Ghana’s Climate Financing Architecture: Using Domestic Resource Mobilisation as a sustainable approach

Ghana intends to mobilise nearly US$ 22.6 billion investment from both domestic and international public and private sources towards the implementation of her Nationally Determined Contributions (Gh-NDCs) commitments. US$ 6.3 billion domestically (28.3% of total investment) is to be mobilized nationally whereas the US$ 16 billion is expected from international support. However Ghana’s ability to raise the needed resources is uncertain given the fact that the country’s climate interventions are largely donor driven.

Strategic Youth Network for Development (SYND) makes recommendations on how domestic resource mobilization will be a sustainable option which is consistent with President Nana Addo's "Ghana Beyond Aid" policy target.

For a copy of the report, please click on [DOWNLOAD] 

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The Paris Climate Agreement “Shall” Fail: Ghana as a Case Study

As part of its obligations towards the achievement of the Paris Climate Agreement, Ghana in her iNDCs is focusing on key areas such as Mitigation, Adaptation, Means of Implementation, Technology, Transparency Framework and Finance. However, careful analyses tend to cast doubts on Ghana’s commitment. This paper argues that as a result of Ghana’s conduct and the demeanor of key development partners/donors on climate change, the Paris Agreement “shall” fail. TO ACCESS THE PAPER, PLEASE CLICK ON READ MORE TO [DOWNLOAD]

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Youth Role in Climate Change Adaptation: Ghana Project Report

This project among others seeks to demonstrate on-going climate change adaptation actions by young people and how such effects can positively contribute and influence national plans. 
The project targeted three (3) different communities across Ghana – one each from the Southern (coastal area), Middle (forest area) and Northern (high temperature area) zones. CLICK ON READ MORE TO [DOWNLOAD]

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Ghana’s Plan to Establish Coal-fired Plant: A mission to derail the Paris Climate Agreement? PART 1

Ghana government has indicated plans to establish a “2 x 350MW Supercritical Coal Fired Power Plant” which represents the first phase of the development which is to be further expanded either by a 4×350MW (or 2×600MW). This project arguably shall derail the Paris Climate Agreement. This publication (PART 1) analyses the Scoping Report and provides feedback on the Community Entry Exercise conducted in the community where the plant is to be sited. CLICK ON READ MORE TO [DOWNLOAD]..................

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Policy Brief: National Climate Change Policy (NCCP) Of Ghana

The fight against Climate Change (mainly attributed to man-made activities) is increasingly becoming more intense as a result of its continuous adverse impact on people’s source of livelihood and survival. In July 2014, the government of Ghana launched a National Climate Change Policy (NCCP) which provides government’s plans and programming in tackling climate change. This brief is a critique of the policy and also shares some recommendations towards achieving maximum benefits. CLICK ON READ MORE TO [DOWNLOAD]

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Climate Change and Social Impacts

The subject of climate change has undoubtedly become a major issue in today’s world development agenda. Climate change has been explained as changes in composition of the atmosphere - increased greenhouse gases and aerosols. This has widely led to warmer surface temperature – land, ocean, changing precipitation patterns, reduced Arctic sea-ice, retreating glaciers, melting ice sheets, Higher sea levels – higher storm surges; increased cyclones/ hurricanes in the Atlantic, More frequent extreme weather events - heat waves, floods, droughts.

The effects of climate change are increasingly threatening the sustainability of the environment. Evidently, it has provoked very serious and grievous social impacts. For instance, climate change effects have led to deepening unemployment. Ashaladja is a community in Ghana where agriculture which is the key source of livelihood of the inhabitants has been adversely affected the over 5,000 indigenes. Strategic Youth Network for Development (SYND) in October, 2010 did climate change education and tree planting exercise in the community with support from the World Bank Institute and British Council. We observed during a tour in the community that Farm lands have been destroyed due to the main river of the community overflowing its banks. Crops such as Cassava, Yam, Cocoyam, and Plantain are unable to be harvested. Thus the youth including young women have become jobless and are forced to engage in deviant behaviors such as armed robbery, prostitution, and drug abuse as means of survival.

Again, the influx of young people from the rural to the urban areas as an attempt to escape serious droughts has denied development in those rural areas. Indeed, if the able, talented, energetic and vibrant young people are hurriedly leaving for the city or urban centers, then how can development take place in those communities? This signal is posing a threat to the future of these communities thereby denying the possibility of eradicating poverty. The negative social impact of such development may not be quantified.

