Natural resource management requires all hands on deck
The Natural Resource Stakeholders Dialogue started yesterday.
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The two-day event which ends today is being organised by the Graphic Communications Group Ltd (GCGL) in partnership with the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources and its agencies.
The dialogue, among other things, is to keep the conversation around the responsible harnessing of the country’s natural resources going for the collective good of all.
It is part of GCGL’s continuous use of its national platform to project development issues.
The presentations, keynoted by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, were revealing.
It became clear that the exploitation of the natural resources was non-negotiable.
However, it must be done sustainably and responsibly.
The President, particularly brought along the good news that new minerals, in fact green minerals, had been unearthed, their mines being developed and new traditional mines also coming up.
“Ghana has discovered lithium and other green minerals in commercial quantities,” President Akufo-Addo stated.
He added that with the unpalatable experience of the country deriving less benefit from over a century of mining gold, the government was putting in place measures to ensure that did not recur.
“I assure you that we will do whatever it takes to ensure that the exploitation and utilisation of these green minerals are done, not only in an environmentally sound manner but also in a way that ensures optimal benefit to the people of Ghana.
This we will never compromise,” the President added.
The dialogue, which mostly features panel discussions on mining, forests and land administration, and workshops also brought to the fore the fact that beyond the challenges in the sectors, a lot of activities are on the ground to check excesses and ensure sanity.
The country is immensely endowed with abundance of natural resources, including arable land, forests, water bodies and precious minerals.
However, these resources are in the main finite and require proactive measures to nurture and protect for the collective good now, and importantly, for the next generation.
Ghana is noted for its abundant natural resources, which include gold, diamond, bauxite, manganese, oil, lithium ore, and until recently, abundant hardwood timber.
The mining sector has played an important part in the country's economic development, providing jobs to our people and revenue to the government to support other initiatives.
However, as the Managing Director of GCGL, Ato Afful, said, the excessive, unrestrained, unbridled and unrepentant extraction and use of natural resources had resulted in irreparable damage, in some instances, to the environment and on occasions contributed to disasters and the loss of precious human lives.
Illegal mining, in particular, has had a negative impact on the environment, with associated impact on deforestation, excessive water pollution and the destruction of natural habitats, fauna and flora.
Also known as Galamsey, illegal mining which typifies poor land use, costs the government money and eventually harms the country's economic progress and international brand reputation.
The impact of illegal mining on the environment and its effects on public health are enormous, and can no longer be overlooked.
The Daily Graphic holds the position that much as a lot has been said, done and achieved, it is time to take the multi-stakeholder route to commit to a national action plan to ensure that only the right things are done in the natural resource sector, and any bad lots expeditiously punished.
We believe that to secure a more sustainable future, all citizens must approach natural resource management more holistically.
This will entail balancing economic progress, environmental conservation and social welfare with national revenue and developmental aspirations.
The Daily Graphic is urging collaboration to develop novel solutions that support sustainable production and consumption trends.
The country must strive to create a healthier environment by carefully leveraging the natural resource endowments for our long-term collective good.
The paper calls on all to commit to take action, learning from what has been done over time, to make a difference for the environment and communities for the future.
This can be achieved by caring and working together to create a sustainable future for all Ghanaians; living and unborn.
