‘Degradation of ecosystem can undermine achievement of MDGs(21/5/09)

THE Executive Director of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Mr Jonathan Allotey, has cautioned that the continuous degradation of the ecosystem can undermine the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
He, therefore, stressed the need for intensified efforts, such as significant changes in policies, institutions and practices, to protect the ecosystem.
Mr Allotey gave the caution at the opening of the 29th annual meeting of the International Association for Impact Assessment (IAIA) in Accra yesterday. The meeting seeks to explore ways of safeguarding the ecosystem and improving human well-being.
Participants from more than 100 countries are attending the one-week conference, which is on the theme, "Impact assessment and human well-being".
Mr Allotey, who is also the Chairman of the IAIA, said changes in ecosystems had contributed to increased risk of non- linear changes and increased poverty for some groups of people.
"These problems, unless addressed, will substantially diminish the benefits that future generations obtain from the ecosystem," he added.
He said the IAIA, which was established 25 years ago, initiated the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA) to assess the consequences of ecosystem change and human well-being.
He indicated that the MEA found out that over the past 50 years humans beings had changed ecosystems more rapidly and extensively than in any comparable period of time in human history to meet the demand for food and shelter.
"This has resulted in a substantial and largely irreversible loss in the diversity of life on earth," he added.
For his part, the Deputy Minister of Environment and Science, Dr Edward Kofi Omane Boamah, said there was the need for Ghanaians to guard against ecosystem degradation, as about 70 per cent of the country’s resources came from environmental sources.
He expressed the hope that the conference would develop tools for mainstreaming ecosystem services into development and economic decision making.
“I hope you will explore to build and improve on the knowledge base of the links between ecosystem services and human well-being,” he stated.
The Omanhene of Essikado, Nana Kobina Nketia, delivering the keynote address, called for measures to be put in place to address to the issue, as most environmental degradation practices were taking place in the villages.