The Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel A Jinapor, says Ghana’s natural resources and the environmental sector have come under severe threat.
The threats, which stared at the nation, he said, have been caused by factors such as illegal mining, illegal logging, deforestation, forest degradation, land degradation, soil erosion, climate change and water pollution among others.
Additionally, he mentioned that they were also responsible for life threatening injuries, deaths, delinquencies, school drop-outs, drug and substance abuse and trafficking among others.
Mr Jinapor made this known in a keynote address he delivered at the first National Youth Conference on the Natural Resources and Environmental Governance held at the British Council yesterday.
The conference was under the theme; “Promoting Effective Youth Participation in the Governance of the Natural Resources and Environmental Sector.”
He noted that illegal mining and forest degradation which have gained notoriety in the forest reserves, denied young people of arable lands for farming, and are the sources of diseases.
To be able to mitigate the impact and protect the nation’s forest reserves he said, “If we are to develop and prosper, we must efficiently and effectively manage these resources”.
The role of the youth
The minister explained further that to be able to build the Ghana we aspire for current and future generations, the youth must be at the centre.
“It is for this reason that since 2017, several policies have been adopted to mainstream the youth in Natural Resource and Environmental Governance”, he added.
“Young people always bring fresh perspectives to natural resource management and are more likely to embrace innovative and sustainable solutions to environmental and natural resources management,” he said.
The youth, he said, were the custodians of the resources and bore the consequences of environmental degradation and the depletion of our natural resources.
“By involving young people in Natural Resources and Environmental Governance, we are also likely to solve one of the biggest challenges that confront young people, youth unemployment”,he added
In view of this,the minister indicated that the active involvement of the youth, who are said to constitute about thirty-six percent (36%) of our national population, was critical.
It is in the wake of how critical the youth have been that policies recognised the important role the youth play in Natural Resources and Environmental Governance.
He said “It is, therefore, of utmost importance that we actively engage the youth, tap into their creativities, unleash their energies, and find more and effective ways of protecting our environment and natural resources.”
This, he explained, was the rationale behind the commitment of the Government of President Akufo-Addo, to promote the involvement of the youth in all matters of governance.
The minister regrettably noted that the youth, to whom the future of the country’s forest reserve belongs, were actively engaged in the same activities that were destroying the forest and the environment.
To help address the concern, the ministry, he said, has tailored youth friendly initiatives that are more sustainable to be able to restore the depleted forest and also improve the degraded vegetation.
In the mining sector, he said Community Mining Scheme, which has been viewed as the alternative to illegal mining practices, had been revamped and being promoted
These Schemes have engaged thousands of young men and women in sustainable and responsible small scale mining practices, in Ashanti, Central, Eastern, Western, Western North, Savannah and Upper East Regions.
In addition to the Community Mining Schemes, the National Alternative Employment and Livelihood Programme (NAELP) also seek to provide alternative employment and sources of livelihood.
Currently, the Programme employs several youths in direct and indirect employment in the production of seedlings and reclamation of degraded mined lands.
The apprenticeship and entrepreneurial modules of the programme is set to be rolled out later this year to train the youth in mining communities in agriculture, technical, vocational, industrial, and mining skills.
Additionally, the ministry followed the launch of the President’s Green Ghana Project, in 2021 with a tailored programme to get the youth actively involved, through the One Student and One Tree Initiative.
This initiative, which was implemented in the various second cycle institutions, sought to instil in young people, the culture of tree planting and the importance of protecting our natural resources and environment.
Students in these schools were encouraged to plant, at least, one tree each, every Green Ghana Day, and nurture them to maturity.
In addition, Green Ghana Clubs were formed in some selected schools, to ensure that we sustain the initiative.
I am happy to note that through this initiative, we have been able to engage a good number of students who have taken active interest in forest and natural resources management.
It is our hope that we can sustain this interest, and promote their active involvement and participation in the governance of our natural resources and environment.
