The Corporate Affairs & Media Relations Unit (CAMRU) in collaboration with the Climate Change Directorate (CCD) and Forest Services Division (FSD), have embarked on a sensitisation and awareness creation programme on bushfires.
The event took place in the Tamale Forest District of the Northern Region as part of a series of activities lined up for the 2024 Anti-Bushfire Campaign.
Community members who are mainly farmers, from Labariga, Zoborgu, Changnayili and Kulaa attended the event.
Mr. Charles Sarpong Duah, Manager, CCD, introduced the team undertaking the exercise and informed the gathering that they have been brought together for an awareness creation programme on bushfires and how to prevent them from occurring.
Mrs. Joyce Ofori Kwafo, Head of Corporate Affairs & Media Relations, who spoke through Mr. Karim Bukari, the District Manager of FSD, Tamale, who doubled as the interpreter, briefed the gathering about the causes of bushfires and the need to prevent them.
Using printed and audiovisual materials, she expatiated on some human-induced activities that cause bushfires and advised the community members to desist from such acts.
She encouraged members to be very proactive in the fight against bushfires as that will ensure the sustainability of the nation’s forests. She mentioned that “Bushfires have the tendency to destroy all the trees planted under various projects of the Commission and it is necessary to be cautious in the dry season when the weather is very dry”.
“Please try and inform Forestry Commission officials about anyone who you suspect of having intentions to set fire to the forest for any reasons”, she said.
She cautioned that “Anyone found engaging in acts that cause bushfires will be handed over to the appropriate authorities for the laws of the country to take its course “, she concluded.
Members of the community expressed their gratitude to the Commission for bringing such an event their way. They promised to be very cautious so as not to burn the forests around them.
There was an interactive session after which Mrs Ofori Kwafo presented the attendees with T-shirts and educational materials about the causes and prevention of bushfires.
The programme was also attended by Mr. Mbemah Saibu, Project Training Officer, Ghana Shea Landscape Restoration Project (GSLERP) and Madam Gloria Aikins, Assistant District Manager, FSD, Tamale.