The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research-Institute of Industrial Research (CSIR-IIR) has organized a community-based intervention aimed protecting mangroves, improve livelihoods and promote cleaner household energy in Kedzi in the Anloga District of the Volta Region.
The move was also to mitigate the high rate at which the mangrove ecosystem was threatened and disappearing at an alarming rate due to intense human pressure which resulted from population growth globally.
Dr Juliet Attah, of the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission and a member of the project team, during the public engagement with the residents, said that the project was being implemented by the CSIR-IIR with support from partners such as UNESCO-TWAS and Elsevier Foundation, following the recognition that collaboration was necessary to address climate change and related environmental challenges in the community.
“We chose Kedzi community because fishing remains a major source of livelihood here, and the project seeks to help protect the economic activity from further environmental decline,” she said.
She emphasised that the researchers first met the community members to better understand the problem on the ground rather than relying on assumptions from outside threats.
She said that residents earlier explained that the main concern was not excessive cutting of mangroves for fuel, as had earlier been assumed, but the increasing salinity of the water around the mangroves, and added that although some signs of mangrove cutting were still visible, the bigger issue appeared to be the changing condition of the surrounding water, which was affecting fish stocks and reducing the community’s catch.
“The community members have reported the disappearance of some fish species they formerly depended on and described the situation as a threat to their livelihood and food security.”
Dr Attah said that the participation of women in the meeting was particularly important, since women play a central role in household cooking and community education, making them key actors in environmental protection efforts.
Dr Dela H. Adjei, of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research- Building and Roads Research Institute (CSIR-BRRI), another facilitator, said that the project sought to curb further environmental decline by offering an alternative source of fuel to the traditional charcoal, which was largely produced from firewood and contributed to environmental degradation.
She explained that the briquettes were made from agricultural and other waste materials which made them a cleaner and more sustainable energy option than charcoal produced from cutting trees.
Dr Adjei said the briquettes also reduced the release of soot and harmful gases, which could affect a user’s health and contribute to respiratory problems and other illnesses.
She added that the briquettes were more fuel-efficient, which burn for longer periods and required less quantity for cooking as compared to ordinary charcoal.
Dr Gloria Boafo-Mensah, of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research- IIR, mentioned that the improved cookstoves distributed to the residents under the project were designed with ceramic liners to retain heat and improve cooking efficiency.
She said beneficiaries had been educated on the proper use and maintenance of the stoves which include keeping them away from water and rough handling to prevent cracks in the clay liners.
Dr Trinity Ama Tagbor, the Project lead, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, called on government, non-governmental organizations and other development partners to support the scale up of the initiative to enable train residents to produce briquettes locally as a sustainable business venture.
Some beneficiaries including Madam Juana Dogbey and Dofa Gadagbey, expressed satisfaction at the initiative and urged various benevolent organizations to support CSIR to expand the program to other adjoining coastal communities to protect the area.
They said this initiative will help secure the livelihoods of the community, protect the environment, and help the country to achieve its SDG 14 which seeks to protect life below water.
Source : GNA
