In an effort to save Lake Bosomtwe, Ghana’s largest natural lake, from the vagaries of climate change and related challenges, the Water Resources Commission (WRC), together with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), has discussed how to save the Lake Bosomtwe Biosphere Reserve (LBBR).
Known as Situational Studies of the LBBR and Development of a proposal to establish Ecohydrology Demonstration Site, the discussion was aimed to establish what had changed, having adopted Lake Bosomtwe as a biosphere reserve of the UNESCO, and thereby reversing the degradation of the lake and its biodiversity.
The event attracted stakeholders from various sectors, including traditional leaders, who participated in group discussions. Over the years, challenges such as growing climate volatility, human activities, population explosion among others are having a toll on the Lake Bosomtwe.
Madam Melody Esiawonam Boateng, National Professional (Natural Science Sector) UNESCO Accra Office, in her welcome address, underscored that increasing climate instability, demographic growth, and human activities result in degrading natural resources, including above-ground waters, a challenge she said Lake Bosomtwe was battling with.
The above development, she continued, had led the WRC and UNESCO to join forces and work toward introducing the Ecohydrology concept, a tool which seeks to reverse the negative impacts of climate change, demographicgrowth, and human activities on Lake Bosomtwe.
“Ecohydrology uses the understanding of relationships between hydrological and biological processes at different scales to improve water security, enhance biodiversity, and further opportunities for sustainable development by lessening ecohydrological threats and maximising greater harmony within catchment process,” she said.
She disclosed that the UNESCO Intergovernmental Hydrological Programme (IHP) supports research, networking, and capacity-building initiatives aimed at improving the understanding of the interlinkages of ecohydrological process at the catchment scale.
“UNESCO and WRC also recognise that without stakeholders’ understanding, cooperation, and support, interventions that will be designed and implemented will not yield sustainable results. That is why we are here today to inform you about our ideas and invite your print”, she noted.
Speaking to The Chronicle, Mrs. Abena Dufie Wiredu Bremang, the Principal Officer and Head of Pra Basin of the WRC, stated that because the Bosomtwe Biosphere Reserve was mainly a water ecosystem, the lead agency managing the biosphere reserve was the WRC. UNESCO is partnering with the former to undertake this particular project.
Mrs. Wiredu Bremang disclosed that the UNESCO and WRC contracted consultants for situational studies because they have realised that water cannot be managed in isolation ,and because all the ecosystems are part of the biosphere reserve.
“You cannot only manage the water and leave the other ecological resources within the biosphere reserve and that is why we want to promote the ecohydrology concept which aims to manage the water and other ecological resources so that we have a holistic resources management of the lake.”
The ecohydrology according to her, is something that UNESCO is promoting so that water security is assured and the forest ecosystem and the livelihood of the people are also protected as well.
This particular project, according to the Principal Officer and Head of Pra Basin of the WRC , was about looking at the current situation after the designation of the Lake Bosomtwe as a biosphere reserve of UNESCO .
Abena Dufie Wiredu said: “We want to know what has changed and what is going on currently and what we can do to protect the biosphere reserve as whole.”
Asked about stages in description of a biosphere reserve, she explained that for a site to qualify as a biosphere reserve , it needs to have three main zones namely: Core zone, Buffer zone and Transitional zone .
“Usually the biosphere reserve is not the typical nature reserves where all the resources are wholly protected. Biosphere reserves allow people to live within the biosphere reserve.”
Dr. Benjamin Apraku Gyampoh, a senior lecturer at the Faculty of Renewable Natural Resources of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), one of the consultants also told The Chronicle that his outfit was drawing a proposal on how to effectively undertake the ecological site within the lake Bosometwe basin.
