World Environment Day 2024: Collaboration needed for greener future — Minister

GHANA joined the rest of the world to mark this year’s World Environment Day with a call for strengthened collaboration between governments, private organisations, research institutions, academia and individuals towards the restoration of the ecosystem, revival of degraded landscapes, tackling desertification and building drought resilience.

The Minister of Environment, Science,  Technology and Innovation (MESTI), Ophelia Mensah Hayford, who made the call, empasised that joint efforts would achieve sustainable development and  future for the planet, species, and the next generation through climate-smart agriculture, effective water management, sustainable land management techniques and community involvement. 

Day 

World Environment Day is celebrated annually on June 5 to highlight and create regular public awareness and education on emerging environmental issues and serves as a powerful platform to engage people, communities and governments around the world.

It also serves to stimulate actions on critical environmental challenges facing the planet.

The theme for this year’s celebration is: “Land Restoration, Desertification and Drought Resilience” while the country adopted the national theme: “Land Restoration, Desertification and Drought Resilience — Journey to a Greener Future.”

This year’s commemoration coincided with the 50th anniversary of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the ministry’s regulation on environmental issues. 

As part of activities to mark the day, an exhibition was mounted for various organisations to showcase their innovations, initiatives and projects geared towards the protection and rehabilitation of the nation’s greenery and larger environment.

Impacts 

Ms Hayford noted that land degradation, desertification and drought were a significant issue in Ghana, with the country losing 30 per cent of its forest cover in the last 20 years due to agricultural expansion, logging and mining. 

That, she said, had led to soil erosion, nutrient depletion, and reduced water retention capacity with the Upper East and Upper West regions being affected the most. 

“Regular droughts now have a disastrous impact on agriculture, water supply, and food security, especially in the northern regions. Crop yields have decreased, and drought susceptibility has grown as a result of intensive agricultural methods' deteriorating soil fertility,” the minister added. 

She used the opportunity to highlight some initiatives the government, NGOs and the international community were embarking on to tackle the global issue. 

Ms Hayford, therefore, stressed that the nation’s food security, economic growth, and environmental sustainability depended on addressing land degradation, desertification and drought resilience, adding that; “achieving success requires efficient execution and collaboration between local communities, NGOs, and government institutions to scale up addressing these environmental issues.”

The Executive Director of EPA, John Kingsley Krugu, stressed that desertification and drought were not only environmental issues but also socio-economic crisis that impacted millions of people worldwide. 

He, therefore, stated that restoration was more than a remedial action but a proactive strategy to revive ecosystems and create sustainable futures. 

“Healthy lands support diverse plant and animal life, sustains agriculture, and sequesters carbon, playing a vital role in combating climate change.

Through reforestation, soil conservation, and sustainable farming practices we can restore degraded landscapes making them productive and resilient once more,” Mr Krugu added. 

He further stressed that the agency’s vision was to imbibe in the Ghanaian the need to value the environment in addition to its mandate of regulating activities that affected it.