Bice Osei Kuffuor (2 left) performing alongside other musicians at the launch
A CAMPAIGN aimed at saving the Atiwa Range Forest Reserve at Kibi in the Eastern Region from virtual destruction caused by human activities has been launched.
The launch which came with a clarion call on the central government to pass a legislation that will turn the reserve into a protected national park, took place on Friday at the Oak Plaza Hotel in Accra.
Family Tree Entertainment Ghana, a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) owned by renowned Ghanaian hiplife musician, Bice Osei Kuffuor, popularly known as Obour, is spearheading the “Atiwa till eternity” project with support from the Ministries of Sanitation and Water Resources, Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, as well as two other NGOs namely AROCHA Ghana and Green Beats, a Dutch organization.
As part of the campaign, Family Tree Entertainment Ghana and its partners are expected to engage the services of musicians and opinion leaders to create awareness about the ‘huge’ tourism potential of the Atiwa Range Forest Reserve and the need to urgently turn it into a national park.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Family Tree Entertainment Ghana, Obuor, addressing the media explained that the need to secure the Atiwa Range Forest Reserve from further destruction caused by human activities such as illegal mining, hunting, and logging, among others, is critical, considering the fact that it is a direct source for three main rivers namely Ayensu, Birim and the Densu River which feeds the Weija Dam that provides water for millions of residents in areas like Kasoa, and Accra.
According to him, “importantly protecting and restoring water-related ecosystems such as forests, mountains, wetlands and rivers is essential if we are to mitigate water scarcity.”
Urging other musicians to join the campaign, the renowned singer said “we can no longer go about singing and turning a blind eye to the situation as if nothing is happening.”
In continuing, he noted that “for we are aware that if current trends of pollution continue, the water scarcity that we are already experiencing will get worse and worse and the common woman in the village and the child who should be in school, our sisters who should be at work are those who are going to bear the brunt of this self-induced calamity.”
“It is an issue of social and environmental responsibility and justice,” he said, appealing passionately to the New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration to ensure the passage of the proposed law expeditiously.
The campaign is in conformity with government’s commitment to provide clean water for all Ghanaians by 2025, said the Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources, Joseph Kofi Adda, in a speech read on his behalf at the press launch.
According to him, it is also expected to give respite to millions of people who depend on the rich biodiversity and ecosystem of Atiwa for daily cultural and spiritual significance.
Meanwhile, CEO of Ghana Tourism Development Company, Kojo Antwi, pledged on behalf of the Minister of Tourism, Catherine Afeku, government’s support to ensuring the success of the project and the passage thereof of the legislation which will see the Forest Reserve becoming a national park.
BY Melvin Tarlue