The Bono East regional Division of the Forestry Commission is touting a new vigour in its efforts in restoring the country’s lost forest cover after a fresh board for landscape management was inaugurated in Techiman to assist them tackle climate change and environmental challenges.
The new Landscape Management Board (LMB) which also has traditional authorities, heads of the forestry division and Agric departments serving as advisors, are expected to work to conserve biodiversity, build climate resilience, and reduce emissions from land-use changes in Ghana.
The initiative falls under a project by the two NGOs, Tropenbos Ghana and Ecocare Ghana, dubbed “Landscapes and Environmental Agility across the Nation (LEAN)”.
The inauguration of the new executives is the first of its kind in the Bono East Region, targeting the improvement of livelihoods of smallholder local farmers in the transitional area.
Nana Boakye Ameyaw Pentemprem, the Nifahene of Techiman traditional council addressing the new executives condemned the wanton destruction of the environment by unscrupulous persons in the society.
According to the chief, people in the transition landscape now dread a path to self-destruction through the activities of these individuals and called for all hands to come on deck to tackle it.
He said, “Nananom of the Techiman traditional council are solidly behind the move of Tropenbos Ghana and Ecocare Ghana as it falls directly in line with our agenda to conserve the natural habitat in Techiman”.
Nana Boakye Ameyaw also advised farmers to adopt the use of environmental-friendly chemicals in their activities to protect the soils and the environment.
Speaking to Citi News on the sidelines of the inauguration ceremony, a senior project officer of Tropenbos Ghana, Kwame Frimpong Sekyere said, the organizers have set a four-year period to help improve the market incentives of smallholder farmers within the transitional zone.
For his part, the newly elected Chairman of the LMB in Techiman, Gyau Peprah, described their inauguration as timely.
He recounted how the forest cover within the transition zone is fast depleting, saying they would exert the necessary effort to help the government recapture the lost forests in those areas.
“We are going to use climate-smart agriculture to help the government recapture the forest cover which is fast depleting in the transitional zone, we will develop an action plan to ensure the sustenance of the program after the four years have elapsed”.
Mr. Gyau Peprah added, “we will meet regularly to plan for the safety and welfare of smallholder farmers within the Techiman forest zone”.
The Deputy Bono East Regional Manager of the Forestry Commission, Rev. Jonathan Obour Wiredu saluted the initiators of the project. He said, his outfit is hopeful, that the board would bring new life into their activities.
Mr. Jonathan Wiredu also expressed hope that the output of the LMB would be very crucial for the government in its forest recovery drive.
He admonished them to make sure, all trees planted by them are properly nurtured.