Global warming is real, desertification is happening around us, Let’s rise up and fight it.

For all those who care about the future of our children and those yet unborn, it is imperative to join forces to fight against not only illegal logging but most importantly government approved legal logging for exports. After all, how much do we earn from timber exports as compared to the devastating effects of cutting down all our natural forest in the name of foreign exchange.

The question that I often ask myself is this; America,Germany, Japan, China and many other nations formulate policies based on their national interests, they would even go to war as in the Iraq war to protect and safeguard their national interests but do we in Ghana have a national interest? Or we just obey the wind and go where the wind blow us to.

So can’t we for once stop being naive and think positively about what the future would be for our children in 50 years from now if we continue in this destructive path we are treading on?even if we lack the capacity to foresee the future, do we also lack the decency and appreciation of what others are saying about global warming?

In all my travels in Ghana, I have never come across a single artificial forest besides some few commercial tree plantations here and there, yet our political leaders keep deluding themselves of planting new trees to replace the cut timber. Why are we fooling our own people? I heard of tree planting and reforestation 50 years ago when I was in primary one, since then, I have never seen any single odum, wawa,sapele, mahogany, apuro, mansonia, or any of those popular species grown as a result of our so-called afforestation program to replace any of the cut trees. The end results is that, in Ashanti region where I am from, carpenters can hardly find good timber for furniture unless they travel to Ahafo or western region. Very soon, we will finish devastating the forest in those regions and still have nothing to show for it.

As if this is not enough, we have resorted to mining in our rivers and the few scattered forest left all in the name of chasing money but at what cost? To the extent that there is legal small scale mining, there would always be illegal small scale mining. Let all well meaning Ghanaians arise and join hands together to fight not only individuals but also the destructive grand master called the government because climate change is real and so is desertification and drying of our wetlands. Posterity would not forgive us if we fail to act now.

Long live Ghana!!
Benjamin Opoku Agyepong
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