The interventions, he said, would include the establishment of tree nurseries, forest plantation development, the promotion of a bamboo and rattan industry, the conservation of biodiversity, protection of water bodies, promotion of eco-tourism and strict enforcement of laws.

He was speaking at a symposium organised as part of activities to celebrate the life of former President Jerry John Rawlings who turns 70 today.

Speaking at the event in Accra yesterday, Mr Amewu said the government was ready and determined to undertake programmes that would address the challenges confronting the environment.

"We will reverse the decline in the natural and environmental resources of this country by addressing vigorously the major drivers of deforestation and forest degradation," he said.

Symposium

The symposium, on the theme: "Protecting and safeguarding the national environment for future generations", attracted high government officials and members of the various political parties, including the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

In attendance were former President J. J. Rawlings, his wife, Nana Konadu, and their children. Other dignitaries at the function were Mr Spio Garbrah, a former Minister of Trade and Industry, Ambassador Victor Gbeho, a former President of ECOWAS Commission, and Mr Huudu Yahya, a former General Secretary of the NDC.

According to the Planning Committee of Rawlings@70 Anniversary Celebration, the organisers of the event, the symposium on the national environment was a platform to discuss issues affecting the environment, with the view to finding practical solutions to them.

Role of stakeholders

Lamenting the current environmental challenges in the country, Mr Amewu said the greatest challenges facing natural resources management in Ghana presently were deforestation and forest degradation.

"In spite of the numerous benefits we derive from the forest, Ghana's timber and non-timber resources are being over-exploited and continue to decline in both quantity and quality," he said.

He said disregard for the environment was seen in the severe impact of climate change, with its consequential effects of high temperature and unpredictable rainfall patterns, long periods of drought and low agricultural productivity.

As part of measures to address that, he said, the government had already begun promoting sustainable mining and reclamation of degraded mined-out landscapes and policy review to ensure favourable tree tenure for farmers.

Mr Amewu said although the government was determined to improve the country's environment, there was the need for cross-sectoral collaboration to address the challenges.

"Our traditional authorities who are custodians of the land have a big role to play in complementing the efforts of state institutions in addressing environmental degradation," he said

For his part, the Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, said his ministry intended to also put in place mechanisms that would tackle the attitudes of people who disregarded laws.

He said without change in attitude, it would be extremely difficult to properly address environmental challenges.