TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN GHANA
By: Davis Opoku Ansah ( Young Activist)
Email: Nanapoku_2@yahoo.com
Tel: +233 244 861593

All over the world, people and nations are beginning to realize that current destructive paths of development are clearly unsustainable, and that there is now a need to preserve the integrity and the natural resource base of the environment both for present and future generations. Ghana has not been left out in this line of thinking, hence the adoption of the National Environmental Action Plan (NEAP), which provides a coherent framework for interventions deemed necessary to safeguard the environment and redirect development efforts into more environmentally sustainable programmes and practices.
Background:-
Ghana is endowed with abundant natural resources which undoubtedly contributed immensely to the country's industrialization after independence. But the extraction of these resources has not been without problems as care was not taken to guard against their depletion. In fact, no governmental action was taken to address the issue of environmental degradation in Ghana until the country's participation in the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm in June 1972.
Ghana has since become aware of the enormity of its environmental problems, and in 1974 the government established the Environmental Protection Council (EPC). A critical look at the EPC during this period would reveal that its approach to work was rather ad hoc and environmental problems were tackled as they arose. No comprehensive plan existed to identify environmental problems and provide solutions, nor was there machinery to create environmental consciousness among Ghanaians. Serious environmental problems such as deforestation, soil degradation and industrial pollution persisted. GDP fell at an average rate of 1.3% per year, and population grew rapidly.
Faced with the stark reality of a fast declining economy, the Ghanaian government in 1983 launched its Economic Recovery Programme (ERP). This programme of economic policy reforms, calculated to put the Ghanaian economy on a positive growth path, was given financial and technical support by the World Bank and the IMF. The components of the reform efforts included creation of an enabling environment for foreign and domestic investment, and liberalization of credit and monetary arrangements.
A key objective of the ERP was the improvement of Ghana's economic performance by revitalizing agriculture, forestry, mining and the manufacturing industry. While this led to positive economic growth, it was growth at a high environmental price: an estimated 41.7 billion cedis, 4% of GDP, or US$128.3 million in 1988 alone.
Chereponi a district of the northern region of Ghana has an estimated population of about 3,000 with the youth constituting 60%(EC 2004).Chereponi has a savannah grass land vegetation with cotton, millet, soghum and maize as their main agriculture produce, their main source of income in sustaining their livelihoods is peasant farming. In 2000 chereponi was the leading producers of cotton in Ghana, later again in 2004 it retain the leading producer of cotton and has still held that prestige.
Environmental Problems Resulting from the ERP:-
Agriculture imposed the greatest environmental degradation cost, at 69% or 28.8 billion cedis (US$88.5 million). These costs were reflected in wind and water erosion, soil compaction, surface soil crusting and loss of soil stability and fertility, not forgetting the indiscriminate use of fertilizers and pesticides. While these unsustainable agricultural practices had adverse effects on the environment, they also intensified the poor living conditions of a majority of Ghanaians.
Ghana's forests also suffered from the ERP. Forests cover 34% of the country and contain 2100 plant species and many rare animals. An amazing 95% of Ghana's high forest has already been logged, and only 1% of what is left lies within protected areas such as wildlife sanctuaries, game reserves and sacred groves.
As in agriculture, the ERP led to a recovery in the exploitation of forest resources, particularly of timber. Timber earnings increased from 5.9% in 1986 to 13.2% in 1990. But the opportunity cost of this impressive progress was exceedingly high, estimated at 10.8 billion cedis, or US$33.4 million. This continued depletion of the forest resulted in land degradation, decreasing biodiversity, desertification, and the shrinking of the natural sink for carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas.
The mining sector was also heavily rehabilitated during the ERP. Dust, sulphur dioxide and arsenic trioxide are the major mining-related impacts on air quality in mining areas. Metals such as arsenic and mercury have been discharged into river systems, and the deterioration of water quality has affected resident aquatic organisms. The levels of arsenic and cyanide discharged into the water; which also serves as a source of drinking water for local residents; were higher than those recommended by the World Health Organization. Uncontrolled mining also left in its trail barren wasteland.
Given this worsening of Ghana's environmental problems in the wake of rapid industrialization, in March 1988 the government constituted a group of experts. It charged them with reviewing existing policies related to environmental protection, and with proposing a strategy to address the key issues of deforestation, land management, forestry and wildlife, water management, marine and coastal ecosystems, mining, manufacturing industries and hazardous chemicals, human settlements, legal and institutional issues, environmental education and environmental data systems.
The National Environmental Policy (NEAP) was then adopted to provide the broad framework for the implementation of the action plan and to ensure sound management of resources over a ten-year period, from 1991-2000. The NEAP endorses a preventive approach to environmental management and emphasizes a need to promote socioeconomic development within the context of acceptable environmental standards. Indeed it seeks to reconcile economic planning and environmental resource development with the view to achieving sustainable national development.
Chereponi which is a poverty stricken district with it inhabitants mainly peasant farmers during this period exploited the vegetation since there was no means to sustain their livelihoods and also due to illiteracy and ignorance.
Achievements of NEAP So Far:-
The Environmental Protection Council (EPC) is the government institution that advises and coordinates all environment-related issues in the country. It is the overall coordinating body for the NEAP, with district assemblies playing key roles.
