Kabakaba Forest Reserve under threat of extinction

THE Kabakaba Forest Reserve on the Galenku Hill in Ho,  would vanish in 20 years if the current rate of encroachment and other human activities were  not halted immediately, the Forestry Services Division(FSD) has warned.

The Volta Regional Manager of the Division, Mr Michael Painstil, told the Ghanaian Times in Ho on Tuesday that the Kabakaba Forest Reserve was been invaded by houses for human settlement, a worrying  trend that threatening the ecosystem and the serene environment of the Volta Regional capital.

“What used to be a thick forest reserve is now giving way to houses, chapels and farms, and this is a gory threat to the survival of future generations,” Mr Painstil pointed out.

According to him, several measures adopted by the FSD, of the Forestry Commission which included the engagement of armed personnel of the security agencies in the reserve to ward off the encroachers had proved unsuccessful.

The encroachers continued to carry out the nefarious activities in the forest day and night with impunity, he said, adding that public educational campaigns carried out by the division against the trend also yielded virtually no result.

Mr Painstil said that the reserve which was marked out more than 150 years ago, had contributed immensely to the natural filtered clean air that blows through the Ho Municipality, thereby contributing to the health of residents.  

If the encroachment continued, then polluted air would hover over Ho in the near future and that would cause serious health problems to the people, Mr Painstil predicted.

He attributed the recent ‘invasion’ of houses in and near the forest reserve by snakes to the activities of the encroachers, whom he said, had widely disturbed the natural habitat of the reptiles, compelling them to crawl into homes in search of food.

The Volta Regional Manager of the Division, revealed that the various species of monkeys which lived in the reserve had fled their sanctuary due to cruel and lawless human activities in the nature reserve.

He, therefore, appealed to the chiefs and churches to join the crusade to halt the activities of the encroachers, to ensure that the future generations become inheritors and not just survivors.

The Assistant Regional Manager of the Division, Mr Anthony Saaniano, later  led a tour of the reserve where huge  buildings had been put up by individuals and churches.

FROM ALBERTO MARIO NORETTI, HO