Ghana's environmental crisis, some observations and solutions

The author

In the first part of this series of epistles on Ghana’s environment, I shared some observations on the impunity taking hold of Ghana’s environment regulatory sector.

In this final part of my write-up, I reflect on how environmental crisis informed global policy changes and how Ghana can start shifting from propagandist management of our natural resources to a more pragmatic, inclusive and result oriented sustainable management of our natural resources.

Historically, crises have catalysed progressive change and resilience in many civilizations across the world. The global systems of doing business in the world changed after WW II. This was when the UN came into being and with it came its agencies including FAO, UNDP, UNESCO, UNDP, UNICEF, WHO, etc. to correct things.

The Bretton Woods institutions including the World Bank, IMF etc. were also set up to strengthen financial systems. Issues of the environment came up later after UNEP was established, and sharply got focused when the world’s resources were found to be depleting at rates faster than they could be replaced, leading to the concept of sustainable development and Agenda 21 which chronicled and heralded the Future We Want in the document dubbed “OUR COMMON FUTURE”, and the establishment of three environmental conventions.

While Agenda 21 has provided the world with a global policy on development which must hinge on three pillars of the Environment, Social and Economic and from or through which we have witnessed a 15year cycle of development goals, namely the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) from 2000 to 2015 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which are in the 7th year of operation to 2030.

The three environmental agreements for climate, land degradation and biodiversity loss are action areas with timelines to overcome the three major global environmental crises of our time. In this blue print document of the SDGs, every country of the UN has been made to produce plans to address these at home and report.

At the same time, and at the governance level of Africa, there is the Africa Agenda 2063 with 7 aspirational priority goals with actions to be addressed also at the national level. So it is clear that Ghana has plans to implement these and the feeling is that maybe at the appropriate time Ghanaians will see what, as a nation, we are doing with these broad guidelines of the SDGs particularly on the environment.

It is quite clear now to start a change in how we view the environment in Ghana. All state employees positioned at points of regulation should search their hearts and act responsibly according to their terms of appointment. We need to instill in ourselves the spirit of patriotism, sincerity, honesty, self-discipline in the service for Ghana.

Performance contracts and regular supervision by superiors at various levels should make it a cardinal point to protect the Ghanaian natural heritage of resources and to promote their exploitation on a sustainable basis. The code of ethics for our state institutions and the rules and governance structure of these resources must be made the prime target. The exploitation and utilization of these national natural assets of biological or mineral resources must be strictly enforced to justify the reasons for their establishment as regulatory entities.

The employees should swear the oath of allegiance to the state and be linked to the secure delivery and execution of licenses for exploitation. Unauthorized issuance of licenses should be curtailed and culprits prosecuted. By this, all exploitation permits must be generated through appropriate EIA and SEA regimes, having made sure that the communities and their unit committees in the area have been consulted and have consented. Proof of this must be examined and passed by an appropriate authority and verified by the MMDAs.

Deterrent actions by prosecution and disincentive measures by denials must be enacted by the MMDAs and strictly enforced. The biggest headache we have on our hands now as a nation, is with those who operate at the level of the unregulated schemes. Now that even foreigners have joined in these activities with the active support and connivance of local people, I wish to appeal to communities, their leaders, assembly members at the district and municipal levels to act swiftly to arrest, confront and uproot these people from their localities. Ghana needs a clean environment for development.

Our polluted water bodies must be cleaned which means that no prospecting and any form of mining activities should be allowed within river basins and river beds. No forms of extraction, especially in protected and conservation areas must be allowed. This will include other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs) such as traditional and cultural hunting grounds and traditional groves.

Our soils on agricultural and plantation fields must be rid of chemical residues, which means that we should use farm inputs for fertilizers and pesticides wisely to prevent accumulation of harmful chemicals in the soils. Note: Alfred Oteng-Yeboah, a retired Professor at the Department of Plant and Environmental Biology, University of Ghana, LEGON.

We should as far as possible practice climate-smart agriculture and experience socio-ecological productions in our landscapes and seascapes. This will effectively promote our national effort in climate mitigation, land cover and biodiversity conservation as we strive in our national effort to increase productivity, enhance resilience and reduce emissions.

In this exercise our nationally determined contribution will help to secure carbon credit and promote sequestration, heal land degradation and promote luxuriant vegetation cover. Climate change effects and land degradation will then be things of the past because the lush greenery would have covered the soil surfaces to prevent erosion and desiccation.