Continues planning and policies could resolve environmental problems - Director

Winneba (C/R) June 22, GNA - Mr Ahmed D. Nantogmah, Director, External Relations and communications of Ghana Charmer of Mines has called for continues planning, policies, efforts of business and public participation to resolve all environmental problems in the next decade.

It is important to recognize, however, that creating wealth and protecting the environment must co-exist to maintain order, keep objects and places clean, he said.

Mr Nantogmah made the call in a speech delivered on his behalf at a forum held at Winneba by the Centre for School and Community Science and Technology Studies (SACOST) of University of Education, Winneba.

It was done in collaboration with Shape Attitude Ghana, an NGO and supported by Zoomlion Ghana, a sanitation management company.

The event was to commemorate this year's UN-World Environment Day on the theme: 'Connecting People to Nature.'

The Director hinted that, Ghana performed creditably in five out of eight of the Millennium development Goals, which sought at creating the needed environment.

The country however but performed abysmally in environmental sustainability mainly because of weak environmental monitoring and enforcement laws and systems, pollution of water bodies by illegal miners and population pressure.

He disclosed that, UN statistics indicate that water security affects more than 40 per cent of people globally, an alarming figure.

'Today we are witnessing unprecedented land degradation, and the loss of arable land at a faster rate than has ever been recorded in the history of the world,' he said.

Mr Nantogmah stated that a clean environment could be sustained through conservation and proper management through effective policy implementation by the government.

'Our environmental indiscretions must have repercussions to us as individual and the state must be seen to punish offenders drastically.'

The Chamber's studies revealed that the enforcement of health safety and environmental standards through the engagement of competent Mining Engineers and Environmental Officer by small-scale miners would drastically improve the destructive nature of illegal mining, he added.

Professor Kolawole Raheem, Head of SACOST, said to endanger the environment meant all mankind would perish.

The programme is part of SACOST responsibility to sensitise people especially the young ones about issues effecting the environment and to stop harming it.

Mrs Sarah Kyei, Co-ordinator, Zoomlion Foundation launched Zoomkids and also donated a quantity of the kids to the Effutu Directorate of the Ghana Education service to be distributed to schools in the area to put rubbish in rather than littering the environment.

GNA