As GWS donates Equipment worth $12,000 to the Forestry Commission to Augment Law Enforcement in the Atewa Range Forest Reserve.
Ghana Wildlife Society on the 21st of March 2018, donated assorted equipment worth $12,000 to the Forestry Commission of Ghana to boost the government’s efforts in fighting forest and wildlife crimes in the Atewa Range Forest Reserve.
The items included 30 sign posts that would be erected at vantage point along the reserve, 50 pairs of wellington boots, 11 camping tents, 15 high intensity headlamps, 20 raincoats and three GPS handsets. With funding from the Rainforest Trust, an international non-profit organization, Ghana Wildlife Society also pledged an amount of $6,000 towards a joint awareness creation and grassroots lobbying project, to canvass communities support for the declaration of the Atewa National Park.
Here are some pictures from the event
The donation which also coincided with the International Day of Forest 2018 was held at Segyimase in the Eastern Region of Ghana. In attendance were the Kontihene of Segyimase; Mr. Baffour Owusu Ntifu, the Operations Manager of the Forestry Commission, Mr. Atta Owusu and other dignitaries.
The Society also used this occasion to also emphasize on the need to reject the proposed bauxite mining in the Atewa Range Forest Reserve.
Related: Trading Ghana’s Atewa Forest: A Looming Crisis
The theme for celebration is “Forests and Sustainable Cities”. To build a sustainable city of Accra, the city needs constant supply of water. A chunk of the volume of water reaching Accra dwellers comes from the watersheds of the Atewa forest. Bauxite mining will not be compatible with the forest’s ability to continue to provide water and other essential ecosystem services.
Ghana’s forests and associated biodiversity must be protected to guarantee the long-term provision of ecosystem services and basic needs of our present and future generations, health and security of our resource dependent communities and above all, improve the quality of life for all the Ghanaian people.
