Kusowgu (N/R) Oct. 30 GNA - Mr Moses Mabenga, Northern Regional Minister, on Saturday expressed concern about the fast rate of forest depletion in the Region and called on stakeholders to preserve forest reserves in the area.

“The environment is everybody’s property, therefore is important that we jointly take responsibility for its management and keep it for future generation”, he said.

The Minister made the call at the Regional celebration of the 2011 World Environment Day at Kusowgu in Central Gonja District.

The United Nations (UN) has set aside June 5, every year as a special day to draw the attention of the global community to pertinent environmental problems, and the need to protect the environment, as well as the resources therein for the survival of mankind.

The national launch of the 2011 environment day took place at Gbledi-Gbogame in the Volta Region on the theme: “Forests: Nature at your service”.

Mr Mabenga said the forest played a critical role in human existence and asked stakeholder’s, especially traditional authorities, to lead the crusade of behavioral change towards the forest preservation.

He said a research by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation indicated that 130,000 square kilometers of the world’s forest has been lost annually and that 20 per cent of global green house gasses were caused by persistent deforestation.

Mr Mabenga said in Ghana, 22,000 hectares of trees were destroyed annually in the three Northern Regions through activities including indiscriminate bush burning, illegal activities of hunters and honey tappers.

He reiterated Government’s commitment to implementing the Ghana Environmental Management Project in the Northern , Upper East and Upper West Regions.

Mr Mabenga said the Project that aimed at strengthening institutions and rural communities to support the people to stop land degradation in the North through adoption of sustainable land management practices, to improve food security and reduce poverty, was being affected by bushfires.

Mr Abu Iddrisu, Regional Director of the Environmental Protection Agency, said the destruction of the forests had made some parts of Northern Ghana that hitherto did not experience poor crop yields and loss of biodiversity to be experience developmental challenges.

He called on the people to change their attitude towards the environment to enable Ghana to achieve Millennium Goal seven that targeted environmental sustainability.

Mr Issifu Salisu Be-Awuriba, Central Gonja District Chief Executive, said the district had experienced deteriorating environmental conditions and called on traditional leaders to release land for forest conservation projects.

He said the 2010 flood, was the first catastrophic environmental incidence in the area displacing 33, 305 while 8, 811, households were affected.

Mr Be-Awuriba said 26, 822 farmlands were submerged by water, 65 school buildings were destroyed, 15 boreholes destroyed, 1,109 livestock were carried away while some 50 culverts were washed away.