The Mpraeso Area Office of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) located at Nkawkaw, as part of its mandate under the Environmental Protection Agency Act 1994 (Act 490), has collaborated with the Fodoa Community Day Senior High School (FOSEC) to plant trees to mark the 2023 World Environment Day at Fodoa in the Kwahu West Municipality.
Speaking in an interview with the Republic Press, Principal Programmes Officer for the Mpraeso Area EPA, Mrs. Adelina Arhin, said the environmental education programs are geared towards promoting environmental consciousness and behavioural change for sustainable development.
This year, as part of its mandate, the office undertook environmental education programmes, tree-planting exercises, and an environmental quiz in line with the World Environment Day 2023 program.
The EPA together with the students and its teaching and non-teaching staff planted 800 trees to shore up some of the existing surviving trees planted some two years ago.
World Environment Day is a special day set aside by the United Nations, to raise people’s awareness and action to protect the environment. The day is celebrated every 5th June.
This year’s World Environment Day is hosted by Cote D’Iviore in partnership with the Netherlands. The theme for this year is “Solution to plastic pollution”, under the campaign #BeatPlasticPollution.
Plastic pollution is the accumulation of plastic objects in the environment that adversely affects humans and wildlife. Plastic is inexpensive and durable, making it very adaptable for different uses. As a result, manufacturers choose to use plastic over other materials.
However, plastic usage and its stay in the environment over time is worrisome as the material is not biodegradable. Plastic can take anywhere from 20 to 500 years to decompose, depending on the material’s structure and environmental factors such as sunlight exposure.
The effects of plastics on the environment and human health are enormous. Plastic pollution can alter habitats and natural processes, reducing ecosystems’ ability to adapt to climate change, among other things.
Plastic pollution kills ocean life, kills terrestrial wildlife, takes up space, especially at dumpsites, blocks drains, releases toxic gases when burned, pollutes the soil, pollutes oceans, litters the environment, and is extremely hazardous to children. Plastic is non-biodegradable.
It is made from petroleum, a product of oil, using heat and a catalyst to change the propylene into polypropylene, a substance not found in nature. PET is polyester. Since these are unnatural products not found in nature, there are no organisms capable of decomposing the material, so it will not degrade as does other plant and animal waste.
Besides being non-biodegradable, plastics are flammable, pollute the environment at a staggering rate, and cannot be safely burned without causing environmental and human health problems. They kill wildlife as they are mistaken for food and stick in the body until the bird or animal dies of starvation.
The solutions to plastic pollution include recycling and reusing what has already been used to prevent overuse and dependence on plastics.
As a country, we must gear towards opening up more recycling facilities and manufacturing more paper bags as an alternative. We must wean ourselves from disposable plastics and sell used plastics to recycling companies for cash. This can even help reduce waste at dump sites.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was formally established on December 30, 1994 (Act 490) and given the responsibility of regulating the environment and ensuring the implementation of government policies on the environment.
The mission of the EPA of Ghana is to co-manage, protect, and enhance the country’s environment as well as seek common solutions to global environmental problems.
The Agency is mandated under Act 490 to issue environmental permits, ensure environmental compliance and enforcement with regard to projects, issuance of abatement notices for controlling the volume, types, constituents, and effects of waste.
The environmental enforcement and compliance exercises are conducted by the Agency to ensure that owners of undertakings comply with the legal framework of Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations LI 1652, 1999.
This legal framework enjoins all projects operating in Ghana to register their projects with EPA for permit consideration. As a result, the Mpraeso Area Office of the Agency located at Nkawkaw organize and carry out enforcement and compliance exercises in line with its 2023 work plan.
The Agency is mandated by this same Act to conduct formal and informal environmental education programmes for the creation of public awareness. This includes the celebration of the World Environment Day.
As part of its permitting mandate the Agency regulates, ensures compliance and monitoring of projects under manufacturing, health, energy, agrochemical shops, telecommunication masts, tourism, hospitality, and infrastructure, among others.
