Climate Change: Its Effects On Migration, Conflict In Northern Ghana

Scientific evidence available to various research institutions in Ghana have showed that the three regions of the North – comprising Upper West, Upper East and Northern Regions – are considered the poorest areas in the country and also have the most degraded environments. Similarly, they are among regions that are most vulnerable to the estimated effects of climate change due to many negative environmental practices being perpetuated by the people over the years for economic gains. 

Accordingly, this therefore makes it somewhat obligatory or necessary for the state to commit special resources and attention to reverse the effects of climate change and the possible migration of the inhabitants to seek greener pastures in other fertile areas or better still forestall conflicts.

Ghana’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) describes climate change as the seasonal changes over a long period of time due to human activities. For instance, charcoal burning, deforestation, bush burning, sand winning, gravel mining, reckless use of agro-chemicals and pollutants from vehicles and heavy industrial machines over a century ago are believed to be the causes of climate change in the country. Indeed, these negative human activities still persist in this modern time and even at alarming rates probably due to increase in human population and development.

Carbon dioxide (CO2) resulting from the excessive use of fossil fuels in auto mobiles, industrial machines, bush burning, among others, is a major threat to the ozone layer. According to Wikipedia, the ozone layer is a layer in Earth's atmosphere which contains relatively high concentrations of ozone (O₃). This layer absorbs 97–99% of the Sun's high frequency ultraviolet light, which is potentially damaging to the life forms on Earth.  Scientists say, the ultraviolet rays can cause skin cancer if the ozone layer is completely eaten up by CO2.

The aforementioned activities, also affect the natural environment (ecosystems), agriculture, human health, forests and game reserves, water sources, among others due to the negative role CO2 play in changing weather patterns or climatic conditions. The worse outcome of these effects include torrential rainfall (severe devastating floods), drought, outbreak of epidemics, high temperatures, influx of pest, famine, rising sea levels and vice versa. In Northern Ghana for instance, there was a memorable flood disaster in 2007 which destroyed the lives of human beings and animals, arable lands, homes, school and public buildings and markets among others. About half a million people were displaced, over fifty people killed, over thirty thousand houses collapsed and nearly two hundred thousand metric tons of food crops were destroyed.

However, a recent survey conducted by the EPA on climate change effects showed that weather temperature in Ghana could rise by one degree celsius and rainfall and runoff water could also sharply reduce the yield of cereals and other food crops. This, certainly, would not augur well for over 60% of residents of the three regions of the North who depend mainly on subsistence agriculture.

Also, there is no denying the fact that, Northern Ghana is one of the places where there is high incidence of bush burning, charcoal production and indiscriminate felling of trees for fuel wood and building purposes. This has led to erratic rainfalls including unpredictable rainfall patterns or poor rainfall – both in volumes and distribution; increase incidence of pests and diseases – both on crops and livestock; low crop yields and extinction of some animals and plants species.

For instance, the 1952 Forest Inventory Record of Ghana indicates that the total tree cover in the three regions of the North was 41,600km2, representing 46% of the total land area of the North. However, by 1996 approximately 40% of the woodland was estimated to have been exposed to acute soil erosion and other human activities, meaning that about 38,000 hectares of tree cover are lost yearly in the three regions of the North.

The three regions contribute about 80% to the entire nation’s livestock production and experience annual rainfalls between 645 millimetres and 1250 millimetres followed by a long dry season lasting between 6 – 7 months (May-October). Available statistics at the Ministry of Food and Agriculture also indicate that there has been rainfall variation in the North in recent years. The average rainfall figures from 2004 to 2010 were 1243.24, 1066.79, 822.50, 672.61, 829.89, 865.44 and 364.85 millimetres, respectively.

Due to the insufficient fertile lands available for farming purposes and creation of grazing fields, the keen interest in farming among residence and huge livestock population has put enormous pressure on the limited land available, thus sometimes leading to the outbreak of tribal and communal violent clashes among landowners, farmers and owners of livestock in most parts of Northern Ghana in recent years. Apart from that, the inadequate number of dams for irrigation purposes during the long dry season period is further worsening food security situation and as the saying goes “A hungry man is an angry man” literally meaning, food insufficiency in the system could breed conflict. In recent times, there have been some land related conflicts at once peaceful areas like Kambatiak and Bankoni in Bunkpurugu-Yunyoo, Gushiegu, Bimbila, Zabzugu-Tatale and Bawku in the Upper East Region.   

Undeniably, the resultant effect of these conflicts, has forced an estimated 50,000 young men and women including children ranging between the ages of 6 to 30 to sojourn to the nation’s bigger cities such as Accra, Kumasi, Sunyani and Sekondi-Takoradi to engage in various kinds of menial jobs to make a living and also send remittances back home to their families. 

