Stop the annual ritual of bush burning – Environmentalist

A call has been made to the people of northern Ghana to devise ways and means of sustaining the environment all year round in order to fight climate change as a global problem.

This observation was made by Mr. Alhassan Nuhu the Executive Director of Environment Care Group Kindoma, a Non-Governmental Organization dedicated to the conservation of the environment, based in the Wa West District of the Upper West Region.

This call and observation were made during a sensitization outreach programme organized by the group at Poyentanga one of the biggest towns in the Wa West district to educate the town folks on the need to stop the perennial problem of setting fire to the bush.

Mr. Alhassan Nuhu said it is important that a critical look is taken at what he described as the ‘annual ritual of bush burning’, which according to him has very devastating effects on the environment, especially on soil fertility of the northern half of the country as farmers now without fertilizer cannot do farming meaningfully.

Mr Alhassan Nuhu said the north is becoming a notorious area when it comes to bush burning, which according to him, has over the years seen the loss of soil fertility with many farmers finding it difficult to get the right yields after exerting much effort and resources in farming activities.

He said at a time issues relating to fertilizer is a huge problem, especially with the removal of subsidy by the government in the agricultural sector and other farm inputs, it is essential that people of the north adopt acceptable practice standards such as the use of organic fertilizer, compost preparation and the planting of more trees to protect the environment for sustainable yields, especially by people who are engaged in farming.

The northern half of the country, especially during the dry harmattan season, experience bush burning, being set at times deliberately or accidentally. It is particularly devastating when a fire is set during the dry season without the creation of the necessary fire belts to protect life and property. It is also worthy of note that the northern half of the country has a long spell of the dry season spanning over seven months which comes with hardship and deprivation affecting food security in some cases.

Mr Alhassan Nuhu believes this situation could be reversed if best environmental practices are kept in place. Mr Nuhu said the aim of the Environmental Care Group Kindoma which was established since 2004 with 25 members made up of 18 women and seven (7) men mostly farmers, is nothing short of providing a voice for women and rural farmers by empowering them to protect and defend their environmental rights in order to protect the local environment in combating climate change and desertification.

The group according to him is also into advocacy which makes it possible for uninterrupted access to rural farmers especially women to environmental resources through erosion control and improved vegetation through awareness creation. He said Environmental Care Group Kindoma has been on the ground and its activities covering large areas of the West District which has over two hundred and thirty (230) communities in the district and it has been giving training over the years in the areas of tree planting, bushfire control, management and prevention.

He said the group has also formed a network with other organizations in learning and sharing new skills and lessons, as it has also been holding regular meetings with other community members in awareness creation through capacity building, mobilization of resources and it is also using an effective tool of using drama and storytelling to advance its cause as a group.

Mr Alhassan Nuhu said since the group does not want to act in isolation it is in a working relationship and collaboration with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), SD Dombo University, Sisala West Tree Growers Association, the Forestry Commission, Sugu Women’s Group and GBC Radio Upper West all located in the Upper West Region.

Looking into the future Mr Alhassan Nuhu said the group is out to create a society in which succeeding generations will cherish the environment and the climate and respect the rights of rural farmers in accessing resources within the locality without any let or hindrance.

The Wa West district in the Upper West Region where Environment Care Group Kindoma operates is an area located in the Guinea Savannah zone with a long dry season and short but heavy rainfall patterns. Over eighty percent (80%) of the able-bodied workforce are mainly farmers and they depend on the natural environment and its resources for livelihood and income.

The major problems confronting the area include but not limited to continuous land degradation by charcoal burners, logging, cattle rearing with an element of overgrazing, bush fires which have now become an annual ritual, and the unacceptable practice of marginalization, especially women.

It is in this regard that Environment Care Group Kindoma has over the years planted Shea, Dawadawa and Rosewood trees which are traditional economic trees in northern Ghana and are trees common to the Guinea Savannah Ecological zone which spreads from northern Ghana to the eastern corridor of West Africa all the way to the eastern and western portions of Senegal and Mauritania.

Despite their ecological and economic importance, these trees are becoming endangered since they are being harvested as timber for export, depriving women of their source of livelihood while degrading the environment.
This is Mr. Alhassan Nuhu said his group is doing its best to fight and control the situation through public education and sensitization with some success.

Some women spoken to mentioned that some of the interventions by the group have been very helpful in sustaining them as women farmers. For instance, Madam Gladys Sorditey said that the awareness creation embarked upon by the group has been an eye-opener for the women in the area and thanked the organizers for organizing such programmes.

A male farmer Mr. Peter Niekuu said the group's presence spanning many years has been helpful, especially now that the country is talking about applying organic fertilizer. The programme was attended by people from all walks of life with more women in attendance.