Aburi-Akwapim (Eastern Region), 24 Oct. The first Sub-Regional workshop on Tropical Forest by the International Alliance Of Indigenous and Tribal Peoples of the Tropical Forest, Ethnic Minority and Indigenous Rights has opened at Aburi. The workshop organised in collaboration with the Green Earth Organisation, Ghana, is being attended by 30 participants from Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Liberia with observers from Rwanda and Tanzania. The three-day workshop is under the theme ”Indigenous Heritage And Forest Observation”. The deputy Minister of Environment, Science and Technology, Mr Lee Ocran said current trends of modernisation are not only leading to environmental destruction but tearing apart societies and causing gross disparities between the rich and the poor. He noted that sustainable development promotes self-reliance, cultural diversity and mutual respect. He said in the process of being scientific, economies lose the capacity to be holistic and people-oriented, especially about the cultural and spiritual dimension of minority groups. Mr Ocran regretted that in the absence of quantitative measures, the value of forest, land, soil and water, among others, have become casualties of economic growth. He stressed the need for efforts to promote and encourage understanding of the importance of the heritage of peoples and measures to protect them. The Chief Conservator of forests, Mr E.O.Nsekyire said the forestry department has been mandated to manage 283 forest reserves for the benefit of the owners and in the interest of the nation.