Moreover, the EPA states that, the Sahara desert keeps advancing southwards from the boundaries of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso at a speed of 0.8 kilometres per annum. The situation officials say, has assumed a serious magnitude that the minimum vegetation cover in some communities in the Upper East Region in particular, has already fallen below 5% as against the total ecological cover to support life. Regrettably, the effects of the Sahara desert can now be felt in communities such as Garu, Zongiri, Zebila, Paga, Nangodi and Tungu in the Upper East Region. 

Ghana is not a major contributor to green house gasses or industrial pollution but, she is one of the most affected by climate change effects. The country contributes about 9.6% representing 0.34 tons in 2008 and 2009 to emissions according to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) released recently.

There is therefore no denying the fact that the high incidence of bush burning, indiscriminate felling of trees for fuel or charcoal production and water pollution, among others in Northern Ghana are seriously contributing to the low and erratic rainfalls, rising temperatures/hot weather, drought, low yield in crop production, conflict and migration.

Thus, in order to make sure the situation does not escalate in the near future, there is the need for government through all Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies  (MMDAs) in Northern Ghana, to as a matter of priority and urgency; enforce all environmental laws in their respective jurisdictions. Anyone caught breaking such laws should be prosecuted and punished severely to serve as deterrent to others.

   

All Traditional Authorities, Assembly Members, District Police Commands, Fire Service Officials and Anti-bushfire Squads/Committees should be given the mandate to arrest any person or group of persons engaged in bush burning.

There is also an urgent need for the creation of EPA District offices to check or regulate the activities of individuals or local companies in the areas to save the lands or environment from further destruction.

Government must also ensure the availability of Liquefied Petroleum Gas in all the MMDAs and also make it more affordable for residents to drastically reduce or curtail the use of charcoal and tree cutting for fuel wood.

All MMDAs in the three regions should be challenged to adopt the culture of tree planting and stop bush burning. To ensure sustainability, award schemes could be instituted under the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA) to reward any district that has not experienced bush burning and tree felling for a period of time and also demonstrated enough in the area of reforestation. A cash amount of not less than GH¢1 million could be given to the winning district to execute any development project of their choice. 

Finally, more dams and irrigation systems should be built in all MMDAs under the SADA initiative and old ones rehabilitated in order to store more water for dry season farming/gardening to engage the idling youth who sometimes travel down south of Ghana for menial jobs.

Meanwhile, Ghana joined the international community by signing on to the UNFCCC in June 1992 in Rio de Janeiro. The Convention entered into force globally on 21 March 1994, and specifically for Ghana on 5th December 1995, three months after Ghana ratified the Convention on 6th September 1995.

At its 25th sitting in November 2002, Ghana’s Parliament passed a resolution to ratify the Kyoto Protocol. The final instrument of ratification was sent to the United Nations Headquarters in New York in March 2003 thus allowing Ghana to accede to the Kyoto Protocol and hence becoming a Party to it and entered into force globally on 16 February 2005. The Kyoto Protocol is a regulation that encourages or obliges member countries to reduce carbon emissions to a certain level.

Also, Ghana, which is signatory to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) has initiated a number of policies and programmes to arrest the spread of land degradation and desertification. The implementation of the National Environmental Action Plan (NEAP), the Environmental Resources Management Project and others like the land use map, environmental information system, land suitability and capability maps, land and water management, Savannah Resource Management and the National Reforestation Programme are worthwhile. All these should be enforced and effectively implemented in order to save the three regions and for that matter Ghana from becoming a desert country.   

By Joseph Ziem

Serious Monitoring of Petroleum Sector, Institution of NDA: A Way to Ensure Judicious Use of Oil Money

As Ghana prepares to begin spending its share of the revenue accruing from the oil and gas sector of the economy anytime soon, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) have been asked to regularly and seriously monitor developments emerging from that sector, to enable them make informed decisions and suggestions that would eventually make the nation benefit appropriately from the natural resource.

Besides, the leadership of the country has also been urged to institute a bi-partisan National Development Agenda (NDA) and entrust it in the care of the National Development Commission (NDC) which will spell out the development priorities or needs of the nation in the next ten or fifteen years to ensure the judicious management of its share of the petroleum revenue.

According to the Executive Director of the Kumasi Institute of Technology and Energy (KITE) Ishmael Edjekumhene, the proposed NDA should make it binding in such a way that any political administration that comes to power would have to stick to the dictates of the NDA so that the country could have a better and uniform way of developing its infrastructure and human resource. “It should make it compulsory such that any development project started by a previous government is continued by the one taking over the administration of the country,” he emphasized. 

The NDA “should be a guide to present and future heads of state to make sure that the oil and gas money is not spent recklessly on any kind of development projects. If this is put in place through a collective decision and contributions of all political parties in Ghana, it will also speedup the development process of our country and further minimize bribery and corruption,” he stressed.

The Executive Director of KITE said this when officials of the Ghanaian Developing Communities Association (GDCA), Dalun Simli Centre and Accountability and Good Governance Network (AGNET) – members of the Civil Society Platform on Oil and Gas – paid a learning visit to his organization in Accra in October to get themselves abreast of current issues in the nation’s petroleum sector.

