Environment Minister Assures of Ghana's Commitment to Addressing Land Degradation

The Minister of Environment, Science Technology and Innovation, Dr. Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng says Ghana is committed to addressing issues of land degradation and deforestation as part of its effort to achieve the great green wall goal in parts of West Africa.

The great green wall initiative is an umbrella program supported by the Global Environmental Fund and the World Bank in 12 selected countries in West Africa and the Sahel using a landscaping approach.
 
The project which focuses on tree planting is aimed at achieving food security, poverty reduction, and efficient water use, reduce climate change risk exposure, soil health and sustainable biodiversity.
Speaking at the opening of the fourth conference of the Sahel and West Africa Program in support of the great Green wall initiative in Accra, Dr. Frimpong-Boateng said the process of land degradation in Ghana and Africa was increasingly being recognised as a key development issue. 

That, he said was because of the impact of land degradation on the productive capacity of land.

In Ghana, he said rural households were the most affected by land degradation because of their heavy dependence on agriculture and other natural resources dependent activities as their main source of livelihoods 
Land degradation, the Minister pointed out, compromises environmental services such as nutrient cycling,  regulation of hydrological flows,  provision of natural resources and amelioration of climate extremes and floods.

To great a strong enabling environment and road map for investment in sustainable land management (SLM) he said Ghana with support from its development partners has developed a strategic investment framework for SLM and the Agricultural Land Management Strategy and Action Plan.

The project, which he said was yielding results following the planting of trees to covet 5500 hectors on land in 118 communities across the country and benefiting 14,000 land users.

Additionally, Dr. Frimpong-Boateng said eight forest reserves management plans covering 42,844 hectors were also in place.

Other initiatives such as the fight against illegal mining and destruction of water bodies, the one village one dam projects in the Northern part of Ghana and the planting for food and jobs initiatives would go a long way to ensure food security and protect natural resources.
In a welcome address, the World Bank Country Director for Ghana, Henry G. R. Kerali said economies and people living in Africa's dry lands from the Sahel and its surrounding countries depend heavily on soil, water, vegetation and other natural resources assets.

Yet, he said, in recent years there resources have been steadily deteriorating as a result of unsustainable management and expanding human settlement which was generating increasing demand for food,  firewood, land and water. 

Citing Ghana as an example, he said poor land and water management practices had led to accelerated erosion, dilation of water bodies, land degradation and increasing desertification. 

That, Mr. Kerali said had led to natural habitats and biodiversity getting degraded.

"This is resulting in declining natural resource productivity, hence lower household income, particularly in the Northern Savannah, the poorest region of the country, "he said. 

Mr. Kerali pointed out that Ghana had lost almost 50percebt if its forest covet in the last 50 years.
He said there was growing evidence and concern as land degradation and natural resource depletion were leading to. Migration and conflicts over natural resources.

The challenge, he said transcends institutional and geographic boundaries and therefore requires collaboration of vision and action by the affected countries.
The Great Green Wall Coordinator of the African Union Commission, Elvis Paul Tangem, said so far 14.9 million people have been reached through the project as against the target if reaching 20 million people by 2020.

Even though the achievement was commendable, he said all parties needed to do more to overcome some existing challenges.

He said currently more than six million people in Somalia were being displaced as a result of climate change and desertification which was affecting the vulnerable especially young people. 

"We need to focus on the need to harmonize all projects focused on land and water management and have a strong collaboration between all projects," he said.
The Sahel and West Africa Programme in support of the Great Green Wall Initiative (SAWAP) is being implemented in Benin, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sudan, Chad and Togo.

As part of the management of the project and institutional arrangements, project directors from the beneficiary countries, scientists, environmentalists, policy makers and media practitioners meet regularly yo take stock of the state of implementation, developments and share lessons learnt.

At the fourth conference in Accra themed "global perspective for the future of SAWAP would have countries sharing success stories and would look at a possible re-orientation of the program for future activities.

GBC