The adoption of the NEAP set into motion some structural and organizational changes. Though the EPC performed its role creditably during its 20 years of existence, the council was not as effective as it should have been because it lacked the power to enforce its decisions. In 1994, it was replaced by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which received the necessary political backing and enforcement.
Other EPA mandates include issuing environmental permits, requesting environmental impact assessments for development programmes, providing information on the environment, and serving enforcement notices. The EPA also issues guides and provides training in procedures on these matters.
A new Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology has also been created and is charged with policy formulation. The ministry occasionally issues policy directives to the EPA.
Pesticides Control
A programme to control pesticides has also been put in place. The Ghana Standards Board, which is responsible for product quality control, monitors the quality of all pesticides to be used in Ghana, while the Ministry of Agriculture provides training for the farming communities on safe and effective application of pesticides.
The interdepartmental pesticide control programme made up of the EPA, Ministry of Agriculture, the Ghana Standards Board and the Ghana Medical School was set up by the government with the EPA as coordinating body. Legislations to control the importation, distribution, sale and use of pesticides and other toxic chemicals has been drafted and placed before parliament. This is laudable because over the years the importation, manufacture, distribution and handling and use of potentially toxic chemicals in Ghana has gone on without considering the environmental consequences and even quantities and types of chemicals in the country are not fully known.
Agro-Forestry:-
Agro-forestry is increasingly being popularized as the best option to undertake food and animal production without harming the land's tree cover; soil fertility is also maintained. A school of forestry and an institute of renewable natural resources have been established to offer courses in this field.
Legislation:-
The dearth of environmental legislation in Ghana is perhaps one of the biggest problems militating against attempts at environmental protection and sustainable development. It is evident that the body of existing legislation on the various aspects of environment is inadequate and most provisions have no direct bearing on present-day realities or on the aspirations of the people of this country. For example, there is no coordinated and comprehensive land use or management policy. Compounding this is the multiplicity of agencies responsible for various aspects of land management. So far, one can count about 20 such agencies. These critical problems in environmental management can seriously impair any efforts to address Ghana's environmental problems. The few existing laws on the environment date back to the colonial era and due to their rule-oriented nature, abuses are common. Ghana continues to use British laws, some of which have destroyed the traditional systems of village management. In some areas, land, water and forests are owned by the government. As a result, village communities have lost all interest in managing or protecting them. Once the villagers realize the main objective of government management is to meet urban and international industrial needs, their motivation shifts from conserving to exploiting resources as fully as possible. A case in point is illustrated in a recent article in the Ghanaian Times, which reported the story of Nana Ameyaw Gyensiamah III, chief of Kwahu Tafo. The chief is appealing to the Ministry of Lands and Forestry to release the 30 square mile forest reserve at Kwahu (a town in the eastern region of Ghana) to the people for protection against illegal felling of trees and bush fires; the reserve had been turned into a grassland due to neglect by the department. Clearly no village can function within a legal framework that prevents it from taking care of its village environment. Several laws will have to be changed to give people the right to improve and develop their village's natural resource base. The effectiveness of any planning or conservation measures in most parts of the country are often hampered by the problems of land acquisition. In most cases, ownership boundaries are not clearly documented and registered, and coupled with the absence of adequate data for local and farm planning, attaining optimal land use can be a mirage, often resulting in the underutilization or misuse of land. In this confused state, land degradation becomes the order of the day in most parts of Ghana. International Cooperation The implementation of sustainable development programmes in countries like Ghana requires major investments and access to technologies that respect the environment; only in this way can developing countries avoid having to choose between economic development and environmental conservation. International cooperation is indispensable to enable poor- and medium-income countries to ensure sustainable development and participate in protecting the earth's global ecological equilibrium. At the international level, the EPA has either organized or participated actively in a number of seminars and workshops. For instance, the EPA facilitated the ratification of the convention on biodiversity and the climate change convention by Ghana. The preparation of the necessary documentation for the ratification of the convention to combat desertification and the convention on oil pollution preparedness and response has also been completed.
NGOs:-
Sustainable development is not exclusively a government affair but is a matter for society as a whole. Ghanaians must be mobilized to carry on and amplify government actions in favour of sustainable development. Efforts to achieve sustainable development cannot succeed if the EPA does not maintain active partnership with all segments of society. Over 100 environmental NGOs are active in Ghana. Some have been in existence for over 20 years and have broad experience of the natural environment and of activities to promote and protect it.
The EPA makes use of the recognized skills of NGOs by involving them in policy preparation. The EPA has been eliciting their cooperation by involving them in policy preparation and decision making regarding the environment. In June 1991, for instance, a national workshop was organized in Sunyani in the Brong Ahafo region of Ghana for over 20 environmental NGOs on the environment action plan.
Environmental Education and Awareness:-
As a result of the government's efforts to make environmental issues a priority, an environmental education strategy was adopted. It aims to ensure that all sections of the population understand how the environment works and what opportunities and problems it presents. This strategy covers both the formal and informal educational sectors, and was a cooperative effort developed with input from the media, non-formal divisions of the Ministry of Education, the Ghana Education Service, NGOs and the National Council on Women and Development.
A key objective of environmental education is to raise the level of public awareness on environmental issues to a point where individuals, groups and organizations can fully assume their responsibilities in safeguarding the environment, particularly at the grassroots level.
