Albert Oppong-Ansah
Accra, March, 29, GNA – The cultivation of baobab trees will help to address the climate change crisis in Ghana, the Department of Agro Enterprise Development of the Ho Technical University has recommended.
Dr Kenneth Fafa Egbadzor, Senior Lecturer at Ho Technical University, told the Ghana News Agency in an interview that the Department had developed a domesticated species, which could serve as a food security crop and also absorb air that warmed up and caused changes in the atmosphere.
He, therefore, urged state and nonstate bodies to encourage the cultivation of baobab plantations across the country.
The tree has many uses – cutting across industries for medicines, food and beverages, cosmetics and arts.
The fruits are a rich source of food for different species of birds and animals and can also help restore lost biodiversity.
The interview was conducted at the sidelines of the opening of the National Climate Change and Green Economy Week, in Accra.
It is under the theme: “Climate Change: A threat to our livelihood”.
Dr Egbadzor said the baobab had similar importance in tropical agriculture as the once exotic cocoa crop, which is now a major foreign exchange earner for Ghana.
During the session to launch the week, Okatakyie Nana Anim I, the President of the Royal Chiefs Association of Ghana (RCAG), said nature was adequately protected in the days when culture was at its best and effective.
“It was a taboo for the public to go into some selected forest resources due to some unique species of trees and animals. That was a mechanism to protect nature. Now people flout these rules due to modernisation.
Dr Kwaku Afriyie, the Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, said studies had shown that one’s ability to engage in environmental degradation was reduced by one-third through the enforcement of communal taboos.
He explained that such traditional laws were rooted in deep thinking and prevented people from attempting to even get close to the resources and the temptation to cut a tree or hunt for an animal.
“As our elders left nature for us, we need to bequeath to the young generation a promising world with nature intact but not a world in a distressed state,” he said.
Dr Afriyie reiterated the call for increased funding and technology from developed countries for frontline countries such as Ghana to implement actions to live with climate crisis impacts.
“We must protect our environment, physically, mentally and emotionally if we only want to continue to live or be alive. ”
Currently, developing countries need an estimated annual adaptation fund between $160 billion and $340 billion by the end of the decade, and up to $565 billion by 2050.
The World Bank Group’s new Country Climate and Development Report for Ghana says the country’s economic and human development is vulnerable to climate change.
On average, flooding affects around 45,000 Ghanaians every year, and half of Ghana’s coastline is vulnerable to erosion and flooding as a result of sea-level rise.
Without prompt actions, higher temperatures and heat stress will affect crop and labour productivity, and more erratic rainfall patterns will damage buildings and infrastructure.
Land degradation, water insecurity and local air pollution will also hamper human capital and productivity.
The West African country has achieved major development gains over the past three decades, however, the progress has slowed down.
The World Bank Report highlights that the country has not fully managed to convert its natural wealth into sufficient infrastructure, human, and institutional capital for sustained growth.
GNA