Ghana fighting climate change – Jinapor
The government of Ghana is implementing two major interventions to urgently respond to the effects of climate change, Lands and Natural Resources Minister Samuel Abu Jinapor has said.
These are the Ghana Cocoa Forest REDD+ Programme (GCFRP) in cocoa forest landscapes, mainly in the southern part of the country and the Ghana Shea Lands Scape Emission Reduction Programme in the Northern Savanna zones of Ghana.
Mr Jinapor stated this at the opening of the 12th Bosphorus Summit in Istanbul, Turkey, on Monday, 6 December 2021.
These programmes, the minister said, will enhance the ecosystem whiles improving livelihood opportunities for farmers, women groups and forest users in general.
Mr Jinapor said in line with the vision of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the country on June 11th 2021, successful planted seven million seedlings nationwide under the flagship Green Ghana initiative.
He also stated that a robust afforestation programme that seeks to restore degraded landscapes across all ecological zones and inculcate the culture of tree-planting among the Ghanaian youth will be rolled out soon, as part of the government’s master plan on landscape restoration.
The Minister also called on various countries, institutions and the private sector actors to partner with Ghana and exchange the rich experience and best practices in landscape restoration among others.
Mr Jinapor further urged participants at the Summit and the international community to deliberate on the effects of climate change on the ecosystem which links forest and sustainable livelihoods.
He said, “Let us invest in technology and science that prevents the impact of climate change on the livelihoods of the people we lead”.
The Minister was of the view that ” We can only achieve our aim if global climate actions are real and verifiable ,and this we must do,by embracing real and verifiable emissions reduction initiatives.