Anita Plummer, a
Professor at the International Affairs Centre of Spelman College in
the US has stated that “our environment where we
live, where we work,
play,
pray and
study – is our responsibility and
what we do today is not
only
impacting our future – it is impacting the here
and now.”
New
environmental challenges starring in the face of Ghana include climate change,
sanitation and waste management, chemical use and misuse, illegal mining and
the impacts of oil discovery and electronic waste.
Climate change, most especially, has the
potential to slow down economic growth, make poverty reduction more difficult,
further erode food security, prolong and create new poverty
traps.
In
2013, Ghana’s government approved two policies to improve the management of the
nation’s environment – the “Ghana Environment Policy” and the “National Climate
Change Policy for Ghana”, expected to be launched later in the year.
Both
documents seek to address challenges in effectively managing the environmental
concerns. The new environment policy, for instance, hinges on integrated and
holistic environmental management practices and processes over the next ten
years, whilst the second policy clearly outlines the effects of climate change
in Ghana.
Effective
policy implementation however requires adequate public participation in
environmental governance, to ensure government commits to promote environmental
management and enforce people’s environmental rights.
The Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA) is a
continental coalition of Civil Society Organizations with a common goal of
promoting and advocating for pro-poor, climate-friendly and equity-based
responses to climate change.
The Ghana
Climate Change Coalition (GCCC) has been launched as the local chapter of PACJA
to promote the agenda of climate justice and
sustainable development.
Environment
experts at the launch of the GCCC reiterated the need for government to come up
with pragmatic policies and measures to mitigate the rising temperature in the
country.
They
observed the increased temperature has reduced farm yields in the ecological
zones and forced herdsmen to migrate with their cattle to other places.
Professor
Chris Gordon, the Director of the Environment and Sanitation Studies at the
University of Ghana, Legon, noted that studies conducted, using historical data
between 1960 and 2000, show that all the agro-ecological zones in Ghana are getting
warmer and drying up.
The
GCCC therefore has set itself the goal to be an effective Ghanaian CSO’s
platform to share information, strategize jointly, coordinate engagement with
key stakeholders and jointly advocate for environmental sustainability in
development of programs and initiatives.
Acting
Coordinator of PACJA-Ghana, MacDonald Bubuama, has urged the government to
strictly enforce its policy measures, including prosecution, and radical
approach in combating the menace of environmental degradation.
He said the
fight for climate justice requires the dedicated collaborative efforts of all
key players including local communities, national government, the private
sector and CSO’s.
It
is expected the Coalition will live up to its vision of promoting a national
environmental free from climate change and sustainable development, equity and
justice for all persons.
Story
by Kofi Adu Domfeh
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