By Evans Worlanyo Ameamu, GNA
Agbledomi (V/R), July 15, GNA – Residents of Agbledomi in the Anloga District of the Volta Region have commended ActionAid Ghana and its partners for launching a mangrove restoration project in the community.
The residents, including farmers and fisherfolks, described the move as a timely intervention against the growing threat of coastal erosion and flooding in the areas including Shime, Latame, among other communities in the area.
Mr Jasper Agbanator, the Assembly Member of the area, who spoke to the Ghana News Agency (GNA), expressed satisfaction with the initiative and pledged their support toward protecting and sustaining the mangrove ecosystem going forward.
“We are so pleased to benefit from this important initiative; we have embraced the initiative which I strongly believe will support the programme to improve the community,” he said.
He added that the mangroves when planted would also create job opportunities for young residents as well as improve the economic stability of the Agbledomi community for better development.
He urged other benevolent bodies, individuals, philanthropists, and companies to prioritise the area to also improve the ecosystem and the tourism attraction of the lagoon in the Agbledomi and the surrounding communities.
Mr Ali Malik Gbene, Quality and Knowledge Management Manager at ActionAid Ghana, told the GNA that the intervention in Agbledomi also focused on improving resilience in the country’s coastal communities.
“The project, is being implemented by ActionAid Ghana in collaboration with Habitat for Humanity International and with backing from the Adaptation Fund, forms part of a broader programme titled, Improved Resilience of Coastal Communities in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana.”
He explained that the programme covers 21 communities which comprised of 11 in Ghana and 10 in Côte d’Ivoire, with the Ghanaian communities made up of seven in the Anloga District, two in Ada West, and one in Ada East, both in the Greater Accra Region.
He explained that the component covered three main areas, namely the installation of early warning systems to help communities anticipate floods and rainfall risks, nature-based solutions centred on mangrove planting, and civil works involving the construction of drainage channels, bioretention basins and micro-infiltration systems.
Mr Gbene said the restoration target for Ghana stood at 410 hectares, adding that mapping had already been completed for about 300 hectares within the Anloga District (Agbledomi) alone, a sign which showcased a strong potential for the project’s expansion.
“Like I said before, 10-hectare pilot planting exercise had been carried out the previous year, and that the project had since progressed into its first full phase of mangrove planting in the district, which will restore vegetation to serve as a carbon sink while supporting fish breeding and the livelihoods of fishing communities.”
He explained that the project also carried a livelihood component, under which farmers living along the fringes of the mangrove areas including Agbledomi would be introduced to improved agricultural technologies, alongside strong collaboration among the Forestry Commission, the Physical Planning Department of the Anloga District Assembly, the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), and other state institutions.
GNA also gathered that the project would contribute significantly to environmental sustainability and create economic opportunities for residents to restore the mangroves which would help reduce erosion and manage flooding along the marshy coastline in Agbledomi and the nearby communities.
Many residents who depended heavily on mangroves for firewood, particularly for fish smoking, were tasked to explore alternative fuelwood sources or practice replanting to reduce pressure on the mangrove resources.
Madam Sandra Seyram Kpedor, the District Chief Executive (DCE) for Anloga, commended the partners for bringing the project to the district which would create employment opportunities for residents while attracting further development interventions to the area.
She acknowledged that mangroves in the district had for years been cut down mainly for firewood and said the Assembly would intensify public education and collaborate with non-governmental organisations to identify alternative livelihoods for fisherfolk who depend on mangrove resources.
She advised that the mangroves when planted by the residents should be nurtured and protected to avoid being destroyed by bush fire, animal and others.
Some other residents, GNA engaged appealed to community members who harvest mangroves for fish smoking to take up seedling raising and replanting activities seriously to help sustain the project in the area which demanded for collective ownership and effort from everyone in Agblesomi and the surrounding communities.
GNA
Edited: by Maxwell Awumah/Kenneth Odeng Adade