By Regina Benneh
Abesim (B/R), Aug. 22 GNA – A lecturer at the University of Energy and Natural Resources (UNER), Dr Mary Antwi has advised women and shoppers to use biodegradable bags for shopping to reduce the negative effect of plastic bags on the environment.
She observed people carried large number of plastic bags home, which could be avoided to control the resultant environmental pollution, adding that the plastic bags ended up in the sea, which are eaten by the fishes that are consumed by “us to negatively affect our health.”
Dr Antwi, a patron for Women in Engineering at the Centre for Climate Change and Gender Studies of the UNER gave the advice at a regional forum to commemorate this year’s International Youth Day at Abesim near Sunyani.
The programme, under the theme, “Green Skills for Youth: Towards a Sustainable World” was organised by the ActionAid Ghana in collaboration with the Young Urban Women’s Movement and Activista to equip stakeholders with the knowledge and information necessary to understand the importance of green skill for young people and to enable participants to give suggestions towards climate change mitigation.
Participants were from the Bono, Bono East and Ahafo Regions, and they included youth activists and representatives of stakeholders like the UNER, the Environmental Protection Agency and traders.
Dr Antwi stated with concern that climate change issue did not evolve overnight but started gradually and steadily affecting every facet of the society through negative attitudes and activities of humans.
She explained that the problem of climate change could become worse if the challenge of recycling and ability to turn waste matter like plastic bags to raw material was not addressed.
Dr Antwi emphasised the need for the public to be educated adequately to have in-depth knowledge on the dangers of climate change to become fully involved in its preventive and mitigation efforts for the benefit of the current and future generation.
Nana Kwame Afram Denkyera, the Bono, Bono East, and Ahafo Regions Manager of the Action Aid Ghana encouraged the youth to contribute through their actions and inactions for the nation to achieve environmental best practices for sustainable environment.
This he noted would greatly help in making a positive impact on the environment as the world moved towards a low-carbon economy to create more than eight million additional jobs for young people by 2030.
GNA