By Charles Tawiah
Asakraka (Ash), Oct. 11, GNA – Rural community members have been urged to accept changes in the climatic conditions and adopt sustainable measures that will help them to cope with the situation.
They should embrace the changes and adopt pragmatic measures that would help to adapt and mitigate the negative impact of climate change on their livelihoods.
Madam Gladys Adusah Serwaah, National Co-Ordinator of Africa Climate Justice (ACJ), who made the call, said climate change was real and had come to stay.
It was, therefore, important for people, especially those in rural communities, to adopt sustainable measures and strategies that would help them to cope with the changing environmental and climatic conditions.
She was speaking at a one-day people’s assembly on climate change, organized by ACJ in collaboration with the Atwima Nwabiagya South Municipal Directorate of the Cocoa Health and Extension Division (CHED) of the COCOBOD for the people of Asakraka, near Nkawie and its surrounding communities.
The event, which was under the theme “Urgent Action to Mitigate Climate Change: Action Now”, aimed at raising awareness among the people on climate change issues, challenges, emergency situations and the need to change behavior by adapting to the context through action that will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, among others.
The people, mainly farmers and traditional leaders from Sewua, Bankyease, Brosankro and Asakraka, were taken through the drivers, effects, mitigation and adaptation strategies of climate change.
They were also taken to visit an illegal mining (galamsey) site.
Madam Adusah Serwaah called on the people not to take the issues of climate change for granted because it was real and posing serious challenges to the survival of people on the planet earth.
Mr. Philip Amoah, the Municipal Rehabilitator of CHED urged the people to join in the fight against environmental degradation since it remained the only source of survival for mankind.
Nana Kofi Poku, chief of Asakraka, thanked the organizers for the programme in the community and said it supported a petition he had written to the Municipal assembly to help ban illegal mining activities in the area.
GNA