The three-member national jury of the ongoing GHACEM�s Quarry Life Award (QLA) competition has submitted its final report after assessing the five projects of the contestants.
The jury has decided on the top three projects which would be announced later in an event to be hosted by the board and management of GHACEM.
The QLA is an educational and research-based initiative by Heidelberg Cement (HC) Group and companies, including GHACEM Limited of Ghana, to source ideas towards the effective management of biodiversity in all its mining sites across the globe.
A joint report submitted by the jury, which included Dr Erasmus Owusu, Mr Yaw Kwakye, Manager, Climate Change Unit at the Forestry Commission, and Mr Daniel Agyemang, a geologist, described this year�s edition of the QLA as keenly contested. It particularly noted that five projects, aside their application to protecting biodiversity, also showed some commercial value.
�The projects were creative and innovative, giving indication and hope that Ghana stands a better chance on the world stage this year,� the report stated.
Throwing more light on the report, Dr Owusu explained that detailed analyses, including field assessment, efforts and time invested by the contestants before arriving at the final result and the practicality of replicating the results were considered before the jury made their final submission.
It will be recalled that in March 2014, project proposals in five different categories were submitted by participants from the now 21 participating countries � with Indonesia, Canada, Turkey and the US joining for the first time.
In November 2014, three winners in each country and six international winners will be rewarded by expert juries. National awards will range from �1,500, �3,000 to �5,000. International awards of �10,000 each will be given in five different categories and one grand prize of �30,000 will be presented to the team behind the overall best project.
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