Iduapriem (W/R) June 9 -GNA- Mr. David Kwasi Renner, Managing Director, AngloGold Ashanti (Iduapriem) Limited (AGAIL) has said the company has planted 243,438 seedlings covering an area of 227 hectares in the last five years.

He said considerable amount of investment was being put into environmental management, including the rehabilitation of disturbed areas and that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded the company as the Best Reclaimed Mine in the country. Mr. Renner said this at the World Environment Day Celebration held at Iduapriem on the theme: "Melting Ice-A Hot Topic?"

He said, AngloGold supports and implements sustainable mining by recognizing that the long-term sustainability of the business was dependent on good stewardship in the socio-economic empowerment of the host communities, protection of the environment and the efficient management of the mining of the mineral resources. In this regard, Mr Renner said, AGAIL strives to form partnership with host communities, sharing their environments, traditions or values and was committed to working in an environmentally responsible manner. He said the impacts of climate change included accelerating sea level rises, receding glaciers worldwide and increasing intensity and duration of tropical storm.

The Managing Director said melting ice is responsible for a significant portion of the sea level rise, with the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets the largest contributors, adding that, as sea level rises, inhabitants of low lying islands and coastal cities face inundation.

He mentioned some options to avoid the effects of catastrophic climate change as improvement in energy efficiency, a shift to low carbon and renewable resources such as solar and wind power. "In the water sector, a well-structured plan is to harvest surface runoffs and divert them into well-engineered dams for use in agriculture and domestic use".

Mr Renner added. Mr. Moses Kpebu, acting Tarkwa District Programme Officer, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said climate change is mainly due to human activities and man as the custodian of the earth has the responsibility to reverse the trend of climate change by adopting cleaner production techniques, hence reducing carbon emission into the atmosphere.

He entreated all and sundry to reflect soberly on the national and United Nation Environmental Programme (UNEP) themes: "Rising Temperatures, an Environmental Concern and Melting ice, a Hot Topic?" respectively since climate change is a contemporary environmental challenge.

Mr. Kpebu also said; "The world is our hands. We can make it a paradise or ruin it by our actions and inactions". Preceding the durbar was a procession of students from Fiaseman Senior Secondary School to highlight awareness of the Environment Day. 09 June 07