ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY: CESDEV STUDENTS ON SAFARI,VISIT HIPPO SANCTUARY

By Tope Musowo

In a not so long voyage, reminiscence of the biblical Paul missionary journey,the students of Center for Sustainable Development, (CESDEV) University of Ibadan, recently traveled from Wa to Wechiau Community Hippo Sanctuary, a conserved area where large number of hippopotamuses and other see animals find a natural habitat.

A natural vegetation with different species of trees for food,herbs etc, serving as a home for about 236 birds and other biodiversities,attracting tourism like the pyramid of Hawaii,played host to the students who came all away from Nigeria to learn about preservation of the environment for sustainable development.

According to ,the Coordinator of the project,  Mr. R.Y Abudulai Issahaku,who lucidly explained the economic benefits,environmental impacts,the sociocultural influence of the sanctuary to about 4 tribes that makes up of the 17 communities around the sanctuary.

In his words,the project which started in the year 1998,initially witnessed a period of contention about meeting human daily demand for food,fiber,fuel and so on,and conserving the environment for more sustainable use.

The sanctuary according to Mr Abudulai has witnessed increase in income since 1998 to 2017,bringing about improvement in the area of health facilities ,women empowerment initiative  through shea-butter cultivation,Tamarin and Dawa-dawa,(training and harvest),moringa farming, while encouraging the male folks to give women land for farming.

With the sustainable conservation of the sanctuary,the communities have since benefited immensely from the project in a far better measure than just meeting immediate needs,as money realised from tourism is being ploughed back into supporting the community needs.

 Thus far,about 50 students have been  sponsored from Junior to Senior High School,teaching materials provided for about 15-17 primary schools,sinking of boreholes for about 13 communities,provision of solar electricity to about 550 households.

A sanctuary that house about 33 to 40 hippopotamuses,with 3 to 4 kilometre length,(18 kilometre from Wichiau community centre),sharing boundary with Burkina Faso and Cote de' Voir,enjoys community support in terms of conservation,which sets it apart from the  Bui National Park,another hippo sanctuary in Ghana.

Apart from the counting of the hippopotamuses (hippo census) which is done quarterly,(4 times a year), human activities like bush fire,businesses,habitation,deforestation,fishing and so on are not allowed in the core zone of the sanctuary, which is about 40 kilometres,these are the regulations put in place by the

Sanctuary Management Board,to conserve the environment with a constitution and bye laws governing the project.

The students in their quest for knowledge,in a rather adventurous manner,on local boats,took turn to go on the Black Volta River that serve as a boundary between Ghana, Burkina Faso and Cote d' Ivoire,exploring round the Safari,an interesting experience that worth the salt.