Stakeholders in the management of bushfires met in Jirapa, in the Upper West Region on the 6th of October to deliberate on the causes and effects of bushfires and how these can be managed sustainably.

The following committal statements on policy and practical actions were agreed on and signed by stakeholders at the forum:

• It was agreed that a change in attitude of community members is key in fighting bushfires. The intensification of public education is, therefore, important to create and sustain community awareness on the effects and impact of bushfires in the communities.
• Opinion leaders, especially traditional authorities commit to using any available platforms to campaign against bush burning.
• All stakeholders agreed to engage communities and local authorities to continuously reduce the number and scale of bushfire occurrences in their communities.
• Stakeholders called for the enforcement of the Control and Prevention Of Bushfires Act, 1990, and local and traditional bye-laws to deal with persons who will be caught in burning bush indiscriminately.  
• Participants appealed to media houses, especially radio stations, to devote airtime to educate the public on the dangers of bushfires.
• Participants agreed to further engage herdsmen to include them in strategies to help reduce the incidence of bushfires in the Guinea Savannahs.
• We agreed to work together with other development partners to explore the possibilities to monetize biomass for charcoal production, hay for livestock and traditional arts and craft purposes

Join us tomorrow online via www.facebook.com/gasipghana as we have a similar dialogue with stakeholders in the Upper East, Savannah and North East regions of Ghana.

The event was put together by the Bushfire Management Alliance currently comprises the Ghana Agriculture Sector Investment Programme (GASIP) funded by the Government of Ghana and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the European Union Resilience Against Climate Change (EU-REACH), the EU/BMZ co-funded Market-Oriented Agriculture Programme in North West Ghana (MOAP NW), Training and Extension for Conservation Agriculture in Savannah (TECAS) and Centre for Indigenous Knowledge and Organizational Development (CIKOD).

Bushfire Management Stakeholder Forum
Tuesday 12th October, 2021
Extee Crystal Hotel, Bolgatanga