KITE is wholly Ghanaian non-profit-making development organization and a leading actor in the energy, technology and environment sectors in Ghana and the West Africa Sub-region. The organization has been a key advocate in the oil and gas sector of Ghana and has two publications to its credit namely; “An Illustrated Glossary Of Selected Oil and Gas Terminologies” and “Ghana’s Emerging Petroleum Industry: What Stakeholders Need To Know.”

 

Mr. Edjekumhene also indicated that the NDA could make it possible for the state to prosecute anyone who spends petroleum money since it will be a document containing the collective voice of leadership of all political parties so that anyone found culpable of any corruption or financial malfeasance would not be left off the hook due to political favouritism. Adding, “Indeed, the NDA can also ensure or insist on value for money when contractors are awarded contracts to execute development projects.”

He further stated that the only way for Ghanaians to ensure that policies in the petroleum sector were complied with was to insist that political leaders become accountable to them in all decision-making processes. Adding “If they refuse to account to Ghanaians and also fail to ensure due diligence during policy formulations, they should be voted out of power for the larger interest of the country.”

Citing for instance, the flow metres of the Kwame Nkrumah FPSO that got damaged recently and the government of Ghana took the sole responsibility to import new ones at the cost of the state, Mr. Edjekumhene said that was wrong.

He explained that the FPSO vessel does not belong to Ghana but rather, it was rented from a company abroad by the jubilee partners including Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) for the storage of oil and gas. “Thus, when there’s a damage or malfunction to any part of the vessel, it is the responsibility of the group that rented/hired it to repair or fix the problem and not the state. 

Mr. Ishmael Edjekumhene recalled that a lot of questions were recently asked about that and how much it cost the government to import the brand new flow metres, but no one was able to explain that to Ghanaian taxpayers. He said: “If citizens begin to keep quite over some of these wrongdoings, the nation could be shortchanged in critical agreements signed in the oil and gas sector.”

The oil sector is an emerging industry in which many people, especially the youth, are seriously eager to work in. As a result, they are falling prey to some institutions that claim to be offering training in oil and gas. He warned the youth who, out of desperation, want to acquire some expertise to enable them get jobs in the oil and gas sector to be very careful on the kind of training they enroll on as potential job seekers in the petroleum sector.

According to him, the training currently being given to people by certain institutions were too rudimentary to get someone a job in the petroleum sector. Adding that, many people were paying huge sums of money to gain skills that will earn them nothing when they eventually complete.

When the group also paid a similar visit to Dr. Steve Manteaw, Chairman of the Civil Society Platform on Oil and Gas, he lauded parliament for passing the Petroleum Revenue Management Bill and Petroleum Commission Bill into Laws which were currently awaiting presidential accent. Adding, all these, coupled with the formation of the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC), was a bold step towards the efficient, transparent and accountable management of Ghana’s petroleum resources. 

He called on members of the CS Platform on Oil and Gas to continue to monitor other key legislations still outstanding, such as the Petroleum Exploration Law, the Petroleum Income Tax Amendment Law (a draft of which is still receiving attention by the Attorney General’s Department), as well as the necessary legislative instruments that will give effect to these laws. 

Dr. Manteaw who is also the Editor-In-Chief of the Public Agenda newspaper and Convener of Publish What You Pay – Ghana, a pressure group, implored government to further demonstrate enough commitment by accenting to the laws passed and push for the passage of the rest of the Bills left.

He commended GDCA for its interest in the governance issues in the oil and gas industry, urging the NGO to step up its education and sensitization programmes to enable citizens in the northern part of the country get a better understanding of what is going on in the sector, so that eventually Ghana would get her fair share of every contract and benefit. 

GDCA is the first and still the only non-governmental organization in Northern Ghana to get involved in advocacy in the oil and gas sector since Ghana began pumping oil about a year ago.

According to Mr. Hardi Tijani, an official of GDCA and leader of the delegation that travelled to Accra, GDCA became interested in the emerging petroleum industry because it considered the natural resource found as a national asset (stipulated in the constitution) and thus deemed it necessary to learn about it and educate residents of the Northern Region where it operates by way of capacity building through sensitization workshops, community durbars and stakeholder forums among others.

He explained that being the first NGO to go into oil and gas advocacy, GDCA also decided to learn from other organizations and institutions like KITE that had in-depth knowledge and experience in the sector. This, in his estimation, would further enhance their knowledge and understanding of issues in the petroleum sector, so that they could educate northerners to also position themselves well in order to take advantage of opportunities that would be emerging in future. 

Meanwhile, recent report from Ghana’s Energy Ministry indicates that since the country started oil and gas production on December 15, 2010, 16.7 million barrels of oil has been produced so far between January and September, 2011, earning her a total revenue share of US$337,337,945. 

According to the Ministry of Energy, this was from the sale of the first three crude liftings totaling 2,980,720 barrels out of a total of 24 by the Jubilee partners with Ghana through the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC).

