The Wassa Association of Communities Affected by Mining (WACAM) on Wednesday expressed concern about the failure of political parties to include environmental issues on their campaign agenda.
"We are disappointed that important environment issues have been relegated to the background in the campaign agenda of political parties,” WACAM Executive Director Daniel Owusu-Koranteng, said in a statement.
The statement said Ghana was confronted with grave environmental problems, which were serious enough to attract the attention of political parties seeking the mandate of the people.
It said WACAM recognised the environment to integrate all living and non-living things which formed a complex interdependent system and that the destruction of natural wealth would mean the destruction of human society.
The statement said WACAM believed that the environment constituted an important legacy of which every generation would be judged on the basis of responsible stewardship of the environment.
It said the country's annual forest depletion was quantified to be at three per cent of Gross Domestic Product, adding that individual and corporate bodies had engaged in activities, which resulted in the pollution and destruction of the many water bodies of the country.
The statement stated that achieving minimal economic gains at great cost to the environment would not help the country achieve long term poverty reduction.
While commending some traditional leaders in their campaigns against environmental degradation, WACAM called on Ghanaians to set the campaign agenda by demanding commitment to environmental issues from political parties.
