The Executive Director of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is pleading with residents in Ashanti Region not to destroy wetlands as they serve to prevent floods.

Henry Kokofu, in an interview with Luv FM, said after a meeting with Manhyia palace to map out and preserve wetlands.

He stated that wetlands are not wastelands and must not be treated as such.

“…they are areas of high sensitivity when it comes to environmental issues, and these are areas where bio-diversity conservation takes place, and so if you destroy them if you develop on them, if you build on them, you are destroying our very lives.”

He added that wetlands serve sinks that swallow up floods as they come, and they take that and recharge underground water, so residents should be careful not to destroy these lands.

Further, he stated that the EPAs partnership with the Manhyia Palace is moving at encumbering all wetlands with signposts already placed at such areas, and so citizens should not encroach.

Structures are often set up on wetlands that are supposed to eat up floods and prevent them from causing a disaster on livelihood.

Unfortunately, several structures have been set up on these lands, preventing them from doing what they are supposed to do.

The EPAs partnership with the Manhyia Palace seeks to retrieve all such lands and protect them from human encroachment, and the partnership has already commenced restoration of vegetative cover around Lake Bosomtwe.