The secretary of Environmental Care Group based in the Upper West Region, Alhassan Nuhu, has called Ghanaians to break all barriers and impediments in ensuring that the environment is saved from any hazard in order to save humanity and the world at large.

This call was made at Naaha-Tendomo in the Wa West district of the Upper West Region on the occasion of the celebration of World Environment Day which is marked every year on June 5.

The occasion which was used to educate the people of the area was attended by people from all walks of life made of peasant farmer, teachers in the communities, drivers among others.

Mr. Nuhu charged all and sundry to adopt good environmental practices in order to make the world a safe place to live. He said the rate at which trees are being felled in the communities is quite alarming and called on all to take pragmatic steps to ensure that that negative practice of cutting down trees are stopped and as there are alternative means of getting energy sources other than trees.

He said economic trees like shear, dawadawa, ebony trees among others are often being targeted by those who fell them and this he said destroys the environment and called on all responsible agencies in the country such as the Forestry Commission and the Environmental protection Agency to rise to the occasion by making sure that the entire population of the country is well educated on the need to protect the environment from harmful practices such as the felling of trees.

Touching on the need to plant more trees to combat encroaching desertification, Mr. Nuhu said there is the need to assist schools, government departments and agencies to plant trees across the country that he said would go a long way to greening Ghana.

According to Mr. Nuhu Alhassan what led to the formation Environment Care Group as a Community Based Organization at Naaha- Kindoma as a voluntary non-profit Non Governmental Organization was the need to save guard the environment in order to ensure that the adverse effects of climate change does negatively affect the Naaha-Tendomo communities.

According to him the group was established in the year 2004 with a clarion call for membership drive which is open to all people who are over eighteen years and share the vision, mission and values of the Environment Care Group, this he said has seen some positive steps in improving the environment in years gone by.

Environment Care Group is based at Naaha-Tendomo about twenty-seven kilometers south east of Wa, the Upper West Regional capital Wa, precisely in the Wa West district.

According to Mr. Nuhu Alhassan the reason for the formation of the CBA was due to the realization of drastic climate change that has had devastating effects on the activities of farmers in the area of operation of the CBO some years back as it was realized that, farmers in the past cultivated small piece of land and would have had good harvests.

The situation, according to him is not as it is today as the rainfall pattern is highly unpredictable due to more rains leading to flooding and the attendant long spell of dry season leading to food insecurity and drought.

Mr. Nuhu Alhassan said the vegetation of the area is worse affected with the cutting down of tree especially economic trees. Poor environmental management practices have led to people becoming poorer and they in turn degrade the environment as they struggle for their livelihoods.

It is this group realizing the effects of human activities leading to climate change that the CBO was formed which pragmatically has been able to contain the situation by mounting public education.

He said in the recent celebration of World Biodiversity Day, the CBO through its meagre and limited resources has been able to buy radio airtime on various radio stations to educate the general public of the Upper West Region in the various languages of the people by sponsoring various environmental programmes on radio in order to create the needed awareness especially with the various United Nations world celebrations that has connections with the environment.

He said plans are far advanced to solicit support from various traditional leaders within catchment areas on how to arrest people who cut economic trees indiscriminately by handing them over to the police and seeking appropriate punishment for them especially those who cut trees within forest reserves.