threat to resource management and agriculture production".

"The hazard of wildfires cannot be treated lightly and the time has come when we need a comprehensive framework to guide wildfire management in the country. That time is now and it requires the collaborative efforts of all key stakeholders and all Ghanaians to ensure effective and efficient implementation of this new Policy," Prof Fobih said. He thanked the Royal Netherlands Government for supporting Ghana with a grant of 12 million Euros for the implementation of the Wildfire Management Project in the transitional zone.

Prof. Fobih also acknowledged the German Government through its development organisation, GTZ, for supporting a similar wildfire management intervention under the FORUM project in the Volta Region. He called on other development partners to support new fire management projects in high fire-prone areas, especially the three Northern regions where wildfires had become an annual threat to the ecosystem including agriculture produce, life and property. The forestry minister called on all stakeholders to embrace the policy as an important development tool for sustainable resource management, enhancement of rural livelihoods, poverty alleviation and maintenance of environmental quality.

He appealed to chiefs, elders, assembly members and District Chief Executives to assist the government in the implementation of the policy. Osagyefo Oseadeeyo Agyeman Badu II, Dormaahene, who chaired the function, said the annual occurrence of wildfires was a threat to the nation's food security.

He called on government to ensure the implementation of the policy at all levels saying, "Ghana should not be noted worldwide as being good at the drafting of policies, but should be noted as equally good at implementation".