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Government told to enforce
legislations on introduction of exotic species
Accra, June 25, Ghanadot/GNA - Professor
Emmanuel Owusu-Bennoah, Director General of the Council for
Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) on Wednesday
called on government to strictly enforce national
legislations on the introduction of specific exotic species
into the country.
He said this was necessary in the wake of threats that some
exotic species, such as the water hyacinth and the pulp
paper mulberry were posing to aquatic ecosystems in the
country.
Prof. Owusu-Bennoah made the call at the opening of a
two-day National Mid-Term Review Workshop on the United
Nation's Environment Programme and Global Environment
Facility Project on Removing Barriers to Invasive Plant
Management in Africa.
The project is aimed at ensuring effective management of
Invasive Aqua Species (IAS) and the implementation of the
Invasive Species Programme of Action Plan on the Environment
Initiative of NEPAD adopted by the Second Assembly of Heads
of States of the African Union held in Maputo, Mozambique in
July 2003.
Prof. Owusu-Bennoah explained that IAS occurrence in the
country was partly the result of deliberate introduction of
species for agro-forestry, forest plantation development or
research, while others were also introduced as ornamentals
without any knowledge on their threats.
He indicated that institutions tasked to control IAS were
also under resourced and could therefore not perform the
task well, hence the need to strengthen them to be
effective.
The Director-General said the project would therefore commit
over 10.3 million dollars, of which 4.3 million dollars
would be government co-financed by four pilot countries,
Ghana, Ethiopia, Uganda and Zambia to provide an enabling
policy environment to manage IAS.
Government, he stated, had committed itself to provide an in
cash co-financing contribution of 125,000 dollars per annum
for four years to ensure the smooth implementation of the
project.
He explained that the project would support The Pant
Protection and Regulatory Services under the Ministry of
food and Agriculture, CSIR and the Volta River Authority
considering that the aquatic weeds could threaten the
Akosombo Dam.
Mr Felix Jerry Akpabey, Deputy National Coordinator of the
project said the effects of aquatic weeds on the economy
were enormous, saying that it was depriving several
fishermen of their source of livelihood, affecting water
transportation, serving as breeding grounds for mosquitoes
and threatening water bodies.
He noted that the aquatic weeds have invaded most river
bodies, saying this was more serious on the Oti River, which
supplies about 40 per cent of the Volta Lake and this could
threathen the Akosombo Dam.
Mr. Akpabey said there was therefore the need to build
capacity of security personnel on the country's borders to
check entry of such species said aquatic weeds.
Mr. Kweku Amoako Atta deGraft-Johnson, National Coordinator
or the project expressed worry that most sub-Saharan African
countries did not have effective policies, institutional
environment and capacity to address issues of IAS.
He explained that the workshop was aimed at providing
participants the opportunity to access impact of the project
so far and share ideas on ways to improve on performance.
GNA
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