The Forestry Commission (FC) has received a delegation from the twenty- eight Conference of Parties (COP28) secretariat at the Head office. The delegation was led by Dr. Fred Launay, Chief Executive Officer of a non-profit organization, Panthera, and Board Member of the Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund; Mr. Dane McQueen, Director of Programs and Partnerships, and Ms. Alyazia Al Sayegh, Partnership Specialist. The purpose of the visit was to explore priority areas to support in climate and nature action and to identify opportunities that exists for potential project pipeline.
During the COP28 held in Dubai in December 2023, Ghana unveiled its ”Resilient Ghana” country package, a delivery vehicle of the Forest & Climate Leaders’ Partnership. At the launch, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced a bilateral partnership to support the implementation of Ghana’s package.
The Director of the Climate Change Department, Ms. Roselyn Fosuah Adjei in delivering the welcome address, expressed her excitement for the partnership with the UAE. She warmly welcomed the delegation and expressed her hopes for a strong and fruitful partnership between the two countries.
Mr. Thomas Gyambrah, Manager, MRV and Programs of the Climate Change Directorate, gave a presentation on Forest Management and REDD+ Implementation Architecture in Ghana. He mentioned that FC is in charge of overseeing the utilisation, conservation and management of the country’s valuable forest and wildlife resources. FC also plays a vital role in coordinating policies related to those resources. He further explained that the Climate Change Directorate has a vital role in supporting the Commission’s mission and vision where they work on developing plans and strategies for climate change mitigation and adaption within Ghana’s forestry sector, while also promoting sustainable development. “Our economy relies heavily on the agricultural sector, which is sensitive to climate change and heavily dependent on ecosystem services. The REDD+ offers a great opportunity to mitigate climate change, enhance the resilience of our agriculture and forestry sector and even create additional sources of revenue for Ghana”, he said.
Mr. Isaac Abban-Mensah, Consultant for Forest and Climate Leaders’ Partnership (FCLP) gave a presentation on “Resilient Ghana”. In his presentation, he mentioned that advancing climate action for prosperity can be achieved through; nature-based industrialisation and rural development, future- fit green jobs and livelihoods, and scaling climate ambition. He outlined the action areas for Ghana which are; scale compliance voluntary carbon markets, sustainable agriculture and responsible mining, sustainable timber; conservation; restoration and ecosystem service, accelerate deforestation-free energy, smallholders and rural communities’ livelihoods and monitoring, reporting and enforcement. In conclusion he mentioned that Ghana is working closely with all committed partners to create a roadmap for implementing actions that support the country’s sustainable development.
As part of the itinerary for the visit, the UAE team called on the Chief Executive, Mr. John Allotey, for a brief discussion on their mission to Ghana.
