Accra, Feb. 16, GNA – Mr Ben Yaw Ampomah, the Executive Secretary of the Water Resources Commission has urged Ghanaians to be conscious of their socio-economic practices towards the country’s water resources considering their importance to the economy.
“We are in times when we need to encourage greater understanding and take pragmatic action for us to be more responsible towards the use, protection and conservation of our water bodies and our natural resources,” he said.
Mr Ampomah gave the advice at the opening of a three-day national technical workshop on “Nature-based Solutions Capacity Building and Development of National and Basin-wide Projects” in Accra on Tuesday.
The workshop is aimed at, “Integrating Flood and Drought Management and Early Warning for Climate Change Adaptation in the Volta Basin (VFDM” Project.
Mr Ampomah said: “It is time we shift towards environmentally sustainable policies and practices that take into account inter-connection among ecological systems and reduce pollution, promote ecologically efficient water treatment, increase water use efficiency in agriculture to reduce water losses, increase crop productivity and to ensure commitment to the principles of disaster prevention and response.”
He noted that using nature-based solutions contributed to resolving water and water-related challenges, adding that; “Nature-based solutions are inspired and supported by nature and use natural processes to improve the management of water and other natural resources.”
“But we need the knowledge and capacity at all levels from policy to regulations, engineering, service providers, policy-makers, civil societies and indeed the general public and what nature-based solutions can really offer,” Mr Ampomah stated.
The Executive Secretary said the workshop would offer the country the opportunity to explore and implement nature-based solutions to the number of issues confronting the Volta Basin portion in Ghana and the entire Volta Basin.
“It is an opportunity to build on the enabling conditions to aid accelerate the uptake of nature-based solutions in the Volta Basin and the country as a whole,” he stated, adding, “We should be under no illusion that the task that confront us would be easy.”
He, therefore, urged the participants to give off their best towards clear recommendations on how to move forward with the nature-based solutions agenda in the Volta Basin.
GNA