Nkoranza (B/A), Oct. 2, GNA - The Community-Based Rural Development Project (CBRDP), a programme sponsored by the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD), has organised a three-day training workshop on natural resource management for selected communities in the Nkoranza district.

The participants included officials of the district planning coordinating unit of the project, traditional rulers and area council members from Bono-Manso, Yefri, Ayerede and Danwa.

The workshop was aimed at equipping the participants with leadership skills with which to assist the communities in preparing development plans and promoting eco-tourism sites in their areas, as well as enhancing the development of the district. Topics treated included "preparation of time lines=94, 93community entry=94 and 93the role of facilitators".

Mr. Emmanuel Mante, head of community-based natural resource management project in Accra, said the programme was an important economic venture initiated for the people and asked beneficiary communities to support it with communal labour to make it a success. He said the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA), Ministry of Health and National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) were partners of the project, which would offer the necessary technical advice to the people to be able to manage natural resources in their communities properly.

Mr Mahama Salifu, zonal coordinator of the project in charge of Ashanti and Brong-Ahafo regions, noted that negative practices and activities by the people were destroying the environment and having adverse effect on their living standards.

He mentioned illegal and indiscriminate felling of trees, bushfires and river pollution and warned those engaged in such practices to stop as they adversely affected the lives of everybody in the communities. Mr. Salifu cited how human error and activities had affected the rainfall pattern in the country, thereby decreasing the volume of water in the Akosombo dam.

Mr. Mensah Abrampah Adjabeng, Rural Institution Development specialist of the region said the community-based natural resources management project had planned to support the eco-tourism centre at Bono-Manso, the capital of the ancient Bono Kingdom, which was also one of the slave trade markets centres.

He said Yefri would be the focal point for the development of the Boabeng-Fiema monkey sanctuary, as tourists would use the place as a transit point before reaching the sanctuary.

The waterfalls at river Adawia of Dandwa and that of river Tanfi-Akyiridiase as well as Spring Adankru at Senya, believed to contain iodine, would be developed as eco-tourist centres. Mr. Adjabeng called on participants serving as local collaborators of the eco-tourism project in the district to render selfless active service towards the development of the centres. 02 Oct. 06