The Water Resources Commission (WRC) has held a two-day intensive capacity-building workshop at Kumbungu in the Northern Region, to empower local water committees along the White Volta Basin.
They are to take direct responsibility for protecting water bodies, preserving riparian vegetation, and ensuring the sustainable use of water resources.
The workshop brought together about 60 participants from the Nawuni sub-catchment area, representing four communities in the district, including Sheeni, Afayili, Nawuni, and Dalun Kukuo.
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Participants were equipped with the skills to identify critical environmental challenges and contribute to the effective implementation of the basin – level and sub-basin level plans in the area.
It provided an opportunity for the committees to identify and develop mechanisms to address environmental challenges such as sand winning and deforestation.
Organised by the WRC with funding support from Catholic Relief Services (CRS) through the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the event formed part of the Agricultural Growth and Improvement for Livelihood Enhancement (AGILE) project.
The three-year initiative, being implemented in the Savelugu and Kumbungu Districts, aims to boost crop yields, increase household incomes, and strengthen the resilience of smallholder farming communities.
Mr. Jesse Kazapoe, Basin Director for the White Volta Basin of the WRC, said the workshop sought to make community members active agents of change in water resources management.
He explained that strengthening the capacity of local water committee members would help address pressing issues such as open defecation, deforestation, poor farming practices, flooding, and water pollution.
“The issues we identify will determine which stakeholders should be part of the local water committees. Once we complete stakeholder mapping, identify the issues, and build capacity, we will invite nominations for members to formally join the committees to represent their communities within the governance structures of the WRC,” Mr. Kazapoe stated.
He noted that while three local water committees already exist on the Eastern Bank of the White Volta River, the construction of a new bridge at Nawuni linking the Eastern and Western banks made it necessary to replicate the initiative across the river to prevent environmental degradation.
“To this end, members from Sheeni and other communities on the Western Bank will be paired with experienced committee members from the Eastern Bank to form a new local water committee in the Kumbungu area for coordinated ecosystem management,” he added.
Mr. Kazapoe urged the local water committee members to play an active role in conserving water resources to enable sustainable agricultural activities that would enhance livelihoods.
Mr. Mohammed Soale, Assembly Member for Sing in the Sheeni Electoral Area, commended the WRC and its partners for the intervention, noting that involving residents in managing water resources was essential to sustaining the environment.
“Local water committee members live in the communities and are direct users of the water, so we play a very important role in the day-to-day management of water resources,” he said.
Some of the key issues identified during the meeting included deforestation, bad farming practices, flooding, and siltation, among others.
Participants recommended the passage of by-laws to ban sand winning, the responsible use of agrochemicals around riverbanks, and the adoption of the “dig and close” approach in sand winning.
They also called for dredging of water bodies, a ban on farming along riverbanks, and the enforcement of strict punishment for culprits.
Other recommendations included the erection of signposts at forest reserves to discourage deforestation, the construction of flood walls, the banning of illegal mining and sand winning, and the organisation of regular community clean-up campaigns.
They further identified traditional authorities, opinion leaders, government agencies, civil society organisations, and other stakeholders as key partners in addressing these environmental challenges.
GNA