Environmental education has not yet been fully integrated into the country's educational system. If steps are not taken to address this problem immediately, the very aim of the NEAP will be defeated. It is also important that non-formal education be given attention so that all those who do not attend school; traders, farmers, unemployed youth; be reached. Alternative methods such as drama troupes, cinema vans, opinion leaders and local chiefs can be mobilized to reach this community in their own local dialects.
In the formal sector, environmental education can be taught alongside existing subjects and topics could relate more closely to the environment of the communities within which the schools are located. The literate population can also be reached through newspapers, magazines and periodicals, as well as radio and television.
There is a notable lack of scientific information and a disturbingly low level of public awareness about many aspects of the environment in Ghana.
In addition to education, this gap of ignorance can be filled partially by an active environmental reporting, which not only increases awareness, but also establishes an informed and active participation on the part of the individual.
Government officials should see the few environmental newspapers and environmental journalists in the country as partners in development, and criticisms published in these newspapers should be taken in good faith and constructively.
But this is not the case. The Triumph newspaper, a privately owned weekly, investigated and published a story about the illegal importation and burial of toxic waste material in the country by a Lebanese national. Ghana's fourth republican parliament instituted an independent committee to investigate the authenticity of the story, and found that the illegal import contained high concentrations of lead and mercury, which could be harmful to human health. Still, no punitive action was taken against the perpetrators of this heinous crime; the toxic waste was not exhumed, in spite of the parliamentary committee's report.
Investigations conducted by The Triumph into an asbestos product factory indicated that the factory had been polluting the air with carcinogenic asbestos fumes. Despite persistent calls by The Triumph for a relocation of the factory or its closure, the country's environment officials ignored the request and turned a deaf ear. Yet the factory is located in a densely populated area. This official insensitivity to environmental news reporting is rather discouraging and undermines the country's attempts at sustainable development.
Poverty:-
Poverty is a major setback to environmental protection and sustainable development in Ghana and chereponi is no exception. This is because majorities of the people, particularly in rural areas, are poor. For them, where to get the next meal is much more important than any problem of desertification or wildlife depletion. The government must embark on serious poverty alleviation efforts, not only to raise the living standards of the people, but also to prevent them from unleashing their anger on the forests and other natural resources in their desperate bid to keep bone and flesh together.
Income-generating activities, revenue sharing or alternative employment opportunities can be initiated by the government on the principle that by providing other sources of income, the economic incentive to utilize wildlife illegally will be removed. These opportunities could include jobs as wardens, rangers, guides, labourers, or administrative staff. Revenue-sharing activities could mean the distribution of both cash and kind derived from tourist entrance fees. This approach would not only improve local income and living standards, but also curb the illegal use of wildlife and remove pressure from protected areas.
The cuttings of forests in search of cheap firewood and energy, the grazing of marginal lands, the drift to the towns, all are problems caused by poverty. At the same time, the debt crisis facing Ghana and many developing countries today dramatically affects commodity prices and increases the outflow of resources from the less developed countries.
Also, one cannot forget the impact of structural adjustment policies on a country like Ghana. These policies have forced the government to cut down on social services, cut back the labour force (bread winners of families in most cases), and remove subsidies on medical care.
The World Bank's policy of structural adjustment as a condition for loans has stressed export crops to earn foreign exchange to pay off the mounting debt. This has certainly had a detrimental impact on many of the poor people in Ghana as most of them have been pushed off land needed for export crops. In desperation, most have moved to marginalized and less fertile areas or to the burgeoning cities, while others become dependent on the informal sector to survive.
One wonders how we can ever achieve sustainable development when the debt crisis has not been eased and when the government continues to swallow IMF/World Bank conditionalities hook, line and sinker, when women and children continue to bear the brunt of these harsh polices, and when such policies continue to wreak havoc on our environment.
Conclusion:-
The sustainability of economic and social development in Ghana depends to a large extent on its resource base, more so when economic growth has been based on the use of renewable and non-renewable natural resources like forests, soil and water. Clearly, the pressure on these natural systems is enormous. Unfortunately, past attempts to address the environmental problems have been largely on an ad hoc basis. There is a need for a rethinking of our natural development efforts along more sustainable lines.
The government of Ghana, through the NEAP, has stated its commitment to environmental protection and sustainable development. While not all promises have been realized, Ghana's efforts have been more than lip service. With the passage of time, efforts have gone beyond words into strengthening institutions, developing human resources, research capacity and methodology, thus improving popular participation and balancing access to and distribution of resources.
Already the NEAP is helping to facilitate national strategies and networking in the field of sustainable development. These considerable efforts must be intensified since environmental protection is a recurring challenge requiring constant vigilance and periodic revision. Perhaps what is needed most is a sustained and consistently orchestrated campaign by the mass media in Ghana to instill a commitment in the public to halt the alarming rate of environmental degradation and to develop new strategies for sustainable living.
Incentives and deterrents should also be provided to complement the legal texts already in force in the environmental field to give greater weight to the policy of environmental protection. Land and forest laws in particular need to become more rational, both from a scientific and social perspective, to encourage people's involvement and ecological regeneration.

