|
Regional centre for prudent management
of marine resources commissioned
Accra, July 25, Ghanadot/GNA - Mr Daniel Dugan, Deputy
Minister of Fisheries, on Wednesday bemoaned the continuous
use of the country’s beaches as waste dump sites, saying
“the litter that collects on the beaches is an indication of
what goes into the sea”.
He said the unacceptable gesture naturally either drove away
the marine resources or gradually killed them, culminating
in recent decline in marine resources.
Whatever waste, whether organic, inorganic or toxic should
be of great concern to all who are interested in coastal
zone management, he told participants at the commissioning
of the Regional Centre of Marine Productivity and
Biodiversity of the Interim Guinea Current Commission (IGCC)
of the Guinea Current Large Marine Ecosystem (GCLME) at the
University of Ghana, Legon.
The Regional Centre, which will research into marine
productivity and biodiversity for the sub-region is one of
the six centres of excellence established under the GCLME
project to promote high level scientific activities for the
protection and prudent management of marine resources of the
GCLME.
The centre will serve 16 coastal nations from Guinea Bissau
to Angola.
Mr Dugan said the continuous dumping of waste was creating a
poor state of landing sites for artisanal fishermen, adding
that some of the fishermen ran the risk of losing their
canoes, catches and lives.
“One important way of reversing the decline of the
productivity of fisheries, both marine and freshwater, is
through the promotion of aquaculture.
“With the assistance of the UN Food and Agriculture
Organisation (FAO) the Ministry of Fisheries has mapped out
areas in Ghana that are suitable for general aquaculture,
including shrimp and prawn farming,” he said.
Mr Abraham Odoom, Deputy Minister of Local Government, Rural
Development and Environment, said the establishment of the
Regional Marine Productivity and Biodiversity Centre in
Ghana should be seen as Ghana’s additional effort in helping
to advance knowledge at the critical time of climate change.
He urged the University of Ghana to take advantage of the
recognition accorded it as the host institution to work
harder for the centre to rank among the world’s centres of
excellence.
“As policy makers, we rely on you the experts to provide us
with the necessary information for us to develop right
policies,” he said.
Mr Odoom said the Region stood amongst the world’s richest
areas in terms of marine biodiversity, many of which were
being threatened with extinction as a result of harmful and
illegal practices.
“The University of Ghana must be seen to be playing the
leadership role in developing the necessary manpower as well
as making relevant strides in areas that can impact on the
economies of participating countries in the project,” he
said.
Mr A K Armah, Head of Department of Oceanography and
Fisheries, said the Department was designing a new
three-month practical programme in aquaculture and business
skills to begin next year for all persons interested in
aquaculture development.
The programme would be opened to people from Junior
Secondary School level to the highest level and would be
undertaken during the long vacation, he said.
Professor Jacques Abe, Environment Scientist, GCLME, said
the GCLME project was aimed at combating the depletion of
living resources and coastal area degradation in the Guinea
current coastal waters through ecosystem–based regional
approach.
The Centre, he noted, was one of the cornerstones of the
GCLME project, adding that the interim commission was
looking forward to attaining a full Commission status by
2009.
Prof F K Rodrigues, Dean of Faculty of Science, University
of Ghana, said the GCLME was one of the 64 large marine
ecosystems of the world.
“It is ranked among the most productive coastal and offshore
waters in the world with rich resources, oil, gas, precious
minerals, a high potential for tourism and an important
reservoir of marine biological diversity of global
significance,” he said.
GNA
|
