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Accra, 9 July, GNA – Ghana has signed an agreement
historic agreement with the World Bank rewarding community efforts to reduce
carbon emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, making it the third
country to initial the agreement.
A statement issued by the World Bank and
Ghanaian news agency reported on Tuesday, said that Ghana's five years
Emission Reduction Payment Agreement (ERPA) with the Forest Carbon Partnership
Carbon Fund (FCPF), managed by the World Bank, allows you to unlock
performance-based payments of up to $ 50 million for carbon emissions
reductions in forest areas and land use.
Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of
Congo has also signed ERPA in the last ten months, along with other carbon funds
countries should sign similar agreements in the coming year.
In Ghana, the degradation of forests and
deforestation are mainly due to the expansion of the cocoa sector, badociated with
logging and a recent increase in illegal mining.
Working closely with the
Forestry Commission, Cocoa Board, and the private sector, Ghana's program with
the FCPF Carbon Fund seeks to reduce carbon emissions by promoting
intelligent cocoa production in the face of climate.
"The two central objectives of the program –
reduce carbon emissions in the forest sector and actually produce
Sustainable and climate-smart cocoa beans – make it a unique place in Africa and around the world.
the first of its kind in the cocoa and forest sectors around the world.
This program helps to secure the
the future of Ghana's forests while improving incomes and livelihoods
for farmers and forest-dependent communities, "said Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie, Chief
Executive of the Ghana Forestry Commission.
In Ghana's ERPA, the FCPF Carbon Fund
Undertakes to make initial payments based on results for reductions of $ 10 million
tons of CO2 emissions (up to 50 million USD).
Ghana's ERPA also specifies on carbon
reference levels of emissions, the price per tonne of avoided CO2 emissions and a
benefit-sharing mechanism that has been prepared on the basis of many
consultations with local stakeholders and civil society organizations
Across the country.
Ghana's emissions reduction program is
anchored in the country's national strategy for the reduction of
deforestation and forest degradation (REDD +), and is well aligned with
national policies and strategies, including Ghana's shared strategy for growth and development.
Development, the National Policy for Combating Climate Change, the National Forest and Forest Management Program,
Wildlife management, national gender policy and Ghana's decisions at the national level.
contributions to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Ghana's Emissions Reduction Program,
located in the south of the country, covers nearly six million hectares (ha) of
a hotspot for the biodiversity of the Guinean forest in West Africa.
The broader program area covers 1.2 million
hectares of forest reserves and national parks and is home to 12 million
people.
An increase in cocoa production has
historically, more forests are cut down to accommodate new cocoa plants, but
this trend could be reversed.
Thanks to the program, the government is going
focus on some sensitive areas of deforestation and help farmers and communities
increase cocoa production in this country using smart approaches to climate.
A more sustainable cocoa crop will help
avoid the expansion of cocoa plantations on forest lands and further secure
revenue stream for communities. These combined actions will help Ghana to meet
its national climate commitments under the Paris Agreement.
This work benefits from the support of others
initiatives, including World Bank programs, focused on forests
rehabilitation, social inclusion, climate smart agriculture and sustainable development
land and water management. The program also works closely with cocoa
& Forests Initiative.
More than 30 stakeholder consultations,
meetings and workshops with more than 40 institutions were organized in the
program planning, design and validation.
Part of this awareness included the development of
and implement a gender-level action plan at the program level to raise awareness among stakeholders
concerning the key role of women in sustainable land use and their right to
also benefit from payments based on results.
"It's exciting to see the level of
stakeholder engagement that Ghana has been able to achieve with its emission reduction
program, especially with the private sector. Some of the most important
cocoa and chocolate companies around the world, including the World Cocoa Foundation
members, such as Mondelez International, Olam, Touton and others, as well as
Ghana Cocoa Board has committed to participate in the program, "said
Pierre Frank Laporte, World Bank Country Director for Ghana, Liberia and Sierra
Leone.
GNA
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