By Joseph Ziem
ziemjoseph@yahoo.com

SANREC – The Biggest Environmental Coalition In Northern Ghana Outline Its Plans

One of the most serious environmental problems in Northern Ghana currently, is desertification – the result of several negative human activities such as indiscriminate tree felling, charcoal production, sand and gravel winning and bush burning among others.

 

Comprising of Upper West, Upper East and Northern Regions, Northern Ghana constitutes about 50% of the total land mass of the entire country.

The 1952 forest inventory record of Ghana indicated that the total tree cover in the three regions was 41,600km2, representing 46% of the total land area of the North. However, by 1996 approximately 40% of the woodland was estimated to have been exposed to acute soil erosion and other human activities, meaning that about 38,000 hectares of tree cover are lost yearly in Northern Ghana.

With these negative developments, it is obvious that the Northern Savannah area (Northern Ghana) is constantly under threat of degradation and desertification due to unsustainable management of the environment and natural resources.

The situation is further exacerbated by the impacts of climate change, increasing vulnerability of the people in the North. This is evidenced by residents mostly women and children walking long distances each day in search of water and firewood for their domestic use. Also, the drying up of rivers and gradual decline in agricultural production in recent years are adversely affecting household income levels and livelihoods.

It is therefore, not surprising the three regions of the North top the list of the poorest regions in Ghana.

Thus, as the issue of climate change or global warming now considered a topical subject for discussion at various levels of governmental and intergovernmental forums as well as international conferences such as the annual COP 17 by all nations across the globe, countries in Africa (the most affected by climate change effects) and CSOs are leaving no stone unturned to avert the worsening situation. 

For this reason, Ghana as a developing nation and as part of the global efforts to combat desertification and climate change, has taken bold steps to avert some of the worse forms of disasters that these negative environmental problems could bring to her people especially Northerners. 

For instance, the Ghana Environmental Management Project (GEMP) has been designed to realize the objectives of the National Action Plan (NAP) for drought and desertification, while the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA) has also been established to address the reduction of vulnerability due to the environmental degradation and disasters such as annual perennial flooding, drought, hunger, destruction of buildings, death of humans and domestic animals by floods, high temperatures, among others. 

This effort by government is further complemented by some Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) that are into natural resources and environmental governance issues. They are vigorously and seriously advocating through workshops, stakeholder forums and community durbars to ensure that the government does the right thing with regards to fighting negative environmental practices mostly perpetuated by multinationals in the extractive industry (mining and petroleum sector) timber companies and individuals or groups by enforcing the country’s laws. 

In Northern Ghana, the Savannah Natural Resources and Environmental Governance Coalition (SANREC), an initiative of the Northern Ghana Network for Development (NGND) has brought together CSOs working in the areas of environmental governance and natural resources management in the three regions of the North. 

The Coalition aims at approaching environmental governance issues and natural resources management in a concerted manner, creating a platform to sharing experiences and undertaking joint advocacy efforts to address environmental and natural resources management problems in the three regions. SANREC currently comprises of over 40 CSOs from the three regions including the Media Advocates for Sustainable Environment (MASE).

Vision

“A voice for an environment that sustains the livelihoods of men and women of the Northern Savannah.”

Mission

“A vibrant environmental coalition advocating for sustainable environmental management practices through transparent and responsible networking for the benefit of men and women in the Northern Savannah of Ghana.”

Objectives

1. Strengthen the capacities of members on Natural Resources and Environmental Governance (NREG) policies and programmes.
2. Promote evidence based advocacy on NREG policies and programmes
3. Enhance participation and social inclusion in environment and natural resource governance.
4. Establish an effective and supportive platform for coalition members
5. Create a financially sustainable coalition.

Strategies

• Enhance coalition members’ knowledge in NREG policies and programmes
• Promote networking amongst members and other networks
• Establish a resource centre for the media, coalition members and the general public
• Conduct environmental and natural resource-based research
• Contribute to policy formulation and implementation
• Establish an alliance with the media to advocate NRE (Natural Resources and Environment) issues
• Formulate policy on gender, inclusion and participation
• Build capacities of vulnerable groups to participate in policy formulation and implementation
• Advocate for the inclusion and participation of the vulnerable groups and communities in the formulation of policies on the environment
• Institute a mechanism for the coalition’s engagement with duty bearers on NRE issues
• Create a forum for information and experience sharing among SANREC members
• Embark on rigorous fundraising for SANREC operations
• Establish a transparent and accountable financial management system

Meanwhile, a three (3) year strategic document that was validated recently at a day’s workshop identified some important stakeholders it hopes to work with. It named Traditional Authorities, women and girls, youth groups, farmer-based organizations, crop and livestock farmers, children and commercial charcoal and wood producers as its primary stakeholders.

The document also cited its secondary stakeholders as allies, collaborators and partners that have the potential to support its work. They comprise of farmer-based organizations and community-based organizations.

