GHANA , as part of efforts to mitigate the effect of climate change and ensuring the sustainable management of her forests resources has taken pragmatic steps to engage all stakeholders in its effort to encourage behavioral change towards conservation.
Effectively, the Forestry Commission has mapped out some distressed regions in the country to embark on a regional REDD+ roadshow to draw Ghanaians attention to the negative effects of Climate Change.
REDD+ stands for countries’ efforts to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, and foster conservation, sustainable management of forests, and enhancement of forest carbon stocks.
The road show, slated for a period between September and November 2014, would seek to sensitize communities most affected by environmental degradation and the effects of their activities on climate change.
Four strategic locations where the road show would have a stop include Damongo, Hohoe, Dormaa Ahenkro and Tarkwa, on the theme: “Reducing Forest Loss and Climate Change Impacts through REDD+; Our Collective Responsibility.”
Mr Samuel Afari Dartey, Chief Executive of the Forestry Commission, at the launch of the programme reiterated the urgent need to take seriously the issues of climate change as it linked closely to the country’s primary export product -Cocoa.
He explained that the country’s cocoa yield is largely dependent on forest cover and thus, a depletion of the forest resources has negative repercussions for the country’s foreign earnings .
Again he noted that the Atiwa forest which provides about 70 percent of Accra’s water needs are under threat of drying up due to deforestation and illegal mining activities that is destroying the water bodies.
Mr Yaw Kwakye, Manager, Climate Change Unit Forestry Commission, said the commission is working clsoeky with the COCOBOD to retain tress in the cocoa farms to reduce carbon emission.
He noted that cocoa is a major driver of deforestation and ” so we are collaborating with cocobod to ensure that they will retain trees on cocoa farms and also enhance the carbon stocks in these cacao farms in order to reduce emissions”.
Available research identifies deforestation and degradation as contributing nearly 20% of the world Green House Gas emissions, a figure that placed reductions in these emissions high on the international climate change agenda.
The roadshow would be crowned with a National REDD+ forum in Accra.
African Eye News
