Climate
Change; Deforestation; and Matters Arising(3)
There is now what
some might consider compelling evidence of the planet warming up. Evidence recently released by scientists from
the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has shown that climate
change is occurring at a faster rate than the world could ever have imagined.
Statistics from
Ghana’s inventory of forestry stock indicate that Ghana has lost a chunk of its
forest cover since 1994, despite the inevitable warming of the planet. It is
believed that if sufficient attention is not given to redress this imbalance of
loss of forest cover, the country will be all the worse for it. This is because
lack of forest cover allows direct exposure of sunlight and the sun’s rays to
dry up the already-polluted and fast-dwindling water –bodies.
Research indicates
that developing countries are most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change
as their livelihoods are highly-dependent on climate-sensitive sectors, such as
agriculture. Given that Ghanaian peasant farmers practice rain-fed agriculture,
depending on weather patterns for their farming, and tend to include
slash-and-burn methods that prove to be unsustainable and harmful to the
Earth’s atmosphere, this significantly-contributes to global warming.
Consequently, Ghana has witnessed higher temperatures than normal, as well as
inconsistent rainfall patterns.
One way in which Ghana has been trying to deal with this has been
through the use of the REDD+ mechanism, which is being coordinated by the
National REDD+ Secretariat of the Forestry Commission.
On 29 July, AIF commenced what would be a
series of editions examining and understanding Ghana, and Africa's forestry
sector.
Having established from that programme, and
from the 23rd September edition that reprised the issue of
deforestation and climate change, that deforestation is a major issue in
understanding the sector, we want to dedicate the 24th edition of Africa in
Focus from the premise that apart from the fact that deforestation is an
acknowledged challenge for the country, what is it that civil society groups
like ABANTU are doing to sensitise Ghanaians about its impact on women.
Finally, in looking at the way forward, we will find out why Civil society organisation Civic Response is convening a National Forest Forum, and why it is important in facilitating governance on natural resources, and most importantly, helping nip deforestation in the bud!
Guiding Questions to be answered:
· What do we still need to know about deforestation,
and climate change, and some of the challenges associated with it in Ghana?
(Forestry Commission/Forestwatch/ABANTU)
·
What were some
of the outcomes of the Forestry Commission’s National Roadshow on REDD, and
what is the way forward for the Forestry Commission?
·
What is the
National Forest Forum, and how does it help facilitate governance on forests?
Guests in the studio:
Ø Robert Bamfo, Head of Climate Change Unit, Forestry
Commission, Ghana
Ø Ellen Eyison Dzah, Programmes Manager, ABANTU
On the line
Ø Samuel Mawutor, Civic Response/ForestWatch @14h00
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