Speaking during a tour of the Sakumono Ramsar Site on Tuesday, Mr Afriyie called for an end to further encroachment to save the site owned wholly by the government and meant to protect Sakumono, Tema and their environs against flood and pollution.

Mr Afriyie, together with chiefs of the affected areas, toured the Klagon and Lashibi sites of the wetland to see at first hand the level of encroachment.

He said the Ramsar sites are also the relaxation and feeding grounds for over 70 water bird species, the breeding of fish for the Sakumono Lagoon and recreational activities.

Already, over 620 acres of the Sakumono Ramsar site with a total area of 1,365 hectares, has been encroached. He said there were plans to develop income generation opportunities such as 'ecotourism that had the potential to preserve the ecological functions of the Lagoon by dredging to remove the silt and reconnect the sea to the Lagoon so that the fishermen could enhance their livelihoods.

Also, develop water sports as well as create other job opportunities for the teeming unemployed youth. Rev. David Kpelle, Technical Adviser Forestry Commission, said as part of the eco-tourism plans, there would be the construction of water bungalows and an eco-medical village as a tourist attraction.

He, however, said for that to happen there would be the need to protect the site from encroachment. The Sakumo Ramsar Site was established alongside four other coastal Ramsar Sites in 1992. The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance is an inter-governmental treaty intended to promote the wise use and conservation of wetlands through local, regional and national actions and international cooperation.

Ghana signed unto the Treaty in 1971, in Ramsar in Iran.

The Sakumo Ramsar Site, is one of the most important coastal wetlands that used to receive about 32,500 Migratory Birds in Ghana, made up of 66 different types coming from Europe and Asia.

The wetland also receives most of the waste water from the Tema Township and treats it before releasing it into the sea.