Accra, Oct. 13, GNA – The Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources has revived the Ghana Committee for UNESCO IHP with the inauguration of a 15-member committee from various agencies and institutions to support the implementation of its mandate.
The body would promote United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation UNESCO Inter-governmental Hydrological Programme (IHP) activities in Ghana.
The members of the committee are; Mr Ben Y. Ampomah, Mr Apollonius O.A. Asare, Dr Emmanuel Obuobie, Mr Philip Tetteh Padi, Mr James Ashaley, Dr Michael Tuffour, Mr Joseph Ayer, and Mr Mawutor Ablo.
The rest are; Mr Oduro Donkor, Mr Samuel Owusu Ansah, Mrs Jewel Kudjawu, Mrs Margaret Macauley, Ms Suzzy Abaidoo, Mr Sylvester Darko and Mr Ato Ankoh.
Madam Cecilia Abena Dapaah, the Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources who inaugurated the Committee said the UNESCO IHP was focused on water sciences and resources management to address emerging needs of its member states and enhance international cooperation.
She said the programme, specifically sought to serve member states to expand their knowledge on various processes; physical, ecological, cultural, economic and social, that govern or affect water quantity and quality and distribution in space and time and interaction with natural and prop genic systems.
“In this context, the UNESCO IHP is a scientific cooperation programme with ultimate goal of supporting member states to implement sound water management,” she stated.
Madam Dapaah said Ghana’s water resources situation had revealed a depletion, and degradation of some fresh water resources, increased in human settlement, rapid urbanization, poor agricultural practices, illegal mining and uncontrolled logging activities.
These she added had also increased pollution of the water bodies and set a heavy demand on water leading to conflicting water uses.
She said at trans-boundary level, the major concerns included; trans-boundary pollution, accidental flooding, spills from upstream reservoirs, and protection of local communities as well as existing and future investments.
She called on all stakeholders to do more in their collective efforts to protect and sustain the water resources.
“The Ghana Committee for UNESCO IHP which had been dormant for a considerable period was under revival as a critical component of the country’s water governance framework. It is the institutional focal body, which will serve as an advisory body for the government on UNESCO IHP while providing inputs to shape national research and policies on hydrological issues in Ghana.
The Minister urged the Committee members to undertake their work by pursuing the process of consensus building through effective participation and improving partnership among the member institutions.
GNA