Dr. Elliot Alhassan
Dean of the School of Natural Resource Management of the University for Development Studies (UDS), Dr. Elliot Alhassan, has called on the Ghana Chamber of Mines to establish a centre of excellence for environmental management in the school.
This, according to him, would go a long way to provide adequate and sufficient data on environmental-related issues, especially in the Northern Region.
Dr. Elliot explained that there is no data in the field of environment mainly due to the lack of funds to carry out such researches.
This, he said, has become inimical and a major impediment in the right policy formulation in the area of environmental sustainability.
He, however, believes that setting up a centre of excellence for environmental management would provide the needed funds for such researches and data to be collected and kept in the centre, which would serve as a data bank for environmental-related issues, especially in the three regions of the north.
Dr. Alhassan made this call when students of the Faculty of Natural Resource Management had an engagement with members from the Ghana Chamber of Mines as part of activities to celebrate the Chamber’s 90th anniversary.
Addressing the students, Ahmed Dasana Nantogmah, the external relations and communications director of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, admonished the students to take advantage of the many technological advancement to improve their skills and knowledge, especially in the mining sector and sustaining the environment.
He continued, “Mining is development and development means mining, however, there is a need to mine responsibly to protect and sustain the environment, which is why we are here today and to urge you to develop sustainable ways of mining with little or no effects on the environment.”
Mr. Nantogmah added that there is collaboration between the Chamber and the faculty to promote research in the areas of environmental sustainability and responsible mining, especially in the Northern Region, considering that there has been the discovery of huge deposits of gold in the region.
Established in 1928, the Ghana Chamber of Mines, then Gold Coast Mines, was incorporated as a private company and had its operations in Tarkwa in the Western Region. The name was changed from Gold Coast Mines to Ghana Chamber of Mines on the attainment of independence in 1957.
Over the past 90 years, the Ghana Chamber of Mines has contributed immensely towards the development of the Ghanaian economy, hastening the evolution of the economy from being dependent on external gratuities and policies to a self-reliant and resilient nation.
FROM Eric Kombat, Nyankpala