Navrongo focuses on Climate Change

The Chief and people of Navrongo have celebrated the Fao festival with a focus on awareness creation on climate change.

The annual festival, celebrated to thank God for his protection and gift of good harvest in the previous year, was on the theme: “Climate Change and Food Security: The Role of Stakeholders”.

The festival, characterized by a display of cultural drumming, traditional songs and dancing, also attracted politicians and traditional rulers.

Mr James Tiigah, the Upper East Regional Minister, said climate change was to be blamed for the decline in rainfall in the northern ecological zones of the country.

He said the change in rainfall pattern and weather conditions could also be attributed to certain human activities such as the indiscriminate felling of trees for charcoal burning and bush burning.

He said there was the need for traditional rulers, faith based organizations, community based organizations, local government authorities to actively partner with government to help mitigate and address our environmental concerns.

“Climate change indeed is one of the greatest forces that has the tendency of reversing our forward match. It affects our main livelihoods which is crop, animal production and water for domestic use”, the Minister said.

He appealed to the traditional councils in the northern ecological zones to rejuvenate the culture where they preserved fetish groves which allowed the growth and the protection of certain tree species.

Pe Arthur Wekem Bailinia Adda, the Regent of the Navrongo Traditional area, said bush burning has been outlawed and sanctions would be enacted on those who infringe on the laws.

He said there was the need to promulgate some bye laws to ensure that every citizen plant and grow trees in his or her compound.

Mr Mark Woyongo, the Member of Parliament for the area, called on the traditional council to contribute towards the growth of the Navro Pio Educational Endowment fund to help support the numerous brilliant but needy students in the area.

The traditional council presented a bull to the Koronia Junior High School for emerging the best among the Junior High Schools in the Municipality in the last BECE examination.