Towards Sustainable development in Ghana
Translated into French by: Davis
TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN GHANA
By: Davis Opoku Ansah ( Young Activist)
Email: Nanapoku_2@yahoo.com
Tel: +233 244 861593

All over the world, people and nations are beginning to realize that current destructive paths of development are clearly unsustainable, and that there is now a need to preserve the integrity and the natural resource base of the environment both for present and future generations. Ghana has not been left out in this line of thinking, hence the adoption of the National Environmental Action Plan (NEAP), which provides a coherent framework for interventions deemed necessary to safeguard the environment and redirect development efforts into more environmentally sustainable programmes and practices.
Background:-
Ghana is endowed with abundant natural resources which undoubtedly contributed immensely to the country's industrialization after independence. But the extraction of these resources has not been without problems as care was not taken to guard against their depletion. In fact, no governmental action was taken to address the issue of environmental degradation in Ghana until the country's participation in the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm in June 1972.
Ghana has since become aware of the enormity of its environmental problems, and in 1974 the government established the Environmental Protection Council (EPC). A critical look at the EPC during this period would reveal that its approach to work was rather ad hoc and environmental problems were tackled as they arose. No comprehensive plan existed to identify environmental problems and provide solutions, nor was there machinery to create environmental consciousness among Ghanaians. Serious environmental problems such as deforestation, soil degradation and industrial pollution persisted. GDP fell at an average rate of 1.3% per year, and population grew rapidly.
Faced with the stark reality of a fast declining economy, the Ghanaian government in 1983 launched its Economic Recovery Programme (ERP). This programme of economic policy reforms, calculated to put the Ghanaian economy on a positive growth path, was given financial and technical support by the World Bank and the IMF. The components of the reform efforts included creation of an enabling environment for foreign and domestic investment, and liberalization of credit and monetary arrangements.
A key objective of the ERP was the improvement of Ghana's economic performance by revitalizing agriculture, forestry, mining and the manufacturing industry. While this led to positive economic growth, it was growth at a high environmental price: an estimated 41.7 billion cedis, 4% of GDP, or US$128.3 million in 1988 alone.
Chereponi a district of the northern region of Ghana has an estimated population of about 3,000 with the youth constituting 60%(EC 2004).Chereponi has a savannah grass land vegetation with cotton, millet, soghum and maize as their main agriculture produce, their main source of income in sustaining their livelihoods is peasant farming. In 2000 chereponi was the leading producers of cotton in Ghana, later again in 2004 it retain the leading producer of cotton and has still held that prestige.
Environmental Problems Resulting from the ERP:-
Agriculture imposed the greatest environmental degradation cost, at 69% or 28.8 billion cedis (US$88.5 million). These costs were reflected in wind and water erosion, soil compaction, surface soil crusting and loss of soil stability and fertility, not forgetting the indiscriminate use of fertilizers and pesticides. While these unsustainable agricultural practices had adverse effects on the environment, they also intensified the poor living conditions of a majority of Ghanaians.
Ghana's forests also suffered from the ERP. Forests cover 34% of the country and contain 2100 plant species and many rare animals. An amazing 95% of Ghana's high forest has already been logged, and only 1% of what is left lies within protected areas such as wildlife sanctuaries, game reserves and sacred groves.
As in agriculture, the ERP led to a recovery in the exploitation of forest resources, particularly of timber. Timber earnings increased from 5.9% in 1986 to 13.2% in 1990. But the opportunity cost of this impressive progress was exceedingly high, estimated at 10.8 billion cedis, or US$33.4 million. This continued depletion of the forest resulted in land degradation, decreasing biodiversity, desertification, and the shrinking of the natural sink for carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas.
The mining sector was also heavily rehabilitated during the ERP. Dust, sulphur dioxide and arsenic trioxide are the major mining-related impacts on air quality in mining areas. Metals such as arsenic and mercury have been discharged into river systems, and the deterioration of water quality has affected resident aquatic organisms. The levels of arsenic and cyanide discharged into the water; which also serves as a source of drinking water for local residents; were higher than those recommended by the World Health Organization. Uncontrolled mining also left in its trail barren wasteland.
Given this worsening of Ghana's environmental problems in the wake of rapid industrialization, in March 1988 the government constituted a group of experts. It charged them with reviewing existing policies related to environmental protection, and with proposing a strategy to address the key issues of deforestation, land management, forestry and wildlife, water management, marine and coastal ecosystems, mining, manufacturing industries and hazardous chemicals, human settlements, legal and institutional issues, environmental education and environmental data systems.
The National Environmental Policy (NEAP) was then adopted to provide the broad framework for the implementation of the action plan and to ensure sound management of resources over a ten-year period, from 1991-2000. The NEAP endorses a preventive approach to environmental management and emphasizes a need to promote socioeconomic development within the context of acceptable environmental standards. Indeed it seeks to reconcile economic planning and environmental resource development with the view to achieving sustainable national development.
Chereponi which is a poverty stricken district with it inhabitants mainly peasant farmers during this period exploited the vegetation since there was no means to sustain their livelihoods and also due to illiteracy and ignorance.
Achievements of NEAP So Far:-
The Environmental Protection Council (EPC) is the government institution that advises and coordinates all environment-related issues in the country. It is the overall coordinating body for the NEAP, with district assemblies playing key roles.
The adoption of the NEAP set into motion some structural and organizational changes. Though the EPC performed its role creditably during its 20 years of existence, the council was not as effective as it should have been because it lacked the power to enforce its decisions. In 1994, it was replaced by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which received the necessary political backing and enforcement.