Others include Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs), District Environmental Management Committees (DEMCs), National Disaster Management Organisations (NADMO), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Wildlife Division, Forestry Commission, Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS), Ghana Police Service, Savannah Agricultural Research Institute (SARI), University for Development Studies (UDS) and Animal Research Institute, Development Partners, Ministries and Agencies among others.

Joseph Ziem
ziemjoseph@yahoo.com

Two Communities In West Mamprusi Combat Land Degradation Through Tree Planting

By: Joseph Ziem
As part of the ongoing joint implementation of a nine-month climate change adaptation and mitigation project in Zua and Mishio Communities by the West Mamprusi District Assembly and the Hanns-Seidel-Foundation (HSF), about 14,500 acacia, mahogany, and other tree species have been procured for planting.

The project dubbed: “Fighting climate change through re-forestation” has the overall goal of increasing tree population in order to effectively combat desertification in the West Mamprusi District and further contribute to the ongoing global effort in the fight against climate change. 

The project also seeks to create awareness, support community members with alternative livelihood occupations and further strengthen civil society capacity to take up their own initiatives in the fight against climate change. 

According to the West Mamprusi District Coordinating Director, Alhaji Inusah Abubakari, the Assembly on behalf of the two community beneficiaries requested financial support of Sixteen Thousand, Forty-Eight Ghana Cedis (GH¢ 16,048.00) from the HSF to procure the seedlings for the immediate planting in Zua and Mishio communities.

“The said amount requested from the HSF, would be used to procure 14,500 acacia, mahogany among other seedlings, purposely for the river banks. The number of seedlings to be procured is based upon the Forestry Services Division resource person professionals’ advice, ” he explained. 

Alhaji Abubakari also noted that the financial assistance requested from the HSF would be used to pay for the services of the Forestry Services Division officers who would lead and be directing the planting as well as the per diem of Project and Deputy Project Coordinators during each visits to the two communities. Adding, “The community supporting members who will volunteer to prepare and plant the seedlings, would also be provided with breakfast and lunch.” 

The Coordinating Director further explained that mango seeds would also be procured next year for planting along the river banks since they are drought resistant and their fruits could be used for economic income to support the livelihoods of the people. 

The acacia and mahogany are flood resistant as their roots store more water than normal trees, he indicated stressing that, they would be planted close to the river banks. 

Meanwhile, the tree planting targets the degraded lands along the White Volta River Basin in the Zua and Mishio communities whose tree population drastically reduced due to intensive farming activities carried out all year round by the local community farmers. Thus, the planting of the tree plants would increase the tree population to provide vegetative cover to the White Volta Basin and have the potentials of meeting future energy, atheistic and medicinal needs of the two communities.

US$1.49BN NEEDED TO PROVIDE SAFE WATER TO GHANAIANS

The Ghana Water Supply Integrity Study (GWSI) report, the result of the Transparency and Integrity in Service Delivery in Africa (TISDA) project being implemented by Transparency International (TI), has revealed that the country would require an amount of US$1.49 billion for the expansion of water supply to meet demand by 2020. 

Quoting from a water sector development report of 2009, the GWSI study report also added that whereas an amount of US$811 million dollars would be required to meet the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) on water in 2015, average inflow of resources forms 35% of the level that would be required annually. 

“Total financial investment needed to achieve MDG for rural water is US$505 million according to the report, disclosing that donor pledge from 2008-2012 is US$175 million leaving a gap of US$330 million for the rural water supply.”

These were disclosed at TISDA Regional Level Workshop on GWSI in Tamale organized by the Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII), local chapter of TI in collaboration with Amasachina Self-Help Development Association.

GII, launched in December 1999, is a non-partisan, non-profit civil empowerment organization focused on the delivery of the essential themes necessary for the creation of a National Integrity System. GII is also a member of the Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition (GACC) – a loose entity of selected civil society organizations, some state/quasi-state institutions and the private sector. 

Its vision is to achieving a corruption-free Ghana in all spheres of human endeavour where people and institutions act with integrity, accountability and transparency. The mission of GII is to continuously create awareness about the negative effects of corruption and to empower citizens to demand responsiveness and transparency from both public and private institutions in Ghana.

The workshop, brought together various stakeholders in the water sector, and it sought to highlight the transparency and integrity aspect of service delivery in the country’s water sector which are emanating from the TI project (TISDA) implemented in about eight countries in sub-Saharan Africa including Ghana.

According to Vitus Adaboo Azeem, Executive Secretary of GII, the TISDA project aimed at promoting accountability, transparency and integrity in service delivery, hence enhancing access to quality service delivery. Although Ghana, Senegal and Kenya chose to focus on water service to the citizenry, he indicated that some other countries focused on education and health. 

He explained that the three year research project started with a desk study to provide an overview of the water sector in the Ghana in terms of integrity and performance. This Mr. Azeem noted involved a literature review, discussions with water sector actors and focus group discussions with representative of households.

