Balungu (U/E), June 22, GNA - The Paramount Chief the Bongo Traditional Area, Naba Baba Salifu Aleemyaroom, has called for the decentralization of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to the district level. He said this when he chaired a function on "World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought" held at Balungu in the Talensi Nabdam District. He said the centralization of the EPA offices in the regional capitals was not helping as they could not work effectively to deal with issues affecting the environment.

The chief said apart from decentralizing the offices, they should be empowered with resources to enable them to fight against desertification. Naba Baba Salifu Aleemyaroom appealed to the government to involve chiefs in the implementation of the National Forestation programme or else it would not achieve the desired impact. He said some District Assemblies had begun the forestation programme without involving the chiefs and those assemblies would encounter a lot of difficulties

He said there was the need for all stakeholders especially traditional authorities to work against desertification and warned that if serious attention was not paid to addressing environmental problems, a time might come when the Region would not record any rainfall. Naba Baba Salifu Aleemyaroom said the type of grass that was used as straw for basket weaving had become extinct in the region and basket weavers had to travel to the southern sector to buy the straw. He appealed to his colleague chiefs to support District Assemblies to pass by-laws on the environment, particularly in the area of bush fires and charcoal burning which are the major causes of desertification in the three northern regions.