By Florence Afriyie Mensah
Fumesua Kokobra (Ash), Dec. 17, GNA – Integrated wildfire management is critical part of the fight against climate change and its effects.
This is because wildfires and climate change had been known to occur at each other’s expense – thus, climate change effects can trigger wildfires and vice versa.
Mr Boakye Twumasi-Ankra, Deputy Director, of Tropenbos Ghana, who stated this, said it was very necessary for tropical countries, where wildfires were more critical, to integrate fire management as part of actions to reduce emissions.
Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) at Fumesua Kokobra near Ejisu in the Ashanti Region, he said it was important for tropical countries to also focus on wildfire management, instead of concentrating on forest restoration and conservation.
“The focus for most countries have been on restoration and conservation. However, wildfire is one thing that can easily wipe all the efforts.
“So if countries, especially, those in the tropics where wildfires are more critical, do not see and recognize integrated fire management as part of actions to reduce emissions, then all efforts put in over several years could be wiped off by fires.”
Mr Twumasi-Ankra indicated that during the COP 29 in Azerbaijan, Parties highlighted the need for integrated wildfire management to be a consideration in the revised Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to emissions reduction because it was a critical component.
Relating to Ghana, he said the country had good intent, which were manifested in policies, adding that “Ghana should not look at climate change as something that needs to be prevented through carbon enhancement but we also look at conservation as a critical part of the fight against climate change.”
According to the Global Forest Watch, from 2001 t0 2023, Ghana lost 5.73 kha of tree covers from fires and 1.64 Mha (million hectares) from all drivers of loss.
The year with most tree cover loss due to fires during this period was 2016 with 3.64 kha lost to fires, a 3.1 percent of all tree cover lost from that year.
Mr Twumasi-Ankra indicated that in Ghana, for certain ecological zones, the rate and the expanse for the occurrence of wildfires were enormous and these could not be overlooked as the real contributions to climate change factoring the frequencies and extent of burning and the wildfire in the country.
The transition zones of Techiman, Atebubu, and Kintampo were popular with wildfire occurrences.
He said Tropenbos Ghana, although not the nationally mandated organization for wildfire management, had been working on several interventions in partnership with organizations to curtail wildfires.
Activities included community education, training of farmers in climate-smart agriculture, use of audio-visual vans for communities that were close to forests, and setting up fire volunteer squads.
GNA