The Tano Women Empowerment and Development Association (TWEDA), a non-profit-making organisation, has engaged pupils of the Tipokrom M/A basic as well as residents of Tipokrom in the Asunafo North district of the Ahafo region on environmental conservation.
The awareness creation programme formed part of the World Environment Day, which was marked globally under the theme: “Land restoration, desertification and drought resilience.”
During the programme, the school children held placards conveying various messages about the need to protect and conserve the environment for future generations.
Among the inscriptions on the placards were ‘Plant a tree today’, ‘trees clean our air’, ‘provide homes for wildlife’, ‘reuse, recycle – this helps cut down on waste that can harm the environment’, and ‘wishing for clearer water and a brighter future for all living things.”
Educating the school children and the community members on the need to preserve the environment, Ms Lucy Annor, the Coordinator of TWEDA, explained that environmental pollution does not only arise out of industrial activities but also through some daily human activities.
“Pollution does not only come about from the emissions of the industries, but also littering polythene bags, other plastics and waste materials as well pollute and degrade the environment, making it lose its fertility”, she said.
She therefore encouraged them to properly dispose of all waste to avoid any possible pollution of the environment.
She also asked farmers to disabuse their minds that when they plant trees on their farms, it will reduce harvest and explained that: “Farmers used to reduce the number of trees on a farm in the olden days to allow for enough sunlight on the crops because the sun was not as scorching today as it was years ago. This means that a reasonable number of trees on a farm is very necessary to reduce the amount of sunshine on the crops.”
She also explained that when the leaves of the trees fall onto the farm, they mulch and later enrich the fertility of the soil, thereby increasing yields.
Wildlife conservation
Touching on wildlife conservation, Madam Annor said the forests serve as the habitat for wildlife and so there is the urgent need to conserve these forests to ensure that animals such as elephants and others will not disappear, adding that: “Because of various destructive human activities, one can hardly come across some of these wild animals in our forests.
She further educated the gathering about climate change and the government’s “Green Ghana Day” programme.
World Environment Day
World Environment Day is celebrated annually on 5 June and encourages awareness and action for the protection of the environment. It is supported by many non-governmental organizations, businesses, government entities, and represents the primary United Nations outreach day supporting the environment
TWEDA is a registered women-led and absolute women not-for-profit and non-governmental organization established in 2010 to promote women and children’s rights, women economic empowerment, environmental justice, livelihoods and entrepreneurial skills development and training of women particularly those in rural communities, health, water and sanitation programs, climate change awareness creation and mitigation and adaptation strategies using indigenous knowledge and strategies.
Members are drawn from five mining affected communities in Ahafo region and other parts of Sunyani in the Bono Region.