Ghana’s Ellembelle District gets money from France.

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Supporting conservation efforts, the French government has provided 44,000 Euros to support the Amansuri Estuary, Mangrove and Swamp Forest Conservation Project in the Ellembelle District.

The project which will span 18 months, will give the Ghana Wildlife Society the opportunity to develop the ecotourism potential of Amansuri wetlands in areas such as Old and New Bakanta, Nzuleluenu, Ampain, Sanzule and Alabokazo in the Ellembelle District.

Speaking at the launch of the project at New Bakanta, the head of the community-based Natural Resource Management of the Ghana Wildlife Society, Reuben Otoo, said the project will involve biodiversity surveys, conservation education programmes, socio-economic surveys and demarcation of Amansuri wetlands as community reserves.

Mr Otoo said the project will make Amansuri estuary a preferred tourism destination for both local and foreign tourists.

He added that the project is an extension of the Amansuri/Amanzule Conservation and Integrated Development, project in the Jomoro District which was started in April 2000 with funding from the Netherlands Embassy.

Mr Otoo called for cooperation and support from the beneficiary communities to ensure successful implementation of the project, adding structures will be put in place to enable the community to own it.

The DCE for Ellembelle, Daniel Eshun, expressed appreciation to the French government, Ghana Wildlife Society and other development partners.

He said the project has come at an opportune time as it will restore sanity and conserve the area.

The DCE said the assembly is also in the process of gazetting its bye-laws to give legal backing to enforce the laws designed to protect the environment.

Mr Eshun appealed to traditional authorities to desist from outright sale of land to investors but rather use them as equity in business.

The President of Nzema Maanle Council, Awulae Annor Adjaye, urged the people to desist from unnecessary felling of trees along the Amansuri wetlands.

He appealed to the people to be watchful and report any oil spillage in the area.

Pandas and Bio-Diversity

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I am a member of the San Diego Zoological Society, and love their Panda Exhibit, which was part of a cooperative effort with the Republic of China.  I was pleased to learn that the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Friday said it is helping China set up botanical gardens, wild-life parks and a giant panda center in the northwestern Qinling Mountains to protect the region’s biological diversity.

The Manila-based development lender said in a press release that it will provide a 40 million-U.S.-dollar loan to fund the Shaanxi Qinling Biodiversity Conservation and Demonstration Project which aims to use ecotourism to generate a sustainable source of funds to protect and restore the environment.

About 300 giant pandas, along with other threatened species, can be found in the mountains, the ADB said, but destructive land use practices driven by poverty threaten the habitats of many rare plants and animals and previous conservation efforts were hampered by a lack of financial sustainability.

The project will also support the restoration of forest land, provide forest-based livelihood opportunities, develop endangered species management programs, repair and modernize an animal rescue shelter and develop a comprehensive biodiversity data collection system, the ADB said, adding that the project can also provide conservation-linked jobs and business opportunities.

ADB’s loan has a 25-year term, including a grace period of 5 years, with interest determined in accordance with ADB’S LIBOR-based lending facility. The Shaanxi provincial government is the executing agency for the project which is due for completion by April 2015.

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