National Climate Change Adaptation Strategy launched in Koforidua

Koforidua, Nov. 15, GNA - The Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology, on Wednesday launched the National Climate Change Adaptation Strategy (NCCAS) guidelines for acquisition of environmental permits for compost projects, in Koforidua. The NCCAS seeks to improve societal awareness and preparedness for climate change, enhance the mainstreaming of climate change into national development planning. Ms Sherry Ayittey, the Sector Minister, in a speech read on her behalf, noted that climate change is a major developmental issue since it affects ecosystems and socio-economic well-being of people and said: “This is because climate change has resulted in increases temperature and changes of rainfall pattern”.      She said there was the need for urgent action both at the national and international level to tackle climate change issues.     Ms Ayittey said there was the need to feed the most vulnerable with the right and timely information that would assist them to adapt to the impacts of climate change.      She Ghana in 2008 with financial support from the Climate Change and Development Programme-Adapting by Reducing Vulnerability Project commenced the preparation of the National Climate Change Adaptation Strategy Document.          Ms Ayittey said that the main goal of the document was to enhance Ghana’s current and future development by strengthening its adaptive capacity with regards to climate change impacts and to build the resilience of the society and ecosystem.     She noted that the need to utilize waste as a resource had been used by many countries, and said based on that, Ghana had initiated several interventions in that area. Ms Ayittey said: “The Co-operative Housing Foundation of Ghana under the technical direction of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has developed two publications. “The first one is on accessing the global carbon credit using composting and the second one is guidelines for the acquisition of environmental permits for composting projects in Ghana”. Ms Ayittey said those publications provided very useful information that guides investors on how to access Clean Development Mechanism  and the permitting process of the Ghana Environmental Impact Assessment. She said more specifically, those publications would provide a guide for operators in the waste sector to take advantage of the global emission trading system to earn carbon credits that could be sold at the international market. Ms Ayittey said the EPA under the auspices of the Ministry had undertaken initiatives, including the implementation of the African Adaptation Program, which focuses primarily on early warning systems, climate change and health. Mr Daniel S. Amlalo, Executive Director of the EPA, said climate change was having a toll on the entire globe, particularly, developing countries that are relatively vulnerable such as Ghana. He said global climate change was one of the greatest environmental threats and the most devastating development challenge facing the world presently.     Mr Amlalo said Ghana had not been left out of the impacts and effects of climate change and that data show that Ghana from 1960 to 2000 experienced a progressive rise in temperature and decrease in mean annual rainfall in all agro-ecological zones in the country. He noted that currently in Ghana, there was increasing variability of rainfall nationwide, extreme weather events and disaster; a widespread increase in the risk of flooding and erosion at many human settlements, which were impacting negatively on agriculture, water resources, physical infrastructure, health and the environment.   GNA ... Read Full Story