Government urged to empower traditional authorities to protect resources

Tamale, Aug 29, GNA - Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) on climate change, at the end of a two-day public forum on climate change in Tamale, issued a communiqu=E9 calling on government to empower traditional authorities to enable them to protect natural resources in their areas.

The CSOs that included SEND-Ghana, Participatory Development Associates and Christian Aid, organised the programme on the theme: "Voices and vision on climate change".

They have aslo urged government to ensure that Ghanaians were adequately educated on issues concerning global climate change. The statement that was read on behalf of the group by Mr. Samuel Zang Akologo of SEND-Ghana, assured government of the readiness of CSOs to participate in its consultative processes towards the Copenhagen talks on climae change in December this year. The Communique urged government to ensure that public officials contributed to the success of the Copenhagen climate change talks and related matters.

It also urged government to play an influential role in forging a concerted and strong African voice at the Copenhagen talks inorder to indicate Africa's seriousness on climate change issues. The Copenhagen campaign seeks to call on countries such as Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands to be global leaders in climate change issues by making at least 80 percent cuts in carbon emissions by 2050. The campaign is also calling for funds for developing countries to enable them to reduce the emissions. 29 Aug 09