Other EPA mandates include issuing environmental permits, requesting environmental impact assessments for development programmes, providing information on the environment, and serving enforcement notices. The EPA also issues guides and provides training in procedures on these matters.
A new Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology has also been created and is charged with policy formulation. The ministry occasionally issues policy directives to the EPA.
Pesticides Control
A programme to control pesticides has also been put in place. The Ghana Standards Board, which is responsible for product quality control, monitors the quality of all pesticides to be used in Ghana, while the Ministry of Agriculture provides training for the farming communities on safe and effective application of pesticides.
The interdepartmental pesticide control programme made up of the EPA, Ministry of Agriculture, the Ghana Standards Board and the Ghana Medical School was set up by the government with the EPA as coordinating body. Legislations to control the importation, distribution, sale and use of pesticides and other toxic chemicals has been drafted and placed before parliament. This is laudable because over the years the importation, manufacture, distribution and handling and use of potentially toxic chemicals in Ghana has gone on without considering the environmental consequences and even quantities and types of chemicals in the country are not fully known.
Agro-Forestry:-
Agro-forestry is increasingly being popularized as the best option to undertake food and animal production without harming the land's tree cover; soil fertility is also maintained. A school of forestry and an institute of renewable natural resources have been established to offer courses in this field.
Legislation:-
The dearth of environmental legislation in Ghana is perhaps one of the biggest problems militating against attempts at environmental protection and sustainable development. It is evident that the body of existing legislation on the various aspects of environment is inadequate and most provisions have no direct bearing on present-day realities or on the aspirations of the people of this country. For example, there is no coordinated and comprehensive land use or management policy. Compounding this is the multiplicity of agencies responsible for various aspects of land management. So far, one can count about 20 such agencies. These critical problems in environmental management can seriously impair any efforts to address Ghana's environmental problems. The few existing laws on the environment date back to the colonial era and due to their rule-oriented nature, abuses are common. Ghana continues to use British laws, some of which have destroyed the traditional systems of village management. In some areas, land, water and forests are owned by the government. As a result, village communities have lost all interest in managing or protecting them. Once the villagers realize the main objective of government management is to meet urban and international industrial needs, their motivation shifts from conserving to exploiting resources as fully as possible. A case in point is illustrated in a recent article in the Ghanaian Times, which reported the story of Nana Ameyaw Gyensiamah III, chief of Kwahu Tafo. The chief is appealing to the Ministry of Lands and Forestry to release the 30 square mile forest reserve at Kwahu (a town in the eastern region of Ghana) to the people for protection against illegal felling of trees and bush fires; the reserve had been turned into a grassland due to neglect by the department. Clearly no village can function within a legal framework that prevents it from taking care of its village environment. Several laws will have to be changed to give people the right to improve and develop their village's natural resource base. The effectiveness of any planning or conservation measures in most parts of the country are often hampered by the problems of land acquisition. In most cases, ownership boundaries are not clearly documented and registered, and coupled with the absence of adequate data for local and farm planning, attaining optimal land use can be a mirage, often resulting in the underutilization or misuse of land. In this confused state, land degradation becomes the order of the day in most parts of Ghana. International Cooperation The implementation of sustainable development programmes in countries like Ghana requires major investments and access to technologies that respect the environment; only in this way can developing countries avoid having to choose between economic development and environmental conservation. International cooperation is indispensable to enable poor- and medium-income countries to ensure sustainable development and participate in protecting the earth's global ecological equilibrium. At the international level, the EPA has either organized or participated actively in a number of seminars and workshops. For instance, the EPA facilitated the ratification of the convention on biodiversity and the climate change convention by Ghana. The preparation of the necessary documentation for the ratification of the convention to combat desertification and the convention on oil pollution preparedness and response has also been completed.
NGOs:-
Sustainable development is not exclusively a government affair but is a matter for society as a whole. Ghanaians must be mobilized to carry on and amplify government actions in favour of sustainable development. Efforts to achieve sustainable development cannot succeed if the EPA does not maintain active partnership with all segments of society. Over 100 environmental NGOs are active in Ghana. Some have been in existence for over 20 years and have broad experience of the natural environment and of activities to promote and protect it.
The EPA makes use of the recognized skills of NGOs by involving them in policy preparation. The EPA has been eliciting their cooperation by involving them in policy preparation and decision making regarding the environment. In June 1991, for instance, a national workshop was organized in Sunyani in the Brong Ahafo region of Ghana for over 20 environmental NGOs on the environment action plan.
Environmental Education and Awareness:-
As a result of the government's efforts to make environmental issues a priority, an environmental education strategy was adopted. It aims to ensure that all sections of the population understand how the environment works and what opportunities and problems it presents. This strategy covers both the formal and informal educational sectors, and was a cooperative effort developed with input from the media, non-formal divisions of the Ministry of Education, the Ghana Education Service, NGOs and the National Council on Women and Development.
A key objective of environmental education is to raise the level of public awareness on environmental issues to a point where individuals, groups and organizations can fully assume their responsibilities in safeguarding the environment, particularly at the grassroots level.
