The Green Climate Fund (GCF) has permitted the commencement of a project worth 54.5 million US dollars to tackle the alarming rate of deforestation and forest degradation challenges in the Northern Savannah Zone of Ghana.
The project, themed ‘Ghana Shea Landscape Emission Reductions Project’, which was approved at the ongoing GCF’s 26th virtual Board Meeting, also seeks to promote investments in the shea value chain and women’s empowerment.
It will be carried out 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 cashed in vertical funds, with USD 30,100,000 grant from the GCF, about USD 15 million funding from the Government of Ghana and gathered about USD 9 million impact investments from the private sector in the shea value chain.
The Chief Executive of the Forestry Commission (FC), Mr. John M. Allotey described the project as a milestone for the forestry sector.
“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.”
He elaborated on how the execution of the project would contribute strongly to Ghana’s achievement of its commitment to the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and the implementation of the Ghana National REDD+ Strategy.
On behalf of his outfit, Mr. Allotey expressed gratitude to all the stakeholders involved and to 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.
Director of Climate Change and National REDD+ Focal Point, Forestry Commission of Ghana, Roselyn Fosuah Adjei, indicated that the project will play a pivotal role in restoring degraded landscapes.
“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.”
Ms. Adjei added that the project would have been a failure but for the support provided by the Italian Ministry of Environment, Land and Sea (IMELS) and 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 bring about a revolution 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.
“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”.
GSA President, Simballa Sylla
“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.”
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 stated by President Akufo-Addo during the National REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) Forum which he stressed has the potential to transform the Northern Savanna ecosystem with the right implementation and enforcement structures.