In Ghana, social interaction is a form of bonding for most community dwellers; it is common to find family and relatives performing domestic chores in common – either at home, market or community centers. Vocations such as fishing, cooking, farming, washing, and building are done in solidarity. Unfortunately, climate change is breaking such ‘sacred’ bonding that community dwellers have enjoyed in harmony over the period. For example, in times of drought, people predominantly engaged in farming must necessarily split to go seeking for other source of livelihood even if it means relocating. Parents no longer have quality time with their children thereby not able to inculcate in their children the necessary values and principles needed to forming the right attitude in life. When children become wayward, their actions and/or inactions may be detrimental to society. Women are tasked with the pain of walking several kilometers to access water for domestic chores. Husbands may not be willing to devote all the needed support and care that their wives deserve in the name of striving for survival. Climate change consequences seem to be orientating community dwellers to becoming more individualistic instead of collectivity – to wit “everyone for himself, God for us all”. The quality time that existed among people through interaction is fading out slowly but steadily. The bonding and solidarity that is systematically loosing its hold is leading to negative social impacts.

The cultures of some communities have also been altered due to Climate change effects. Aboakyire festival is one of the well celebrated festivals in Ghana. A key highlight of the festival is the hunting of a live antelope. The inability of hunters to grab an antelope dims the light of the festival. This specie is increasing becoming extinct due to climate change hence what will be the future of this festival? Will this festival be aborted in the near future? Time will supply.
Kpoikpoi, is another festival celebrated by the Gas of Ghana. It’s a celebration of bumper harvest and thanksgiving to the ancestors or gods. Usually, maize or corn is cooked and prepared with palm oil. The head of the family takes the lead after the meal has been prepared and sprinkles them at the door steps of all the rooms in the compound before everyone is expected to eat the meal. The food sprinkled at the door steps are expected to be eaten by the ancestors or gods. Climate change is succeeding to truncate this festival. Changes in weather pattern have affected planting and harvesting of corn. Rainfall has become unpredictable thus putting farmers in a very confused state – not knowing the right time to sow or farm.

Standing on the above submissions, the social impacts of climate change effects can not be under estimated. It is posing a great threat to society’s survival. It is therefore highly recommended that actions be taken to ameliorate these challenges. Proposed solutions are:
1. Families living in communities should be educated on how they can mitigate and adapt to the climate change.
2. Young people working in the agriculture industry should be empowered through capacity building to employ more efficient and effective methods or approaches to successful agricultural practices.
3. Stakeholders in the private sector and prominent individual citizens should be encouraged to commit to the fight against climate change by contributing some resources.
4. Young people should be trained, empowered and raised as Ambassadors to champion the fight against climate change through peer-learning, information sharing through social networks (internet blogs, facebook, twitter etc), and community groupings or think tanks.
5. The time, energies and talents of young people should be identified, harnessed and developed so they are deployed to dealing with climate change effects.

Undeniably, the war against climate change can not be sustained without the active participation and involvement of young people. Today’s world leaders and other environmental-oriented stakeholders in their negotiations, dialogues, discussions and consultations need to engage their youth throughout the process as they are – needless to say – future leaders. If young people are not actively inculcated or ‘baptized’ into initiates, programs and/or projects on climate change issues, then I am afraid that not only will all these years of time and resources committed be wasted but climate change will triumph eventually and ultimately defeating the task or efforts to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 2015.

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Critiquing Climate Change Agenda: From Applied Anthropological Perspective

Global warming or climate change has been a topical issue on the world’s headlines today irrespective of country differences. Climate change which is basically changes in the composition of the atmosphere has no doubt raised more questions than answers. Whiles a school of thought has provided evidence of climate change and the expected or projected dire consequences, another school of thought (skeptics) have rubbished the whole climate change as – over – exaggeration, virtually perceiving it as “much ado about nothing”.
Personally, I think the effects of climate change are real. Here in Ghana, we have stories and evidences of the effect of climate change such as drying up of water bodies like River Pra and River Densu; changes in rainfall patterns; heat waves; sea level increase washing or eating away roads and so on.
In addressing this global problem, 4 strategies have been adopted which are:
1. Adaptation – that is, adjustment in ecological, social, or economic systems in response to actual or expected climate stimuli and their effects or impacts (IPCC 2001)
2. Mitigation – that is, minimizing emissions of greenhouse gases and move towards a low-carbon economy.
3. Technology Development and Transfer – that is, developing technologies that environmentally friendly and transferring such technology to developing countries
4. Resource Provision: Funding and Investment – that is, enhancing action on the provision of financial resources and investment to support action on mitigation and adaptation and technology cooperation according to the Bali Action Plan

In adopting these global plans in principle, nations are expected to initiate, develop and consciously promote climate change action plans. Governments, policy makers or leaders must therefore ensure to take actions that are relevant, appreciated and understood by the target audience (citizens).
It must be indicated that a practice that may be highly embraced in a country or culture may be frowned upon and totally rejected in another setting. For instance, one of the reasons why “Ghana @ 50” toilet project failed was because the organizers did not understand the sociological or anthropological setting of the targeted audience. It is common to find husband and wife defecating along the beaches and whiles “doing their own thing” they engage in face-to-face conversation as they enjoy the cool breeze. The toilet facility had divided closets barring physical contact which is highly practiced in other developed countries. Indeed, indigenes prefer to defecate around the facility whiles upholding their social interaction culture.

