Ghanaians urged to preserve the environment

26/04/08
Story: Musah Yahaya Jafaru
GHANAIANS have been urged to preserve the country’s environment for the benefit of future generations.
The Cultural Affairs Officer of the Embassy of the United States of America, Mrs Dehab Ghebreab, made the call in Accra on Wednesday at an environmental festival at which films on the environment were screened.
The screening of the films, which was in connection with the World Earth Day, was organised by the Environmental Film Festival, a non-governmental organisation, and sponsored by the Embassy of the United States of America.
The films were meant as an outreach tool for queens drawn from all parts of the country, who would go back to their communities to educate their people on the importance of preserving the environment.
Mrs Ghebreab said there was only one planet that all human beings shared, hence the need for people to religiously guard it.
“We need to take care of the environment and leave it well for our children,” she stressed.
Mrs Ghebreab urged the public to desist from indiscriminately disposing of plastic bags after usuage and rather have non-disposal shopping bags.
She explained that the plastic bags were non-degradable and destroyed the ecosystem.
The Public Affairs Officer of the Embassy, Mr Chris Hodges, reminded the people that “change does not come from only the government”.
He, therefore, challenged the people to find ways of protecting the environment.
Mr Hodges expressed the hope that the queens, with their prestige in society, would educate their people on the need to preserve the environment and desist from acts that could degrade the environment.
The Co-Director of the Environmental Film Festival, Dr Kwesi Owusu, said Ghanaians in the past protected the environment through their beliefs and respect for the environment.
He said the film festival was an attempt to depict the impact of human activities on the environment and get the people to change their attitude towards it.