Bongo River Tree Restoration Project Launched

Bonaba delivering his speech 

Hon. Albert  Abongo in your shot

The Bongo River Tree Restoration Project, an initiative aimed at restoring the lost vegetation along the Bongo River has been officially launched at Bongo in the Upper East Region. The project which is a joint collaboration between Tree Aid, an NGO and the Bongo Traditional Council will not only see to the restoration of lost vegetation but also create employment opportunities for the local people.  Launching the project, the Chief Executive officer of Tree Aid, Dr. Philip Goodwin, said his outfit provides financial and managerial support for projects to strengthen the long-term self-reliance of people in Africa's dry lands, so that they can meet their basic needs, earn an income, and increase the stability of their communities through the regeneration of their woodlands." The overall goal, he added is to alleviate poverty sustainably while improving the environment.  He said tree Aid works in the three regions of the north and seeks to create opportunities for individuals particularly, the poor to generate income through forest enterprises. According to him, the idea of embarking on the project was proposed to him by the chief of Bongo of which a follow up was made. Upon painstaking investigation and rounds along the river bodies, it was realized that the Bongo River was at the verge of drying up as a result of the degraded vegetation along its banks. The deforestation along the Bongo River, he noted, was posing a serious threat to the Vea irrigation dam, which also serves a source of drinking water for the people of Bongo and its neighbouring environs.  He observed that Tree Aid recognizing the severe nature and magnitude of the challenge decided to intervene to break the cycle of environmental decline through the act of tree planting, which will involve the plantation of Shea, tamarind and mango trees among others.  The move, he noted will help effect local climate and to some extent reduce poverty among the people. The Project officer of Tree Aid in Burkina Faso, Mr. Andrews Dokurugu, revealed that the five year pilot project would take an initial 3-year timeline to cover 15 kilometers of the overall length of 50 kilometers of the river banks. He was optimistic that with the successful implementation of project, the forest and the biodiversity along the rivers would be restored whilst the river bodies would be conserved to serve its purposes. According to him, Tree Aid will embark on intensive awareness creation to sensitize the people on the need to adapt to pragmatic environmental appropriate practices that would ensure long term sustainable management of resources. The Paramount Chief of the Bongo Traditional Area, Bonaba Baba Salifu Alemyaarum, expressed gratitude to Tree Aid for their show of concern and appealed to the chiefs under his jurisdiction to embrace the initiative and give it the needed push to ensure its set objective. The MP for Bongo, Mr. Albert Abongo, for his part expressed government’s determination to inject GHc 30 million Ghana Cedis to support Afforestation programmes. This, he disclosed, is captured under this year’s budget statement and called on the chiefs and people to complement the effort of government by venturing into tree planting to sustain the environment. Mr. Abongo also called on the chiefs to come out with punitive measures to protect the gradual depletion of trees in the area. The Regional Director of the EPA, Ms Zenabu Wasai-King reiterated the need for the chiefs to encourage their subjects on tree planting, stressing that trees are essentials to human survival.
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