This requires the attention or input from Applied Anthropologists. Applied Anthropology is basically branch of anthropology that concerns itself with planned cultural change and the solution of practical problems. Indeed, very laudable and great developmental plans which took time, resources, energy to develop have not succeeded. Transforming such plans from the drawing board onto societies or communities has been met with rejection and neglect.
Paradoxically, Africa has been labeled as the most endangered to the effects of climate change though the continent contributes a minute percentage of greenhouse gases emissions. Efforts are been made on how Africa can be supported to handle these crises. But the question is will Africa be expected to adopt universal programs or have the opportunity to generate peculiar programmes? With a whole number of people in African societies or communities still caught in the primitive way of life, inter-cultural and intra-cultural differences must be acknowledged. For instance, a native or primitive farmer who observes changes in rainfall patterns as a threat to the livelihood of his family can easily conclude that the gods are displeased granting that superstition is strongly held. He will therefore seek the intervention of the fetish priest who after some doing some shake ups interspersed with uncalculated steps will spew out inhuman words. Eventually, a goat may be required as a sacrifice to appease the gods. Until such individuals are really oriented on climate change, they will render the programme unsuccessful.
As already indicated, schools, boreholes, pipe borne water facilities, clinics, toilets and so forth have been erected in communities to enhancing their livelihood but these structures have only become statutes. For instance, if boreholes are constructed for natives and they are not trained on how to manage or maintain the facilities, the latter will soon live out their relevance.

In the light of political leaders, governments, policy or decision-makers, development partners are preparing to embark on climate change programmes, they must engage the services of applied anthropologists to ensure not only the success of the programmes but their sustainability.

I strongly recommend that:
- the use of visual aids (displaying evidences) be used at community levels so the indigenes can see and appreciate the fight against climate change
- stakeholders help civil society organizations to adopt communities for regular interaction
- involve the youth immensely to ensure sustainability
- whiles requesting for consumer behaviour changes pragmatic alternatives must be provided.

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When Nature Speaks...

Man has been endowed with the power, ability, skills or dominion to govern the world as illustrated in the book of Genesis. Man therefore from the days of Adam has manipulated nature (or natural elements) with such authority to make the world what it is today. God delivered a simple but important task to Adam in the Garden of Eden – to dress and keep it! Has Man lived up to this responsibility?
Whiles we applaud humans for their display of ingenuity, creativity, innovation in the name of development through philosophical, scientific and/or technological concepts or ideas, we seem to neglect the negative effects of our actions on nature.
Trees or plants have drastically been hewed down; water bodies are increasingly becoming vulnerable; animal species are dying out and becoming extinct and so forth. The massive exploitation of Nature by Man since creation has incurred the displeasure of Nature. Today, weather patterns have changed dramatically to the detriment of peasant agriculturalists that depend on small scale farming for their livelihood. On the larger scale, developing countries who are predominantly agriculturally-based economies are been badly affected thereby threatening the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) with respect to the eradication of poverty.
Storms, sea surges, hurricanes, volcanoes, heat waves, changes in precipitation, high sea levels and so on have place human life under danger. Nations or cities have been torn apart by hurricanes; villages have been sub-marine by high sea levels; earthquakes have ripped through land territories leaving behind unquantifiable volumes of disaster. And indeed, these phenomena seem to be endless. Can it be attributed to Nature speaking?
Interestingly, humans to ensure their own safety and security have enacted various policies or laws in the name of human right – right to live; right to information; freedom of speech; right to basic amenities etc -. In the event of having one’s rights violated, the victim aggressively screams for his/her rights to be respected and stretches towards the arms of the law for justice. Even 3rd parties (advocates) take it upon themselves to fight for the right of the marginalized, disenfranchised or the weak in society. But who speaks for Nature? Indeed, I must acknowledge that some individuals, groups or organizations have made frantic efforts to speak on behalf of Nature. Examples of such bodies are Friends of the Earth and Wide life society. Arguably, these bodies have do not have the power to halt damages dished out to Nature regardless how much and hard they wail. It depicts a typical village where women may weep and cry against certain cultural practices but dare not question the authority of their husbands or rulers.
If Man can’t dress and keep Nature, then it’s logical that nature should speak for itself. Unfortunately, Nature does not react in a friendly manner. All the natural disasters we are engulfed with are the “fighting-back” campaign of Nature. According to the law of consequentialism – the rightness and wrongness of an action are determined by the consequences of the action. By this inference, all the natural disasters we are experiencing are due to our consequences of our actions on Nature.
Man is now at the mercy of nature as any change in the latter has inevitable consequences on the former.
When Nature speaks…
- Man becomes devastated
- Man becomes pitiful
- It has no respect for human rights
Do we then have a way out? Sadly, we cannot escape “hearing the voice” of Nature but can adopt 2 remedial options notably:
1. To adjust to the consequences
2. To respect and uphold the rights of Nature – right to live and right to be preserved.

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