[ 2012-07-04 ]

Osagyefuo Amoatia Ofori Panin, Okyenhene

LCA-Ghana raises awareness about Shai Hills Reserve project
The Leadership for Conservation in Africa Ghana
Chapter, LCA-Ghana, at the weekend hosted a
fundraising dinner at the Labadi Beach Hotel to
solicit support for its Shai Hills Resource
Reserve Enhancement Project.

The event formed part of activities by LCA-Ghana
to raise awareness of conservation in Ghana while
engaging key stakeholders to share in the vision
of the project and take steps to commit
organisational and individual resources to it.

Last month, LCA-Ghana held a cocktail event to
create awareness amongst various stakeholders and
to solicit their support.

Guests at the dinner, who included representatives
from corporate bodies, traditional authorities and
government, as well as private individuals,
demonstrated their support and commitment to the
conservation of the Shai Hills Resource Reserve by
pledging their financial and material resources to
it.

The Guest of Honour, Osagyefuo Amoatia Ofori
Panin, Okyenhene, in delivering the keynote
address, stated that environmental issues and the
preservation of nature needed much attention and
commitment to ensure our continuous existence.

He reiterated the importance of conserving the
Shai Hills Resource Reserve saying: “our ancestors
regulated the use of natural resources carefully
to ensure there would always be resources for
future generations. For example, the forest and
farms were always allowed to rest for two days of
every week, which is over a 100 days per year; a
hunter always had to share some of his kill with
the Nana so that the Nana could ensure that a deer
hunter only hunted deer and did not hunt more than
he needed; and no-one was allowed to farm within
200m of the riverbed so as to ensure that the
river remains clean and uncontaminated.

"There is a need to integrate our modern life with
the preservation of our natural resources, to
ensure a natural world for future generations,” he
maintained.

Osagyefuo Amoatia also lauded the efforts by
LCA-Ghana towards the enhancement of the Shai
Hills Resources Reserve. He said everyone needed
some green environment close to the city to
relax.

Representing the President of the Shai Traditional
Council, the chief of Dodowa Okukrubuor Teye Kwasi
Agyemang V expressed gratitude to LCA-Ghana for
its commitment to the conservation of the Shai
Hills Resources Reserve, which is also the
LCA-Ghana’s flagship project.

He stated that the Traditional Council will do
their part to ensure the success of the project.
Through the direct beneficiaries of the project,
the Shai Traditional Council also pledged its
financial commitment to the project.

Meanwhile Ghana’s dancehall king, Samini, who is
an ambassador for LCA- Ghana launched a music
video recorded with Chris Chameleon, a South
African artist who is also the ambassador for
LCA-International.

Dubbed “She’s my planet”, it was written and
produced to create awareness of environmental
conservation.

In a subsequent fundraising initiative for the
LCA-Ghana, Samini will host Jamaican dancehall
superstar Demarco at a concert at the Dome of the
Accra International Conference Centre on 07 July
2012.

Dr. Ian Player, an outstanding international
conservationist and environmental statesman, in a
pre-recorded message urged stakeholders to support
LCA-Ghana’s initiative. He emphasized that the
conservation of the Shai Hills Resources Reserve
is not just a preservation of nature but a
preservation of a people’s culture and their
spirit. A reserve like this, he continued, will
attract tourists and contribute to Ghana’s
socioeconomic development.

The LCA-Ghana chapter was established in June 2007
in collaboration with the Forestry Commission of
Ghana, Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources and
Ghana-based corporates.

In June 2011, it was given the mandate to enhance
the Shai Hills Resource Reserve.

The project aims at growing the natural capital of
Shai Hills by creating a visitor experience that
showcases the natural and cultural heritage of
Ghana.

Source - MyjoyOnline

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