Forum On The Impacts Of Oil Exporation On Oil Held.

The Director of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Kathrin Meissner, has yesterday, stated that the exploration of oil in Ghana holds  a lot of potentials for the development of the country and that, serious concerns as to what the negative impacts might be, must be dealt with.

The theme for the Forum was 'Community engagement on the impact of oil exploration on the fishing communities and fisheries in Ghana'.
 
Katherin Meissner said the forum will give stakeholders the opportunity to enter into an open and honest dialogue and negotiate on the best ways to manage the various interest groups in a transparent and inclusive way that will contribute to the democratic governance of Ghana's natural resources.

The Director of Petroleum, Dr Appiahgyei Gyamfi, in an address, disclosed that government has set up a team to address Environmental Management with respect to oil and gas activities in the western part of the country.

He added that major activities are being undertaken during the oil and gas exploration and emphasised that these have varying degrees of impact on fisheries depending on the mitigation measures put in place.

He stressed that, Ghana's Petroleum Exploration Law, will ensure that these impacts are minimised and if possible eliminated.

Dr Apiagyei Gyamfi also emphasised that the government is committed to ensuring that relevant laws and regulations are being undertaken to address the corporate Social Responsibilty of the Fisheries for the management of fisheries communities in the country.