The 3-Day National Landscaping Forum which begun on Tuesday April 2nd, has ended today ( Friday, April 4, 2025) with a call for all stakeholders to see the fight against galamsey and degradation as a collective responsibility.
The Technical Director, Forestry at the Ministry of Lands and Technology, Mr. Joseph Osiakwa explained that the level of devastation to our environment and Forests, owing to galamsey, warrants the urgent prioritization of the fight against the menace all by stakeholders.
Stakeholders in a group Photograph after the 3-Day Forum.
The all hands-on-deck- approach, he said it is the only surest way of building a sustainable forest economy in Ghana.
Mr. Asiakwa also called for the need to enhance the ecological integrity of forests, wetlands and other ecosystems in the country, emphasizing the adoption of an integrated approach in tackling nature, forest and biodiversity conservation.
“Consolidation of the gains made and lessons learned under various interventions and scaling up was necessary in our collective goal to protect our natural resources”, the Technical Director, stressed.
Technical Director, Forestry at the Ministry of Lands and Technology, Mr. Joseph Osiakwa
In a closing remarks, the Program Leader for sustainable Development of World Bank ,Ghana, Liberia and Sierra-Leone, Naila Ahmed said the deliberations and insights shared at the 3 day Forum is evidence of Ghana’s strong commitment towards achieving a sustainable forest.
She noted that landscaping which is a way of ensuring forest sustainability should be a deliberate Priority to the government.
Ms Naila later promised to assist government in the usage of the Natural Capital Accounting(NCA) model which was launched on the first day of the Forum.
Program Leader for sustainable Development of World Bank ,Ghana, Liberia and Sierra-Leone, Naila Ahmed
She indicated that the NCA would help in measuring and valuing the economic contribution of natural resources and ecosystems of Ghana.
“Natural Capital Accounting has been used in gathering data. The World bank is ready to assist government in this regard”, the World Bank Program Leader emphasized.
The Chief Director of Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, Prof. Patrick Agbesinyale reiterated government’s commitment to fight and overcome the galamsey menace.
He later extended the Minister’s gratitude to the Participants stressing that the discussions and insights made at the Forum would go a long way to impact positively the Ministry’s quest for a sustainable forest development.
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