By Benjamin Akoto
Sunyani, (Bono), Feb. 5, GNA-Dr Lawrence Kwabena Brobbey, a Senior lecturer at the Department of Silviculture and Forest Management at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), has advocated urgent ecosystem restoration in the country.
He said the devastating adverse effects of illegal mining activities including wanton destruction of water bodies, forests, and vegetative covers as well as arable farmlands required urgent attention towards restoring the nation’s ecosystem.
Dr Brobbey noted that those natural resources remained critical to human survival, yet they were being destroyed alarmingly due to unscrupulous human activities, and illegal mining in particular.
He was speaking at a four-day short course on forest landscape restoration governance in Sunyani, organised by the University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR) in collaboration with KNUST and the Presbyterian University, Ghana.
It is being attended by more than 200 participants comprising students, practitioners and educators and aimed at strengthening the skills and competencies of the participants in forest restoration.
The training forms part of the “IMFN Climate FY2023/24” project under the International Model Forest Network (IMFN). It is being supported by the Canadian-funded Global Forest Leadership Programme and sought to build participants’ capacity in ecosystem and landscape restoration through the Pan-African Restoration Education Initiative.
Dr Brobbey said: “Restoration is not only about the environment, but also about people and must be driven and owned by the people”.
He noted that the programme reflected KNUST’s core values of learning, innovation, and service, saying the institution remained committed to advancing science for societal benefit and promoting sustainable development.
Dr Brobbey explained that: “KNUST is already applying innovative learning approaches, including blended teaching, co-production of knowledge and experiential learning to enhance restoration education”.
He said the KNUST was ready to deepen collaboration with UENR, the Presbyterian University College and other relevant institutions and stakeholders of the Forest Landscape Restoration Group to train a next generation of landscape innovators.
Prof. Mrs Mercy Afua Adutumwaa Derkyi, the Director of the Quality Assurance and Academic Planning Directorate of UENR, explained that the programme was designed to expand institutional networks and encourage more universities to embrace ecosystem restoration.
She said it combined online and on-site sessions and recorded strong interest, with 207 applicants eager to participate in 2026. Prof. Mrs Derkyi said the School of Natural Resources of UENR had developed a restoration-focused curriculum and drafted a Master of Science programme in Forest Landscape Restoration and Management.
She said: “The UENR isn’t only promoting restoration education but is also committed to expanding its reach and long-term impacts”.
GNA
Edited by Dennis Peprah/Linda Asante Agyei