Winneba (C/R), Dec. 24, GNA - Oheneba Amponsah Agyemang, Director of Resource Management Support Centre (RMSC) of Forestry Commission (FC), has repeated the call on Ghanaians, particularly people living around forest zones to do all within their capabilities to conserve the forests.

He said this was the only way by which the nation could conveniently develop and promote the numerous resources in the forests, needed for the effective promotion and systematic growth of an Eco-Tourism project government was currently implementing. Oheneba Amponsah Agyemang was addressing a stakeholders meeting at Winneba at which matters connected with Eco-Tourism and biodiversity potentialities in the country's forests were discussed.

He appealed to chiefs and other landowners in forest zones to release lands for the creation of buffer zones to save forest reserves selected for the promotion of biodiversity conservation projects. Oheneba Amponsah Agyemang sensitized participants drawn from the five selected forest zones in the Agona, Awutu-Effutu-Senya and Gomoa Districts of the Central Region on the vast benefits the nation stood to gain "if we take the conservation project seriously."

He said the success of the project would transform the socio-economic lives of people living in communities surrounding the selected forest reserves immensely, hence the need for collaborative efforts of all and sundry to ensure total success. In a welcoming address, the Winneba District Manager of the Forestry Commission, Mr S Osei-Manu, announced that the Winneba District had been selected to execute a project component termed: "Southern Dry Forest Management (SDFM)".

Mr Osei-Manu said the District Office had been tasked with the selection of areas using satellite, collection of biodiversity inventories in 4 SDFs, survey, demarcation and pillaring of SDFs, fire prevention programmes and buffer-zone development.

He also announced that since the project commenced a few years ago, the District Office had chalked some successes with the assistance of stakeholders like, NGOs and traditional land owners.

Mr Osei-Manu praised traditional land owners in the District for embracing fully the concept of biodiversity conservation and also giving their full support to the project.

Mr Paul Owusu-Nkansah, an official of the Resource Management Support Centre in Kumasi, launched an Eco Tourism Plan the RMSC has prepared on the five forest reserves in the Awutu-Effutu-Senya District to be presented to the Forestry Commission for use as guide towards the implementation of the project.

The reserves are located at Ahirasu Number One and Two, Akrabong, Obotomfo, and Abasomba, which have been earmarked as Globally Significant Biodiversity Areas (GSBAs) in the Southern Dry Zone of Winneba Forest District have been selected for the development of Eco Tourism potentials.

Other speakers at the function were Mr Michael Nzulu, Deputy Central Regional Manager of the Forestry Commission and Nana Dr. Adjoku Abora VII, Tufuhene of Agona Kwanyaku, and Chairman of the Forest Resource Commission, Winneba, who presided over the meeting. 24 Dec. 06