The GII Executive Secretary said six case studies were held in Pantang, Madina and Nima in Greater Accra Region, Ho and Adaklu in the Volta Region and Bekwai in Ashanti Region.

The research findings show important integrity risks that need to be addressed in combination with measures to improve sector performance. Inequity it said is still considerable in Ghana in terms of access to improved water supply and price users pay, stressing that the situation is not in line with the declaration of the UN General Assembly in July 2010 that clean water and sanitation are a human right. The lower income groups suffer most in this situation, the report emphasized.

 

The report also observed that investment in the water sector is growing, but without improved efficiencies in implementation, this increase in funding will not be sufficient to meet the MDGs. It cited that project procedures which need improvement and benchmarking between projects is particularly weak or not done and further pointed out, that access to information on cost and technology improvements to make sector investments more efficient is virtually absent.

Allegations of corruption according to the report exist and involve high ranking government officials but also technicians from water companies who are providing illegal water connections.

Transparency, in the formal water supply systems, the report described as average, citing instances where in many transactions, contracts do not exist or are not clear. It stated that accountability faces limitations particularly related to lack of implementation of sanctions, stressing “anticorruption measures and incentives do not exist to encourage good governance.” 

Meanwhile, the report revealed that accessed to improved water supply (UNICEF, WHO 2010) has risen from 56% in 1990 to 82% in 2008 which is above the target of the MDGs. This would imply that Ghana will meet or surpass the MDG target of 78%, provided that it keeps up with population growth and ensures that facilities are sustained in 2015. Both conditions however may not be achieved because coverage is declining and the coverage data of 82% are much higher than coverage figures presented by water providers. 

The report thus recommended the need to streamline and strengthen anti-corruption tools and the capacity of sector agencies to implement these tools. Adding “there is also the need for donors to introduce anti-corruption clauses in all cooperation agreements, train their own staff or local staff to put these policies into practice and communicate on related activities and progress made, adhere to the highest standards of information disclosure and consultation for all water projects they support, put in place adequate monitoring mechanisms and enforce effective sanctions against corrupt employees and contractors.”

The report also recommended the to increase access to information to the public on the operations of the utility providers by publicizing utility accounts, public expenditure reviews and audit information, budgets, contracting arrangements and annual report. 

It nonetheless suggested the involvement of users in decision making, tariff setting, among others. This accompanied by awareness-raising and capacity building initiatives would ensure that beneficiaries are empowered to play a meaningful role in the management of water resources, from the design to the implementation and supervision of Water Resources Management projects.

By Joseph Ziem

WMDA, GNFS Train Volunteers To Combat Bushfires

The 2011 United Nations Human Development report released in last November revealed that about 4 million Ghanaians are currently dependent on degraded lands, noting that the natural resources depletion rate for Ghana is also about 7% of Gross National Income of all the citizenry. 

This could be attributed to the fact that about 30% of Ghana’s forest cover was lost between 1990 and 2008. The most interesting aspect of the report however, is that, 58.6% of Ghanaians who ‘know something about Climate Change’, agrees that humans cause global warming and climate change.

In Northern Ghana (Upper West, Upper East and Northern Regions), it is undeniably a fact, that the biggest cause of environmental degradation is uncontrolled or indiscriminate bush-burning by the people during the dry season.

Accordingly, the practice coupled with indiscriminate tree felling and charcoal production, is further exacerbating climate change effects in the area as desertification, crop failure, drought, rising temperatures, flood, among others in recent years, have been seriously manifesting. 

In view of the aforementioned, the West Mamprusi District Assembly (WMDA) in the Northern Region in collaboration with the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) has undertaken a six day intensive fire training for volunteers in Mishio and Zua communities. 

The training was aimed at imparting fire fighting skill and knowledge on volunteers and equipping them to effectively manage and adequately control bushfires within their respective communities and beyond. 

It was also intended to consolidate the district’s overall agenda of supporting the global efforts in fighting climate change whiles strengthening local civil society capacities in taking up their own initiatives in the fight against climate change in the country. 

About 80 fire volunteers were trained and they were taught topics such as general knowledge on bush fires, methods of fighting bushfires, the effects of bushfires, bushfire control, foot drills/fire safety, field experiment and practice.

This was followed by a one day entire community level fire prevention sensitization to climax the training program. The participants were taught how to create fire belts and military drilling exercise in response to rapid fire outbreaks in their communities and their surroundings.

The fire volunteer squads training program which was the first in a series, is expected to be replicated in other communities upon a successful implementation of the project, according to officials of the District Assembly. 

The WMDA with support from the Hanns-Seidel Foundation (HSF) in September last year launched a nine-month climate change adaptation and mitigation project, under which the district was expected to adopt reforestation initiatives in the Mishio and Zua communities aimed at fighting climate change and land degradation which are said to be severe in those areas. 

Annual devastating bushfires in Northern Ghana usually begins in the month of November and intensifies in December to February. The practice usually result in the destruction of not only tree vegetation cover but also both harvested and non harvested farm produce, thereby causing food insecurity among the already impoverished Northern rural communities. 