Environmental education has not yet been fully integrated into the country's educational system. If steps are not taken to address this problem immediately, the very aim of the NEAP will be defeated. It is also important that non-formal education be given attention so that all those who do not attend school; traders, farmers, unemployed youth; be reached. Alternative methods such as drama troupes, cinema vans, opinion leaders and local chiefs can be mobilized to reach this community in their own local dialects.
In the formal sector, environmental education can be taught alongside existing subjects and topics could relate more closely to the environment of the communities within which the schools are located. The literate population can also be reached through newspapers, magazines and periodicals, as well as radio and television.
There is a notable lack of scientific information and a disturbingly low level of public awareness about many aspects of the environment in Ghana.
In addition to education, this gap of ignorance can be filled partially by an active environmental reporting, which not only increases awareness, but also establishes an informed and active participation on the part of the individual.
Government officials should see the few environmental newspapers and environmental journalists in the country as partners in development, and criticisms published in these newspapers should be taken in good faith and constructively.
But this is not the case. The Triumph newspaper, a privately owned weekly, investigated and published a story about the illegal importation and burial of toxic waste material in the country by a Lebanese national. Ghana's fourth republican parliament instituted an independent committee to investigate the authenticity of the story, and found that the illegal import contained high concentrations of lead and mercury, which could be harmful to human health. Still, no punitive action was taken against the perpetrators of this heinous crime; the toxic waste was not exhumed, in spite of the parliamentary committee's report.
Investigations conducted by The Triumph into an asbestos product factory indicated that the factory had been polluting the air with carcinogenic asbestos fumes. Despite persistent calls by The Triumph for a relocation of the factory or its closure, the country's environment officials ignored the request and turned a deaf ear. Yet the factory is located in a densely populated area. This official insensitivity to environmental news reporting is rather discouraging and undermines the country's attempts at sustainable development.
Poverty:-
Poverty is a major setback to environmental protection and sustainable development in Ghana and chereponi is no exception. This is because majorities of the people, particularly in rural areas, are poor. For them, where to get the next meal is much more important than any problem of desertification or wildlife depletion. The government must embark on serious poverty alleviation efforts, not only to raise the living standards of the people, but also to prevent them from unleashing their anger on the forests and other natural resources in their desperate bid to keep bone and flesh together.
Income-generating activities, revenue sharing or alternative employment opportunities can be initiated by the government on the principle that by providing other sources of income, the economic incentive to utilize wildlife illegally will be removed. These opportunities could include jobs as wardens, rangers, guides, labourers, or administrative staff. Revenue-sharing activities could mean the distribution of both cash and kind derived from tourist entrance fees. This approach would not only improve local income and living standards, but also curb the illegal use of wildlife and remove pressure from protected areas.
The cuttings of forests in search of cheap firewood and energy, the grazing of marginal lands, the drift to the towns, all are problems caused by poverty. At the same time, the debt crisis facing Ghana and many developing countries today dramatically affects commodity prices and increases the outflow of resources from the less developed countries.
Also, one cannot forget the impact of structural adjustment policies on a country like Ghana. These policies have forced the government to cut down on social services, cut back the labour force (bread winners of families in most cases), and remove subsidies on medical care.
The World Bank's policy of structural adjustment as a condition for loans has stressed export crops to earn foreign exchange to pay off the mounting debt. This has certainly had a detrimental impact on many of the poor people in Ghana as most of them have been pushed off land needed for export crops. In desperation, most have moved to marginalized and less fertile areas or to the burgeoning cities, while others become dependent on the informal sector to survive.
One wonders how we can ever achieve sustainable development when the debt crisis has not been eased and when the government continues to swallow IMF/World Bank conditionalities hook, line and sinker, when women and children continue to bear the brunt of these harsh polices, and when such policies continue to wreak havoc on our environment.
Conclusion:-
The sustainability of economic and social development in Ghana depends to a large extent on its resource base, more so when economic growth has been based on the use of renewable and non-renewable natural resources like forests, soil and water. Clearly, the pressure on these natural systems is enormous. Unfortunately, past attempts to address the environmental problems have been largely on an ad hoc basis. There is a need for a rethinking of our natural development efforts along more sustainable lines.
The government of Ghana, through the NEAP, has stated its commitment to environmental protection and sustainable development. While not all promises have been realized, Ghana's efforts have been more than lip service. With the passage of time, efforts have gone beyond words into strengthening institutions, developing human resources, research capacity and methodology, thus improving popular participation and balancing access to and distribution of resources.
Already the NEAP is helping to facilitate national strategies and networking in the field of sustainable development. These considerable efforts must be intensified since environmental protection is a recurring challenge requiring constant vigilance and periodic revision. Perhaps what is needed most is a sustained and consistently orchestrated campaign by the mass media in Ghana to instill a commitment in the public to halt the alarming rate of environmental degradation and to develop new strategies for sustainable living.
Incentives and deterrents should also be provided to complement the legal texts already in force in the environmental field to give greater weight to the policy of environmental protection. Land and forest laws in particular need to become more rational, both from a scientific and social perspective, to encourage people's involvement and ecological regeneration.

