Kpeve, Amedzofe Volta Communities To Access Green Climate Fund

There are plans to 'trade' the forest areas of Kpeve, Amedzofe and their environment in the Volta region to access the United Nations Green Climate Fund.

The Green Climate Fund (GCF) is a financial mechanism of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change adopted by 194 governments at the end of 2011 to limit or reduce greenhouse gas emissions in developing countries and help adapt vulnerable societies to the already-felt impacts of climate change.

The Fund aims at making an ambitious contribution of keeping the temperature increase of the planet below two degrees Celsius.

Dr George Ortsin, the National Coordinator, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Global Environment Facility Small Grants Programme in told the Ghana News Agency on the sidelines of the enstoolment of a new development queen in Goviefe Todzi, said they had started sensitizing the communities in the aforementioned areas to help achieve the objective.

The communities will benefit between 200 to 250 million dollars if approved.

He said the vast vegetation of the area had a carbon sink that would absorb lots of carbon in the atmosphere and emit the much needed oxygen.

Dr Ortsin said if the communities were able to keep the rich vegetation from bush burning, harvesting and any other destruction for a period of ten years, then they would qualify for the grant.

He said the project was beneficial to the communities, Ghana and the world because it would reduce the temperature in the atmosphere and subsequently reduce global warming.

The chiefs and people of Goviefe Todzi in the Afadjato South District enstooled Jessica Brown, an American, under the stool name Mama Nyuewaa I, for her contribution towards preserving the forest enclave of Kpeve, Kpale and Goviefe.

Ms Brown, the Chief Executive Officer of the New England Biolab Foundation in the United States of America secured funding through her NGO for a project dubbed 'Conserving the Weto Sacred Grove' which sought to replenish the forest reserves that had been degraded.

Mr Pascal Benson Atiglah, Project Coordinator of Accelerated Rural Development Organization a non-governmental organization with focuses on sustainable environmental management, said they observed that there was 'massive deforestation along the Akuapim-Togo range especially around the Goviefe communities'.

He said that prompted them to source funding to revive and protect the fast depleting forest and 30 sacred groves in the Region.

Mr Atiglah noted that the over 100-year old Goviefe sacred grove had been maintained due to the belief that it was the most sacred part of the forest.