Members of climate change working group in Yapei and its environs in the Central Gonja District of the Northern region have expressed grieved concerned over the wanton destruction of farm lands in the area. They are therefore appealing to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to intervene to save peasant farmers’ farm lands.
The group are worried that gravel and sand winning in the area continue to deplete the environment and are rendering many peasant farmers helpless as their farm lands are being destroyed without any compensation.
The climate change working groups formed by Northern Sector Action on Awareness Center (NORSAAC) and its supporting partners said government’s efforts in protecting the environment will be a mirage if district assemblies and traditional authorities fail to show serious commitment to ensure sustainable land management.
Sharing his frustration at a forum on climate change effects on local livelihoods in Gbulung in Kumbungu district, a member of the group in Yapei, Fuseini Mumin said not even tree planting can solve environmental problems in Yapei area alleging that implementers of by-laws at the district level are rather engaging in activities that are detrimental to the environment.
According to him, the district assembly takes its revenue and the traditional rulers also take their share from the sand winning activities leaving the poor peasant farmers whose farms have been destroyed.
The affected farmers have devised means of making a living by stationing themselves in their destroyed farms where the sand winning takes place and demand between 3 and 5 GH¢ from the TIPPER track drivers to depending on the size of the Track to sustain their lives.
The program officer of EPA Jafaru Musah, however, said the agency can only help the affected communities to formulate by-laws to deal with the situation. Another way the communities can do to mitigate the impact of climate change is to reduce charcoal production.
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