In just two hours of rainstorm in parts of Ghana, tens of families and households are displaced as their homes are devastated by the storm.
Affected
residents of Jachie in the Ashanti region have had to seek shelter with friends
and relatives spared by the weather disaster in May 2024.
And the
consequences of their predicament are telling – loss of property, dejection,
homelessness, shattered livelihoods.
In a
discomforting appeal, the local assembly member for the community pleads with
people accommodating displaced residents to spare the young girls of
unsolicited sex, which could lead to unwanted and teenage pregnancies.
The
man’s fear of sexual abuse of girls seeking shelter from neighbors tells of the
widespread vulnerabilities of local communities to the adverse impact of
extreme weather conditions.
Meanwhile,
the flooding of urban areas, especially Accra and Kumasi, is more profound. In
some instances, trees are uprooted, as some fall on vehicles and destroy power
cables. These floods from the rains leave roads inundated, homes soaked and
people stranded. And sometimes, people die.
Scientists
and weather officers have warned of more of such extreme weather incidents.
More than floods
In
reality, the rains are coming after the intense heatwaves recorded the past
months and there are more extremes.
The
theme for this year’s World Environment Day, "Land restoration,
desertification and drought resilience", highlights the importance of
restoring degraded lands and ecosystems, combating desertification and land
degradation, and building resilience to droughts and other climate-related
disasters.
This
theme aims to raise awareness about the critical role healthy lands play in
supporting biodiversity, mitigating climate change, and ensuring human
well-being.
It
encourages individuals, governments, and organizations to take action to
restore and protect the world's lands, forests, and natural resources.
Going
beyond Green Ghana
Working
towards a sustainable and resilient future calls for intentional resilience
building.
The
Green Ghana Day initiative is therefore laudable as an environmental
stewardship and collective responsibility to plant millions of tree seedlings
across the country every year.
The
collective responsibility of individuals, communities, corporate entities, and
government institutions to plant and nurture planted trees to maturity need to
be sustained as a mitigation drive to combat the escalating climate crisis.
But
while this environmental conservation activity is commendable, Ghana’s
resilience building and promotion would need more concerted effort.
The
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has already initiated a project of
engaging local assemblies to integrate climate change adaptation strategies
into their development plans.
Upgrading the climate consciousness of the assemblies is an important step towards addressing the increasing vulnerability of communities to climate change impacts.
These
communities are faced with the realities of severe temperatures that could
wreak havoc in food production, infrastructure development, health promotion
and general livelihoods.
The
activities at the local level remain critical for vulnerable communities to
cope with the realities of climate change, while exploring opportunities to
build resilience.
It has
become imperative to look at:
-
Reforestation and afforestation efforts
- Soil
conservation and sustainable agriculture practices
- Wetland
restoration and conservation
-
Combating land degradation and desertification
-
Promoting sustainable land use and management practices
-
Infrastructure resilience building
By
addressing these issues, communities can work towards a more sustainable and
resilient future for all.
Kofi
Adu Domfeh is a journalist and Climate Reality Leader. Email: adomfeh@gmail.com