Hacia el desarrollo sostenible en Ghana
Automatically translated into Spanish thanks to WorldLingo
HACIA el DESARROLLO SOSTENIBLE EN GHANA
cerca: Email de Davis Opoku Ansah (activista joven
): Teléfono
de Nanapoku_2@yahoo.com: +233 244 861593

por todo el mundo, la gente y las naciones están comenzando a realizar que las trayectorias destructivas actuales del desarrollo son claramente insostenibles, y que ahora hay una necesidad de preservar la integridad y la base del ambiente ambas del recurso natural para las generaciones presentes y futuras. Ghana no se ha salido hacia fuera en esta línea del pensamiento, por lo tanto la adopción del plan de acción ambiental nacional (NEAP), que proporciona un marco coherente para las intervenciones juzgadas necesarias para salvaguardar el ambiente y para volver a dirigir esfuerzos del desarrollo en más ambientalmente programas y prácticas sostenibles.
Antecedentes: -
Ghana se dota con los recursos naturales abundantes que contribuyeron indudablemente inmenso a la industrialización del país después de independencia. Pero la extracción de estos recursos no ha estado sin problemas pues el cuidado no fue llevado el protector contra su agotamiento. De hecho, no se tomó ninguna acción gubernamental para tratar la aplicación la degradación ambiental en Ghana hasta la participación del país en la conferencia de Naciones Unidas sobre el ambiente humano en Estocolmo en junio de 1972.
Ghana tiene desde sido enterado de la enormidad de sus problemas ambientales, y en 1974 el gobierno estableció a consejo de la protección del medio ambiente (EPC). Una mirada crítica en el EPC durante este período revelaría que su acercamiento a trabajar era algo ad hoc y los problemas ambientales fueron abordados mientras que se presentaron. Ningún plan comprensivo existió para identificar problemas ambientales y para proporcionar soluciones, ni había maquinaria para crear el sentido ambiental entre Ghanaians. Los problemas ambientales serios tales como tala de árboles, degradación del suelo y contaminación industrial persistieron. El GDP cayó en un índice medio de 1.3% por año, y la población creció rápidamente.
Hecho frente con la realidad rígida de una economía que declinaba rápida, el gobierno ghanés en 1983 lanzó su programa de la recuperación económica (ERP). Este programa de las reformas de la política económica, calculado para poner la economía ghanesa en una trayectoria positiva del crecimiento, fue dado la ayuda financiera y técnica por el banco mundial y el FMI. Los componentes de los esfuerzos de la reforma incluyeron la creación de un ambiente que permitía para la inversión extranjera y doméstica, y la liberalización del crédito y de los arreglos monetarios.
Un objetivo de la llave del ERP era la mejora de la actuación económica de Ghana por agricultura de la revitalización, silvicultura, la explotación minera y la industria fabril. Mientras que esto condujo al desarrollo económico positivo, era crecimiento en un alto precio ambiental: 41.7 mil millones cedis estimados, el 4% del GDP, o US$128.3 millón en 1988 solos.
Chereponi un districto de la región norteña de Ghana tiene una población estimada de cerca de 3.000 con la juventud que constituye el 60% (EC 2004). Chereponi tiene una vegetación de la tierra de la hierba de la sabana con el algodón, mijo, soghum y el maíz como su producto principal de la agricultura, su fuente de la renta principal en sostener sus sustentos es el cultivar campesino. En 2000 el chereponi era los productores principales del algodón en Ghana, en 2004 conserva más adelante otra vez a productor principal del algodón y todavía ha llevado a cabo ese prestigio.
Problemas ambientales resultando del ERP: -
La agricultura impuso el coste ambiental más grande de la degradación, en 69% o 28.8 mil millones cedis (US$88.5 millón). Estos costes fueron reflejados en la erosión del viento y del agua, la compactación de suelo, formar una costra superficial del suelo y la pérdida de estabilidad y de fertilidad del suelo, no olvidándose del uso indistinto de fertilizantes y de pesticidas. Mientras que estas prácticas agrícolas insostenibles tenían efectos nocivos en el ambiente, también intensificaron las condiciones vivas pobres de una mayoría de Ghanaians.
Los bosques de Ghana también sufrieron del ERP. Los bosques cubren el 34% del país y contienen 2100 especies de la planta y muchos animales raros. Un 95% que sorprendía del bosque alto de Ghana se ha registrado ya, y el solamente 1% de qué se deja mentiras dentro de áreas protegidas tales como santuarios de la fauna, reservas del juego y arboledas sagradas.
Como en agricultura, el ERP condujo a una recuperación en la explotación de los recursos del bosque, particularmente de la madera. Enmadere las ganancias crecientes a partir del 5.9% en 1986 a 13.2% de 1990. Pero el coste de oportunidad de este progreso impresionante era excesivamente alto, estimado en 10.8 mil millones cedis, o US$33.4 millón. Este agotamiento continuado del bosque dio lugar a la degradación de la tierra, a la biodiversidad que disminuía, a la desertificación, y a contraerse del fregadero natural para el bióxido de carbono, un gas del invernadero.
El sector que minaba también fue rehabilitado pesadamente durante el ERP. Saque el polvo, dióxido de sulfuro y el trióxido del arsénico es los impactos minar-relacionados principales en calidad del aire en áreas que minan. Los metales tales como arsénico y mercurio se han descargado en sistemas del río, y la deterioración de la calidad del agua ha afectado los organismos acuáticos residentes. Los niveles del arsénico y del cianuro descargados en el agua; cuál también sirve como fuente del agua potable para los residentes locales; eran más alto que ésos recomendados por la Organización Mundial de la Salud. La explotación minera incontrolada también se fue en su tierra estéril del rastro.
