A climate change expert and professor at the Physics Department of the University of Ghana, Professor Nana Ama Klutse has warned that the air in Accra will be highly polluted should the Achimota Forest Reserve be depleted.
Speaking in an interview with Magoo on Women on the frontline on TV XYZ, the climate change researcher noted that the forest in Accra, although not enough, is responsible for the treatment of the air currently.
Prof. Klutse is an AIMS-Canada Researcher in Climate Change Science with AIMS Rwanda/Ghana embarking on a project focused on understanding the climate dynamics of Africa, climate observations and projections for climate services.
Her comment comes after the government recently declassified the forest reserve and went ahead with processes to hand portions of it to its allodial owners.
But the Atmospheric Physics expert said the sale of the forest reserve would be disastrous.
“The trees take the polluted air and give us Oxygen,” she noted.
“You know how polluted Accra is– from cars, the population and rubbish makes the pollution too high. So when we cut off the trees, Accra will be seriously polluted, we won’t get fresh air.
“We’ll also get respiratory problems. The other thing is that it will affect the pattern of rainfall in Accra,” she maintained.
“Achimota Forest contributes to the rainfall pattern in Accra so if we deplete it either by selling or dashing it out, it will affect the rains in Accra,” she cautioned.
Meanwhile calls have heightened for the government to halt the handing of the peripherals of the forest to private developers.
Source: Myxyzonline.com|Ghana
