Weak enforcement measures resulted in a near breakdown of regulations -Lands and Natural resources Minister

The Lands and Natural Resources Minister, Honourable Samuel Abdulai Jinapor, has alleged that weak enforcement of measures has resulted in a near breakdown of regulations in 2014 and 2016.

Addressing the MPs at the floor on Wednesday, March 23, 2022, Mr. Jinapor further alleged that weak enforcement of measures have impacted the environmental degradation reaching its crescendo around that time.

According to him, at the time, large tracts of farmlands were degraded forest reserves were destroyed.

Water bodies, he further added had their fair share of pollution depriving many communities of clean water supply.

He disclosed that the government of H.E. President Nana Addo Dankwah Akuffo-Addo upon assumption of office in 2017,  has taken several measures to clean up the sector. 

Amongst the measures undertaken by the government, Minister noted was the introduction of the Multi-Sectoral Mining Integrated Project(MMIP) to ensure the systematic and sustainable development of Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining in the country.

The minister further indicated that the Ghana Landscape Restoration and Small Scale Mining Project (GLRSSMP) which is an activity under the Multi-Sectoral Mining Integrated Integrated Project(MMIP) with the overall objective to strengthen integrated natural resource management and increase benefits to communities in the targeted areas.

The project, the Minister intimated, targets two landscapes; the Northern Savannah landscape including the Guinea Savannah ecological zone, the Sudan Savannah ecological zone, and the upper portions of the Transitional ecological zone, and, the cocoa forest landscape including parts of the forest ecological zone and PRA River Basin.

He observed that the measures were intended to build on the successes of previous and ongoing programs such as the Sustainable Land and Water Management Project (SLWMP), the Forest Investment Program (FIP), the Youth in Afforestation Programme (YAP,) and Green Ghana Project, all of which were aimed at restoring the degraded landscape and sustainably managing the nation's resources.

The minister further noted that the project sought to empower women and the youth to pick up roles in local-levelfforestand landscape management activities and create better income-generating opportunities.

He added that over two hundred and fifty thousand(250,000) people including the youth and women as well farmers and artisanal miners will benefit from the project.

He also assured that the project would help boost post-covid-199 economic recovery, create jobs, and secure livelihoods in some poorest parts of the country by focusing on agricultural productivity, ecosystem management,t, and sustainable sanitizing of this smallscale mining sector

The Land Restoration component, which is jointly being implemented by the Ministry of Lands and Natural resources and the Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology, he said would restore degraded lands in and around twenty-two forest reserves in twelve forest districts including Mpraeso, Donkokrom, and Akim-Oda in the Eastern region, Nkawie, Bekwai and Juaso in the Ashanti region, Navorongo and Bawku in the Upper East Region, Tu mu, and Lawra in the Upper West Region and Bole and Buipe in the Savannah Region.

Prosper Kwaku Selassy Agbitor