Meanwhile, at the end of the training, each fire volunteer received a pair of wellington boots, cutlass, fire protective clothing and hand gloves as their individual fire-fighting equipment. 

The District Chief Executive for West Mamprusi District Assembly, Adam Yussif, reminded the two communities that the dry season was the peak of bushfires and urged them to be committed in the fight against bushfires so that the little farm produce that had been harvested by farmers will not go waste. 

The DCE also advised the two communities not to farm close to the river banks and cautioned them to give proper care to the tree seedlings planted along the White Volta River in order to achieve the goals of the project. 

For his part, the District Fire Officer Alexander Amoah, explained that the exposure of Northern Ghana to wildfires stemmed from the single rainfall season that the area experiences during the whole year. 

According to him, the protracted dry season which follows the short rainy season causes the Savannah grass to wither and render it susceptible to the least spark of fire. “Judging by the annual devastation caused by bushfires, there is the urgent need for all stakeholders to jointly find feasible solutions to this perennial problem” Mr. Amoah added. 

The West Mamprusi District Fire Officer was hopeful that the training would go a long way to reduce the wide spread bushfires in the area and the Northern Region as a whole.

By Joseph Ziem

Climate Change ‘fights’ rice farmers in Northern Ghana

Thousands of people in the southern part of Ghana wailed when they lost properties worth several millions of Ghana Cedis and 14 human lives following a seven hour torrential rainfall in October this year.

     The devastating flood cut-off electricity and telecommunication supply in many areas and forced the closure of schools and shops in the Accra and Tema metropolitan areas.

     When stakeholder met in Accra to find solutions to mitigate the effects of floods, they identified several factors but key among were climate change, and poor land planning as contributing to flooding, especially in the cities.

     Northern Ghana, however, did not receive such rainfall, though it needs it badly for cultivation of crops such as rice. Today, the effect of climate change is being felt all over the country, but more especially in the north, which is the food basket of the country.

    Cereal farmers in the north and officials of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture at the Upper East and Northern regions at a recent forum on pre-harvest, networking and marketing, testified to the changing climatic condition and the impact on food production.

     A visit to major rice producing districts in the Northern Region including West Mamprusi, Karaga, Bimbila, Chereponi, Duuyin and Tolon/Kumbungu sent shivers through the spine as aggrieved farmers threatened to abandoned rice cultivation in the next season.

  

Rice Farmers Frustrations

  

     Mr Maxwell Akandem, 2010 Second National Best Farmer in the Builsa District of the Upper East Region told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that he could not meet his rice production target for this farming to inadequate rains expected in early August to September 2011.

     He said rainfall had been very poor in recent times. “I did not meet my actual target of 1,500 bags as my yield for this season, but I only had 121 bags. Farmers, who had their rice farms around my plantain site, also experienced the same situation”.

    “Normally we get the peak rains between August and September but this year’s story is quite different. Some of the farmers due to the drought might get one or two 84 kilogram bag per acre of land even with good agronomic practices describing it as a total failure,” he said

    “There are many of the farmers who are ignorant of the existence of the changing weather pattern so it will take some time for them to be abreast with the phenomena and adapt to it,” he said.

     Alhaji Naa Von Salifu, a representative of the Ghana Rice Inter-Professional Body (GRIB) and many others had predicted that rice production would reduce looking at the difficulties in the three northern regions.

     On how the rice market fell last year, he said, a year ago 84 kilogram bag of rice was sold between GHc18.00 and GHc20, but currently being sold at GHc45.00, an indication that rice supply has fallen.

     Alhaji Salifu called on government and civil society organizations to invest in climate change education since it was one of the major reasons that could derail the nation’s quest to produce local rice to ensure food security, reduce extreme hunger and meet the Millennium Development Goal one.

     Yakubu Mahama, 40, a farmer in the Demabi community in the Tolon district also agreed and added that he might stop rice cultivation due to the huge sums of money he lost this year.

    “I am now thinking of how to raise money to take care of my family and also pay up my loans,” he said.

  

Ghana’s Rice Production

    Information gathered from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) indicates that rice production increased about 38 per cent in last four years recording 185,000 in 2007, 302,000 in 2008, 397,000 in 2009 and 492, 000 metric tons in 2010.

    The information also shows that rice importation had reduced considerable, about 18 per cent also in the last three years from 540,000 to 359,000 metric tons making the local rice more popular and attractive.

    The rise in rice production is attributed to a block farm system by the MoFA four years ago where various regions were given production quota and budget to achieve these targets.

    But experts say the national targets of 619,000 metric tons in 2011 representing an expected increase of 26 per cent may not be achieved with the low rains and indiscriminate bush burning which had affected production in the three Northern regions. This is against the back drop that about 71 per cent of the national rice production is from the Northern Ghana.

