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Stakeholders noted that rapid population growth in urban areas creates environmental problems that threaten sustainable development.
Stakeholders were the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC), the Steering Committee on Cities and Climate Change of the Regional Institute of Demographic Studies of the University of Ghana and the National Institute for Development Planning. National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO).
They were represented by Mr Felix Addo-Yobo, Director of Policy Planning at the NDPC; Mr. Wise Ametefe, member of the Steering Committee on Cities and Climate Change at the Regional Institute of Demographic Studies of the University of Ghana; and Mr. Kofi Koranteng Abrokwa, Director of Training, NADMO.
The trio expressed concern at a stakeholder meeting on "Disaster Risk Reduction in Ghana: The Future of Our Cities" in Accra.
Spatial planning refers to methods used by the public sector to influence the distribution of people and activities in spaces at different scales.
It includes all levels of land use planning, including urban planning, regional planning and national land use plans.
Stakeholders noted that Ghana is exposed to and exposed to natural or man-made disasters, such as floods, coastal erosion, forest fires, pest infestations and other hazards. , earthquakes and industrial accidents, which had adverse economic, social and environmental consequences and threatened national development. .
They reported on the signing of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction from 2015 to 2030, in which Ghana, along with other UN Member States, reiterated its commitment to reduce risk reduction. and build disaster resilience in the context of sustainable development and the eradication of poverty.
Mr. Abrokwa said the Sendai Framework plays a vital role in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
He said that while the country was working to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, it was important to pay attention to disaster management, as a disaster would erase all gains.
Dr Addo-Yobo said the series of earthquakes that hit Ghana in recent times was a sign that the biggest was probably near. and the nation had to prepare itself for any eventuality.
He said he was concerned about the high rate of road accidents in the country, causing death and property damage, and called for concentrated efforts to reduce it. Mr Ametefe said it was obvious that the problems of population growth were undermining spatial planning and increasing global disaster risk, which Ghana was no exception.
"The random development of human settlements, such as the construction of waterways and green spaces, attributed to the increasing demand for housing by residents, has helped to increase the exposure to risks. 39, flood, "he added.
He said recent floods in Greater Accra and other urban cities in the country have presented institutions and society with new challenges for building and managing cities.
Mr. Ametefe, who is also Clerk of the Ghana Engineering Council, said the barriers to institutional collaboration, technocratic approaches, understanding of population dynamics, use of Scientific evidence in decision-making and the balance of private, civil and private sector contributions to decision making were among the factors to be overcome.
He said the company's interest was no longer served by conservative regional urban planning models that put the emphasis on transportation and infrastructure at the expense of the drivers of change in the economy. environment for which climate change has come.
Ametefe said the societal demand for service delivery and development was now at the crossroads with disaster risk and called for integrated approaches to planning and management to strengthen resilience. of the society.
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