Ensure municipal climate resilience (GHWAE0004)

Commitment ID

GHWAE0004

Commitment Title

Ensure municipal climate resilience

Problem

The Wassa Amenfi East Municipal is vulnerable to climate change and variability due to the high dependence on natural resources and limited capacity to adapt to the effects of climate change. Increased frequency and intensity of extreme rainfall events; increased number of hot days; increased frequency and intensity of surface flooding; increased intensity and extent of river flooding and higher year-to-year variability are the predominant climate change stressors in the municipality.

In addition to other things, the availability of water and sanitation services, the performance and longevity of infrastructure, and agricultural productivity are all negatively impacted by climate change. For example, the agricultural sector is impacted by crop damage and decreased productivity caused by heat stress (e.g., Cassava, cocoa, and maize); the increased prevalence of crop and livestock parasites and diseases; decreased water availability for crops and livestock due to increased evaporative demand from higher temperatures; decreased yields of staple cereal crops and increased food insecurity caused by higher temperatures, and heavy investment in productivity-enhancing asses.

Due to increased illegal mining that causes environmental degradation in the municipal and low institutional ability and coordination for effective climate change response, the impoverished populations in the municipality are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change.

Status quo

The efforts to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change have included projects and initiatives like climate change sensitization, climate-smart agriculture, and tree planting. Although the government has taken attempts to address this threat, the country has been losing rainforest at an alarming rate in recent years, and the municipality is no exception. An illustration is the introduction of Green Ghana Day by the government of Ghana, which saw communities join forces for a large campaign to plant more than 5 million trees nationally. The Ghanaian government gave away free seedlings as part of the Green Ghana Day campaign to everyone who was ready to pitch in and help, including private citizens, governmental and non-governmental organizations, traditional leaders, educational institutions, and religious organizations.

With the assistance of various partners, the Wassa Amenfi East Municipal during this year's 2022 campaign planted 10,000 trees throughout the Municipal. In order to lessen the impact of climate change on agricultural production in the municipality, the Department of Agric which is under the Municipal Assembly is also implementing climate-smart agriculture programs to boost agric production.

Action

This commitment entails the co-development of climate resilience initiatives and programs with all relevant parties, including CSOs, the public sector, business organizations, traditional authorities, and citizen groups. The Commitment will bring together stakeholders to develop workable programs that cover institutional disaster risk reduction strategies, such as climate change adaptation, as well as management plans for disaster event preparation, management, and recovery.

Expected Results
1. Improved municipal resilience to and adaptation to climate change.
2. Improved data on the municipality's risk of disaster, its vulnerability to it, and the relevant actions that could be done to manage these risks.
3. Greater public awareness of the economic, environmental, and health effects of climate change in the Wassa Amenfi East Municipality.
4. A strengthened strategic strategy to reduce the effects of illegal mining in the Municipality.

Overall objective: Creating a sustainable and climate-resilient municipal.

How will the commitment contribute to solving the public problem described above?

In order to promote people's welfare and security toward gender-responsive and rights-based sustainable development, the plan will serve as a guide for the municipality in achieving sustainable development through effective stakeholder participation while building communities' adaptive capacities, boosting the resilience of vulnerable communities/sectors, and optimizing disaster mitigation opportunities.

Expected Outputs:
1. Disaster risk management strategy and local policy on climate resilience jointly developed.
2. Develop a road map for curbing illegal mining activities in the municipality.
3. Stakeholders' capacity for efficient coordination of climate change action and access to the Global Climate Fund, as well as their ability to get money for mitigation and adaptation measures.
4. Development of citizen education and indigenous flora preservation.

Expected Outcomes:
1. Enhanced municipal climate resilience.
2. Increased citizens' knowledge of the impacts of climate change, its mitigation, and adaptation

What long-term goal as identified in your Open Government Strategy does this commitment relate to?

Our long-term objective of "Protecting the natural environment and creating a resilient municipality" is related to this commitment. The Municipal Authority has prioritized climate resilience activities to always have the most vulnerable in society at the center, especially the poor, the disabled, women, and children, in order to enhance municipal climate change resilience and adaptation. This is due to the projected increase in the frequency and intensity of climate-induced disasters as well as the emergence of other adverse events like geopolitical conflicts and pandemics worldwide. This could be accomplished by making sure that all stakeholders effectively participate in the planning and implementation of the commitments.

Primary Policy Area

Other/NA

Primary Sector

Environment & Climate, Extractive Industries

What OGP value is this commitment relevant to?