The annual event, themed "Environmental Management and Food Security: Threats and Opportunities for Developing Economies," brought together academics, policymakers, think tanks, directors, and students to deliberate on strategies for feeding a growing global population without destroying ecosystems.

Speaking at the event, UESD Vice-Chancellor, Professor Eric Nyarko-Sampson, stressed that effective environmental management and reducing the impact of human activities on land, forests, rivers, and the atmosphere were vital for both food security and human survival.

Quoting the 1996 World Food Summit, he explained that food security meant ensuring all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to safe, sufficient, and nutritious food.

However, with the global population at about 8.2 billion, he noted that achieving this goal was becoming increasingly difficult.

"For developing economies, this challenge is not an abstract concept; it is a daily reality that affects the lives of millions," he said.

Professor Nyarko-Sampson observed that food price inflation had outpaced overall inflation in 97 countries.

He pointed out that more than 25 million people in Sudan and 27.7 million in the Democratic Republic of Congo face acute food insecurity, while in Ghana, about two million people were acutely food insecure between June and August 2025, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

He warned that climate change, illegal mining, unsustainable land practices, deforestation, and pollution created a vicious cycle where environmental damage worsened food insecurity, which in turn fuels further harmful practices. "We cannot afford to delay," he declared. "Protecting the environment is not optional; it is the foundation of food security, livelihoods, and national survival. The choices we make today will decide whether future generations inherit ^ fertile lands and safe water or barren fields and poisoned rivers. The time to act is now."

Delivering a speech, Dr. Seth Appiah-Kubi, Country Director of A Rocha Ghana, described the theme as "critical and relevant" to Ghana's socio-economic development.

He stressed that true sustainable development required balancing economic growth, social inclusion, and environmental protection without compromising the needs of future generations.

Dr. Appiah-Kubi identified illegal artisanal mining, popularly known as galamsey, as a major threat to food security. While it provides short-term income for some households, he explained, it destroys farmlands, contaminates water, and undermines agriculture.

"In 2020, about 20,000 hectares of cocoa farms had been lost to galamsey, and the figure has since grown," he revealed. "In the 2023/24 cocoa season, Ghana's cocoa output was 40 percent below target, with illegal mining, adverse weather, and disease as key factors."

He noted that toxic heavy metals such as mercury, lead, and arsenic seep into soils and rivers, posing food safety risks and reducing crop productivity. Rivers like the Pra and Ankobra, vital for irrigation and domestic use, have become heavily polluted, forcing water treatment plants to incur higher costs and straining farming livelihoods.

"Galamsey erodes the very foundations of food production; land, water, labour, and ecological stability," he cautioned. Other speakers, including Dr. Theodora Akweley Asiamah of UESD's Department of Sustainable Development and Policy, emphasized the need for collaboration among government, academia, civil society, and local communities for strict enforcement of environmental regulations, increased investment in agroecology, and the adoption of innovative policies that safeguard both ecosystems and food systems.