Chiana (U/E), Dec. 22, GNA 96 The Upper East Regional Coordinating Council has appealed to the people of the Region to preserve the environment since it would deal drastically with those, who violated bylaws on the conservation of the environment. Speaking at a durbar in Chiana in Kassena-Nankana District to mark the World Environmental Day; Deputy Regional Minister, Alhaji Awudu Yirimeah called on traditional leaders and all stakeholders to get involved in preserving and conserving the environment. He said despite the fact that Ghana signed the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in 1994 and rectified it in December 1996, indiscriminate bush burning alongside other negative practices were still on the increase.

These negative practices, the Deputy Minister noted, had brought in their wake, high level of poverty and its attendant negative consequences.

Alhaji Yirimeah said a recent survey conducted by the United Kingdom revealed that global warming could cause depreciation worse than that of the 1930s if countries did not act fast to reduce its effect on the environment.

He pointed out that the Government's avowed policy of moving the country to a middle-income status by 2015 would not be achieved if matters of the environment were relegated to the background and urged traditional rulers to lead the crusade against bush burning and other negative environmental practices in their communities. He appealed to District Assemblies; Government Departments and Agencies, such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); Forestry Service Division (FSD); Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA); Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) as well as all stakeholders to collectively fashion out a well coordinated programme to tackle environmental problems in the Region.

The Regional Director of EPA, Mrs Zenabu Wasai-King stated that indiscriminate felling of trees; bush burning; pollution of water bodies and overgrazing have resulted in fuel wood shortage, poor soils, erratic rainfall pattern and the silting up of rivers and dams. Mrs Wasai-King explained that those conditions had paved the way for desert -like conditions; destruction of the vegetative cover; soil erosion; loss of biodiversity; poor soil fertility and pollution of water bodies.

She noted that the preservation and conservation of the environment should be seen as a shared responsibility of all and called on all and sundry to get involved in the fight against desertification. The Kassena-Nankana District Chief Executive, Mr Emmanuel Chegeweh urged the people to preserve the physical and cultural landscapes in the area to attract tourist to the Paga Crocodile Pond; the beautiful village architecture at Sirigu and the Former Slave Camp.