World Day to Combat Desertification in Ghana 2013. Abibimman Foundation raising the voices of Desertification in Ghana

PRESS STATEMENT

World Day to Combat Desertification in Ghana 2013

Theme: Don’t let our future dry up

DATE: 17^th June, 2013

Freshwater is valuable. Of all the water on Earth, only 2.5 per cent is freshwater. And of all this freshwater, the total usable supply for ecosystems and humans is less than 1 per cent. When demand for water exceeds available supply, it results in water scarcity. Dry lands are particularly vulnerable to water scarcity.
The goal of the 2013 World Day to Combat Desertification is to create awareness about the risks of drought and water scarcity in the drylands and beyond, calling attention to the importance of sustaining healthy soils as part of post Rio+20 agenda, as well as the post-2015 sustainable development agenda.
This year's slogan, 'Don't let our future dry up' calls for everyone to take action to promote preparedness and resilience to water scarcity, desertification and drought. The slogan embodies the message that we are all responsible for water and land conservation and sustainable use, and that there are solutions to these serious natural resource challenges. Land degradation does not have to threaten our future.
Desertification, Drylands, threaten human security by depriving people of their means of life - by taking away food, access to water, the means for economic activities, and even their homes. In worst-case scenarios, they undermine national and regional security, force people to leave their homes and can trigger low- or high-level intensity conflicts.
Soil is key for securing water, energy and building resilience to climate change. There is a close relationship between livelihood and ecosystem wellbeing, and soils that are rich in biodiversity. Healthy soils produce life, and yet soil health depends a lot on how individuals use their land. What we do to our soils determines the quality and quantity of the food we eat and how our ecosystems serve us. Our increasing ecological interdependence also means enhancing soils anywhere enhances life everywhere

In Ghana, desertification is a critical issue, as it seriously threatens over 84,000 km² or 35 per cent of the total land area of Ghana. According to national statistics, a further 20,000 hectares of the Northern savannah land are subjected to desertification each year. The worst affected areas are in the savannah zones of the Northern, Upper East and Upper West Regions. The south-eastern coastal belt is also threatened.

Unfavorable climatic conditions of long droughts and short rainfall seasons in the affected areas, coupled with unsustainable human activities such as indiscriminate bush burning, poor farming practices, forest removal, overgrazing, superstitious beliefs and lack of awareness have been identified as the main causes of desertification in Ghana. These have combined to cause soil erosion, loss of land fertility, deforestation, low agricultural yields, food and water scarcity, and loss of income opportunities in the local communities leading to miserable living conditions.

 As a result of desertification in the affected areas, a majority of the youth are migrating to urban centers to seek alternative livelihood opportunities. This in turn is resulting in an increase in the number of people living and working on the streets. Migration of these able bodied youth, men and women is leading to a lack of local human resources in the rural areas and is undermining the realization of development goals.

While the problem of desertification remains a critical issue and affects the very survival of the people, it unfortunately continues to attract low priority on the national development agenda

On this World Day to Combat Desertification, we would like to remind everyone threats to soil security unleashed by desertification, land degradation and the effects of drought constitute a peril to securing our common future.
Abibimman Foundation, IDAY-Ghana (International Day of the African Child and Youth), AYICC -Ghana and Global Call to Action against Poverty (GCAP-Ghana), Believe we need to take urgent action in order to avoid the increasing loss of land, Stand up and don't let our future dry up
Kenneth Nana Amoateng
Chief Executive Officer
Abibiman Foundation

For further clarification please contact Kenneth Nana Amoateng, Chief Executive Officer of Abibimman Foundation on : Tel-0244023651 /0303213918 or email: kamoateng@iday.org,amoatengken@gmail.com, www.iday.org ,www.abibimmanfoundation.org