    Mr Joseph Yeng Faalong, Northern Regional Director of MoFA told the GNA that signs of climate change affecting crop production in the three regions in 1983 were written on the walls but was confused to be desertification.

    He said the annual precipitation (amount of rain fall) continued to fluctuate becoming unpredictable.

    Mr Faalong said available statistics showed that there had been rainfall inconsistency in the region in the past years. The average rain fall figures for 2004 to 2010 were 1243.24, 1066.79, 822.50, 672.61, 829.89 and 865.44, 364.85 millimeters in that order. 

    “The general agriculture production is based on rain fall so if it does not rain as expected it affects production. This year farmers could not plant early and it is going to affect the rice production this year.

   “Our estimate is that there will be a productivity loss of about 36 per cent of the total of the 2011 target of 10,000 hectors of rice,” he said.

   The Regional MoFA Director said human activities had affected the soil’s ability to hold water to facilitate plant growth due to continues reduction in carbon.

    Mr Faalong said changes in weather conditions present the nation with many developmental challenges which would lead to competition of space between human beings, animal and crop especially as the world population increased to seven billion.

    Mr Emmanuel D. Eledi, Upper East Regional Director of MoFA, agreed entirely with sentiments shared by other MoFA officials and indicated that agricultural production in his region this year indicates an overall average of 16 per cent reduction in yield of major crops as compared to last year.

    The GNA investigations in the three northern regions showed that field officers over the years had relied on Internet rainfall dates to educate farmers. These forecasts have not been reliable thereby making farmers to lose a great deal.

   “Some of the farmers have lost trust in us and doubt our information. For instance when the rains failed this year, they hooted at us,” an agric officer said.

   At Pwulugu in the West Mamprusi and Savelugu, rice farms have been abandoned by their owners. The farmers complained there was no moisture for the application of fertilizer and that the rice pods did not have rice in them.

Climate Change and its Impact

     Mr Abu Idrissu, the Regional Manager of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) explains climate change as the seasonal changes over a long period of time due to human activities.

     Local activities of our daily hassle including charcoal burning, deforestation, the use of agro-chemicals, fumes from vehicles and heavy industrial activities some 150 years ago have caused the global climatic change.

     He said carbon dioxide (CO2) from the combustion of fossil fuels for activities such as transportation or electricity generation is the dominant source of emissions.

     The phenomenon affects natural ecosystems, agriculture and food supplies, human health, forestry, water resources and availability, energy use and transportation.

     Mr Iddrisu cited torrential rain resulting in devastating floods, excessive drought, scorching sun shine, disease, high temperatures, influx of pest and lowering of water level around the Volta River delta, which provides about 80 per cent of the nation electricity.

    He said the disrupting agricultural systems resulting in the heavy lost of farm crops has been predicted to bring famine if measures were not put in place to address them.

    The EPA’s recent study on the situation showed that Ghana's temperature could rise by one degree Celsius and rainfall and runoff could sharply reduce the yield of maize, which is a principal food crop in Ghana.

    More than half the country subsists on agriculture and cocoa, which is Ghana’s main cash crop – responsible for 25 percent of its Growth Domestic Product.

Ghana’s Efforts to Climate Change

    Ghana is not a major contributor to green house gasses yet she is one of the hardest hit of climate change effects. The country contributes about 9.6 per cent representing 0.34 tons in 2008 and 2009 to emissions according to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) recently released.

    Ghana joined the global community by signing the UNFCCC in June 1992 in Rio de Janeiro. The Convention entered into force globally on 21 March 1994, and specifically for Ghana on 5 December 1995, three months after Ghana ratified the Convention on 6th September 1995.

    At its 25th sitting in November 2002, Ghana’s Parliament passed a resolution to ratify the Kyoto Protocol. The final instrument of ratification was deposited at the United Nations Headquarters in New York in March 2003 thus allowing Ghana to accede to the Kyoto Protocol and hence becoming a Party to it and entered into force globally on 16 February 2005.

    KP is a regulation that encouraged member countries reduce carbon emission.

Conclusion

   The traditional way of determining rainfall pattern no longer works, which calls for a well-resourced meteorological service agency in the country. For local rice production to take it rightful position there was the need to get the issue of weather forecast right.

   Some have recommended the establishment of an Agro Meteorological station at MoFA regions to inform officials on rainfall patterns to enable them educates farmers. This was successful when the Florida University piloted a similar project in the north.

   Issues of post-harvest losses, poor road network, high cost of agricultural inputs that affects production need to be addressed. In addition irrigation projects should be carried out to reduce reliance on rain.

   The recent world summit on Climate Change in Durban South Africa, gave some hope in terms of countries commitment. Climate negotiators made progress in setting up of an advisory body on adaptation and also agreed to the establishment of the Green Climate Fund to aid developing countries.

   But Ghana needs to act fast it wants to attain the Millennium Development Goals and adapt and mitigate climate change harsh effect. The signs are visible enough and time is running out.

By: Albert Oppong-Ansah