Accra, April 21, GNA - The United States Mission in Ghana in collaboration with Enterprise Works Worldwide, an American nongovernmental organisation, would celebrate this year's Earth Day at Nima in Accra on Thursday April 22.

Activities for the Day include a cooking demonstration with Gyapa, a locally made cooking stove that reduces the amount of charcoal needed to cook, a raffle draw and awareness creation about Earth Day. A statement issued by the Public Affairs Section of the US Embassy in Accra on Wednesday said the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) had since April 2002 supported the NGO with 730,357 dollars for the production and marketing of Gyapa cooking stoves in Ghana.

It said the household energy project was aimed at reducing charcoal consumption thereby contributing towards saving Ghana's forests. Gyapa stoves burn around 40 per cent less charcoal than the traditional coal pot and at the same time the use of the stove would assist families to save money spent on charcoal.

The statement said by the end of March last year 4,297 Gyapa stoves had been sold and figure shot up to 26,382 by the end of March 2004. It said Ghana's rapid population growth especially in the urban areas and the inefficient cook stoves had contributed to high consumption of wood and charcoal.

The statement said although some resources had been devoted to reforestation in Ghana, these efforts could not alone keep pace with the growing demand for wood fuel in Ghana.

The first-ever Earth Day was held in the US in 1970 as grassroots demonstration to express concern about degradation of the land, rivers, lakes and air and to raise public awareness about the environment. It said over 20 million demonstrators and thousands of schools and local communities participated.

All over the world today, individuals, groups, organisations and communities are involved in activities to address and effect changes needed to protect the Earth.