THE ENVIRONMENT STRIKES BACK

For over decades now, human activities has continually disrupt the ecosystem and the inter-relationship between man and nature has over the years has worsen with implications such as tidal waves, severe weather conditions, drought and uneven rainfall patterns. In Ghana, issues of the environment is never a consideration when electing leaders into political office. Our citizenry attitude towards the environment is not the best. We pollute the environment and then accuse leaders for doing nothing to make our cities clean enough. But how can we exonerate them when they are those given grandiose promises and leasing state resources and Timber contracts to their cronies.

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Communities displaced, homes destroyed, and as usual, politicians are playing their gimmicks and blame game while the issues remain unsolved. Severe weather conditions coupled with tidal waves in communities like Keta has become the new normal. Unpredictable rainfall pattern with its dire effect on food security and nutrition is no wake-up call to politicians. There have been verbal promises by the various governments to mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change yet there’s no practical measures to actualize this verbal commitments. The sea defense project started by the erstwhile Mahama administration has been abandon and communities along the coastal regions live in fear of the sea that serves as their livelihood.

Bank of Ghana has come up with a policy that sees to the financing of projects by that are climate and environmentally friendly yet it remains commitment on paper.Ghana would be on the verge of food insecurity if the menace of climate change is not looked at now. Ghana’s once forest zones keeps on depleting at an astronomic rate with activities like “Galamsey”, large scale farming, urbanization all contributing hugely to this menace.

Our effort to achieve achieve the SDG goals has all been lip service with no practical road-map to realize it. Government has made efforts through the Forestry Commission to recruit youth to plan more than 3 million tress to cover the fast degrading forest. However, this is usually done with political scoring motives, Youth recruited are usually not paid or are affiliated to a particular party in the name of crating jobs. Ghana’s strides in this effort is minimal and would need a bottom up approach to solve this menace.

Some of us are not cynics or pessimist but we seek to look at the gaps and incoherence in government policies and highlights them to those who'll see beyond our ugly noises and listen.