The ‘Ghana Shea Landscape Emission Reductions Project’, which was
approved at the ongoing GCF’s 26th virtual Board
Meeting, will be implemented by the Forestry Commission (FC) of Ghana with
technical support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), in
partnership with multiple national and local institutions, civil society
organizations and private sector actors.
The project has leveraged vertical funds,
with USD 30,100,000 grant from the GCF, about USD 15 million funding from the
Government of Ghana and mobilized about USD 9 million impact investments from
the private sector in the shea value chain.
“I welcome this great milestone in Ghana’s Forestry Sector in the
deployment of programmes and projects that reduce emissions from deforestation
and forest degradation, build ecosystem resilience and also enhance the lives
of communities that nurture the forests,” stated the Chief Executive
of the Forestry Commission, Mr. John M. Allotey.
Mr. Allotey highlighted how the implementation of the project
would provide a strong contribution to Ghana’s achievement of its commitment to
the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and the implementation of the Ghana
National REDD+ Strategy. He
also emphasized the FC’s appreciation to all the stakeholders involved in this
victory, particularly the UNDP, and the Ministry of Finance which is the
National Designated Authority (NDA) for the GCF.
The project’s interventions are expected to result in the
restoration of 200,000 hectares of off-reserve savanna forests and 300,000
hectares of degraded shea parklands as well as the establishment of 25,500
hectares of forest plantations in severely degraded forest reserves. It is
expected that the activities will result in an estimate of over 6 million tCO2e in
emission reductions and removals over the first seven years of the project’s
lifetime and 25.24 million tCO2e over 20 years.
“Shea landscapes are important sources of carbon storage and
sequestration and these provide essential products and ecological services.
GCF’s approval of this project is a welcoming news as this will help in
restoring degraded landscapes and contribute to building a resilient economy
that is capable of withstanding shocks without putting Ghana’s development
agenda in jeopardy”, said Ms. Roselyn Fosuah Adjei, Director of
Climate Change and National REDD+ Focal Point, Forestry Commission of Ghana.
Ms. Adjei added that this impressive result could not be achieved
without the support provided by the Italian Ministry of Environment, Land and
Sea (IMELS) for the elaboration of the project proposal through the Global
Italian initiative On REDD+ National Implementation (GIORNI).
Among other benefits, the ‘Ghana Shea Landscape Emission
Reductions Project’ will also bring about a breakthrough in the shea sector by
enhancing revenue generation for women and strengthen the livelihoods of over
500,000 people in Northern Ghana. The Global Shea Alliance (GSA), a
non-profit industry association with 500 members from 35 countries, will be a
key partner during the project implementation.
Simballa Sylla, the GSA President said: “this is a historic and
defining moment for the shea industry in Ghana. The newly approved project will
not only contribute to protecting rural communities from climate change
consequences. It will ensure that livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of
Ghanaian families are improved, and that the shea industry is supported in its
growth”.
“We are particularly happy with the approval from the GCF Board
because of how critical this project is in reducing emissions, the expected
value additions in the utilization of forest resources and contributions to
livelihood improvement especially for women”, noted Silke Hollander, Deputy
Resident Representative for UNDP in Ghana.
The project is aligned with the main climate change and forestry related policies, strategies and plans of Ghana, and this was highlighted by the President of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo during the National REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) Forum as having “the potential to transform the Northern Savanna ecosystem of Ghana with the right implementation and enforcement structures”.
