Dr Richard Atuahene, the Chief Executive Officer of Safewings Investments Limited, has called for collaboration among Ghanaians and institutions to keep the environment clean and protect it from further degradation.
Speaking with a cross-section of the media to commemorate this year’s World Environment Day, Dr Atuahene said maintaining a clean and safe environment was the responsibility of everyone, emphasising that ‘our environment reflects who we are as a nation.’
He said: ‘Every Ghanaian should be deeply concerned about the filth surrounding us and should work together intentionally to change this narrative.’
The World Environment Day, instituted in 1973, aims at raising awareness and celebrating environmental action. According to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, up to 40 per cent of the planet’s land is degraded, directly affecting half of the world’s population, and threatening roughly half of global Gross Domestic Product – GDP (US$44 trillion). The number and duration of droughts has in
creased by 29 per cent since 2000 – without urgent action, droughts may affect over three-quarters of the world’s population by 2050.
In Ghana, an estimated 35 per cent of the land is said to be under threat of desertification, while it is estimated that the annual cost of land degradation in the country is USD1.4 billion.
This is equal to six per cent of the country’s GDP.
Dr Atuahene pointed out the embarrassment caused by some Ghanaians who abused the environment, an act which destroyed the ecosystem that sustained human existence.
He stressed the need for a strong stance against illegal mining, highlighting it as a significant threat that devastated large forest areas and contaminated vital water bodies, which served as essential drinking water sources in the country.
‘It is unimaginable how we inflict such harm on ourselves and future generations for selfish gains,’ Dr. Atuahene lamented.
‘The galamsey menace negatively impacts us all, and we must unite across social, religious, and political lines
to eliminate it before we suffer further consequences,’ he added.
He expressed concern about the level of pollution caused to the country’s waterbodies and forests, saying this calls for ‘urgent need for all of us to engage in promoting sustainable environmental practices.’
The CEO of Safewings Investments Limited, said as an organisation it had been actively involved in tree planting and sustainable environmental practices, in partnership with The Green Republic Project to protect
He encouraged corporate Ghana to participate actively in Government’s Green Ghana Initiative, which seeks to replace the country’s lost vegetation.
Dr Atuahene asserted that both individuals and corporations reflected the state of the Ghanaian environment, stressing that it was crucial to change this negative image.
He revealed that Safewings Investments Limited was developing environmental programmes for children to instill responsible environmental values from a young age.
Dr Atuahene also urged all Ghanaians to participate
in activities on World Environment Day, particularly government’s Green Ghana Day on June 7 to combat the adverse effects of climate change and global warming.
‘We cannot fail our children through our irresponsible environmental behavior,’ Dr Atuahene emphasised, adding that ‘the least we can do is to educate them about the environment to prevent them from facing even worse conditions than we currently experience.’
Source: Ghana News Agency