Government, World Bank commit $155m to build coastal area resilience

The Government and the World Bank have committed 155 million dollars in grants and loans, to the building of Ghana’s coastal area resilience.

The Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI), implementors of the “West Africa Coastal Areas Resilience Investment Project” on a pilot basis, has expressed hope that it would promote the nation’s blue economy as it “aims at addressing coastal erosion, flooding, pollution, and ecosystem vulnerability nationally and regionally.”

Mrs Ophelia Mensah Hayford, the Minister of MESTI, who launched the project in Accra on Wednesday, said Ghana’s coastal areas were facing significant environmental challenges with the most pressing of it being the alarming rate of erosion.

The Minister explained that the project would specifically support physical interventions in the Korle Lagoon, Densu Delta, and Keta Lagoon Complex.

In the Korle Lagoon, the Project among other activities complements ongoing work by the Greater Accra Resilient and Integrated Development Project to construct a jetty at the lagoon outlet to prevent sediment accumulation and stabilise the lagoon’s embankments through rip-rap structures and vegetation

In the Densu Delta, the project will support improved spatial planning and enforcement capacities for existing regulations in protected areas to minimise further encroachment into the delta ecosystem, and support the vegetation of buffer areas in the upstream waterways and within the delta to increase absorption capacity.

The project interventions in the Keta Lagoon Complex will primarily focus on reforestation and protection, specifically in mangrove areas threatened by saline intrusion due to coastal erosion and sea-level rise.

It will also address erosion issues in communities throughout the Complex, with potential focused interventions at sites to be determined based on technical studies and extensive stakeholder engagement.

Various reports, she said, indicated that the rate of coastal erosion in Ghana ranged between two to five meters per annum, with some locations experiencing up to 17 meters of erosion each year.

The severe degradation was further compounded by frequent flooding due to high storm tides, which directly resulted from rising sea levels induced by climate change.

Every year, she said an average of 500,000 people in Africa were affected by aggravated coastal erosion, flooding, and pollution and the coastal disasters threatened the physical landscape and destabilised the coastal communities’ socio-economic fabric.

Mrs Hayford noted that the situation along the coast of Ghana had further been exacerbated by climate change with temperatures rising by approximately 1°C since the 1960s and with a projection to increase by between 1°C and 3°C by mid-century and between 2.3°C and 5.3°C by the end of the century.

Heavy rainfall events, she said were also expected to increase, with a likelihood of resulting in flooding, flash floods, and riverbank erosion.

“Our nation is vulnerable to increasing aridity, droughts, extreme rainfall, and flooding. We are also highly exposed to natural weather-related hazards, including storm surges, coastal erosion, landslides, earthquakes, pest infestations, and wildfires. Due to flooding, Ghana’s flood exposure is projected to result in a US$160 million loss annually,” she added.

Mr Robert Taliercio, the World Bank Country Director, Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone, in a speech read on his behalf, said Ghana’s 5.5 million coastal residents faced significant challenges as they were highly vulnerable to erosion, flooding and pollution, among others.

Coastal degradation, he said, costs the country about four per cent of its GDP every year, therefore the project launch marked a significant milestone to address the multifaceted challenges faced in the coastal areas to safeguard livelihoods and property.

He said the challenges faced were significant but not insurmountable and therefore urged all stakeholders to contribute their resources and expertise to help achieve the successful implementation of the project.

Togbe Sri III, Awoamefia of the Anlo Traditional State, in a speech delivered by Mr Clement Kofi Humado, former Member of Parliament for Anlo, said the project meant a lot to them, as his area for years had been subjected to the disruptions of coastline, houses, loss of livelihoods and other effects of climate change, a situation he said had become an existential threat to the present and future development of Anlo.

The Anlo area, he said, had also experienced loss of fisheries productivity and migration of people to other areas for security.

“We thank the government for securing the loan and the World Bank for granting Ghana the facility. We pledge to do all possible to ensure the successful implementation of the project. In that regard, we have formed a technical committee to ensure that the project sees a successful completion,” he added.