GHANA needs to make conscious efforts to preserve its historical natural habitats in order to avoid the negative impact of climate change, a nature photographer, Mr Frans Lanting, has advised.
According to him, climate change and habitat fragmentation were the major challenges in conserving nature.
Mr Lanting gave the advice in Accra last Thursday when he delivered a lecture on the theme, ”Conservation through photography”, organised by the Nature Conservation Research Centre.
He said photography was a visual language that spoke for itself, adding that if used properly, it could serve as a source of information for national policies.
Mr Lanting is currently one of the greatest nature photographers in the world and has many of his magnificent works appearing in books, magazines and exhibitions around the world.
Born in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, he holds a Master’s degree in Economics and studied Environmental Planning in the US, after which he launched into photographing the natural world.
He advised Ghanaian authorities to work actively to preserve the country’s natural habitats for the future generation, pointing out that “if things are not properly executed, the next generation will have no historic natural habitat to learn from”.
He cited Madagascar, South Africa, Kenya, Namibia and Botswana as some of the African countries with splendid natural resources.
He said over-population and the pursuit of material things had contributed immensely to conflicts in Africa, thereby destroying most of the continent’s natural conservation.
He urged environmental journalists in the country to contribute immensely to the conservation of Ghana’s natural resources by taking photographs that would educate the citizenry on their historical natural reserves.
The Director of the Ecological Laboratory Centre of the University of Ghana, Prof Ofori Danso, said the livelihood of many Ghanaians depended on the country’s natural resources which served as food, shelter, among other needs.
He said it was imperative for the country to utilise those resources for its development, indicating that many visitors who came into the country did so because of its natural reserves.
He, therefore, advised all to help in the conservation, protection, management and wise use of the country’s natural resources.
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