Gov’t urged to enforce laws on reclamation of lands in mining concessions

The government has been urged to strictly enforce laws that require mining companies to reclaim the land after mining on their concessions.

Stakeholders at a three-day summit on natural resources and the environment argued that reclamation of degraded land would avoid unnecessary accidents in these areas.

The call was contained in a communiqué issued at the end of the summit organized by the Western Region Development Network of NGOs (WERENGO) in Takoradi.

It had the theme, “The impact of natural resources exploitation to women’s access to land and water resource”.

In order to discourage illegal mining in the country¸ the participants admonished government to streamline and fast-track the process of acquiring small-scale mining licenses as recommended by the President to avoid the interference by middle-men.

The communiqué called for the creation of a centre in the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis for research and collection of data on the environment and natural resource.

The participants noted that knowledge on the subject matter would help in making vital inputs for solution on the fast degradation and pollution of the environment and report to the appropriate quarters for quick intervention.

For the communities in the region to have wider knowledge on natural resource, they underscored the need for the National Commission on Civic Education to embark on educational drive to disseminate information on laws and policies concerning natural resource and the environment, and highlight the roles, responsibilities and benefits of communities.

The stakeholders made up of assembly members, traditional rulers, civil society organizations and environmentalists stressed the need for stakeholders in the natural resource sector to put in place mechanisms to monitor natural resource exploitation and its impacts in the region.

Source: GNA