Dado este empeoramiento de los problemas ambientales de Ghana como consecuencia de la industrialización rápida, en marzo de 1988 el gobierno constituyó a grupo de expertos. Los cargó con el repaso de las políticas existentes relacionadas con la protección del medio ambiente, y con proponer una estrategia para tratar las cuestiones claves de la tala de árboles, gerencia de la tierra, silvicultura y fauna, gerencia del agua, los ecosistemas marinas y costeros, explotación minera, las industrias fabriles y los productos químicos peligrosos, los establecimientos humanos, las ediciones legales e institucionales, educación ambiental y los sistemas de datos ambientales.
La política ambiental nacional (NEAP) entonces fue adoptada para proporcionar el amplio marco para la puesta en práctica del plan de acción y para asegurar la gerencia sana de recursos sobre un período de diez años, a partir de 1991-2000. El NEAP endosa un acercamiento preventivo a la gerencia ambiental y acentúa una necesidad de promover el desarrollo socioeconómico dentro del contexto de estándares ambientales aceptables. Intenta de hecho reconciliar el planeamiento económico y el desarrollo de recurso ambiental con vistas a la realización del desarrollo nacional sostenible.
Chereponi que es un districto pulsado pobreza con él los granjeros campesinos de los habitantes principalmente durante este período explotó la vegetación puesto que no había medios de sostener sus sustentos y también debido al analfabetismo y a la ignorancia.
Logros del NEAP hasta ahora: -
El consejo de la protección del medio ambiente (EPC) es la institución del gobierno que aconseja y coordina todas las ediciones ambiente-relacionadas en el país. Es el cuerpo coordinating total para el NEAP, con los montajes del districto desempeñando los papeles dominantes.
La adopción del sistema del NEAP en el movimiento algunos cambios estructurales y de organización. Aunque el EPC realizó su papel creditably durante sus 20 años de la existencia, el consejo no era tan eficaz como debe haber sido porque careció la energía de hacer cumplir sus decisiones. En 1994, fue substituido por la agencia de protección del medio ambiente (EPA), que recibió el forro y la aplicación políticos necesarios.
Otros mandatos de EPA incluyen publicar permisos ambientales, la petición de los gravámenes de las consecuencias para el medio ambiente para los programas de desarrollo, el abastecimiento de la información en el ambiente, y servir avisos de la aplicación. El EPA también publica guías y proporciona el entrenamiento en procedimientos en estas materias.
Un nuevo ministerio del ambiente, de la ciencia y de la tecnología también se ha creado y se carga con la formulación de la política. El ministerio publica de vez en cuando directorios de la política al EPA.
Los pesticidas controlan
programa de A para controlar los pesticidas también se han puesto en lugar. Los estándares de Ghana suben, que es responsable del control de calidad del producto, monitores la calidad de todos los pesticidas que se utilizarán en Ghana, mientras que el ministerio de la agricultura proporciona el entrenamiento para las comunidades agrícolas en el uso seguro y eficaz de pesticidas.
El programa de control interdepartamental del pesticida compuso del EPA, el ministerio de la agricultura, los estándares de Ghana suben y la escuela médica de Ghana fue instalada por el gobierno con el EPA como cuerpo coordinating. Las legislaciones para controlar la importación, la distribución, la venta y el uso de pesticidas y de otros productos químicos tóxicos se han bosquejado y se han puesto ante el parlamento. Esto es loable porque sobre los años la importación, la fabricación, la distribución y la dirección y el uso de productos químicos potencialmente tóxicos en Ghana se ha encendido sin la consideración de las consecuencias ambientales e incluso las cantidades y los tipos de productos químicos en el país no se saben completamente.
Agro-Silvicultura: -
la Agro-silvicultura se está popularizando cada vez más como la mejor opción para emprender la producción del alimento y del animal sin dañar la cubierta del árbol de la tierra; la fertilidad de suelo también se mantiene. Han establecido una escuela de la silvicultura y a un instituto de recursos naturales reanudables para ofrecer cursos en este campo.
Legislación: -
La penuria de legislación ambiental en Ghana es quizás uno de los problemas más grandes que militan contra tentativas en la protección del medio ambiente y el desarrollo sostenible. Es evidente que el cuerpo de la legislación existente sobre los varios aspectos del ambiente es inadecuado y la mayoría de las provisiones no tienen ningún directo concerniente realidades actuales o en las aspiraciones de la gente de este país. Por ejemplo, no hay utilización del suelo o política de gerencia coordinada y comprensiva. El composición de esto es la multiplicidad de agencias responsables de varios aspectos de la gerencia de la tierra. Hasta ahora, uno puede contar cerca de 20 tales agencias. Estos problemas críticos en la gerencia ambiental pueden deteriorar seriamente cualquier esfuerzo de tratar los problemas ambientales de Ghana. Los pocos leyes existentes sobre el ambiente datan de la era colonial y debido a su naturaleza regla-orientada, abusos sea común. Ghana continúa utilizando los leyes británicos, algunos de los cuales han destruido los sistemas tradicionales de la gerencia de la aldea. En algunas áreas, la tierra, el agua y los bosques son poseídos por el gobierno. Consecuentemente, las comunidades de la aldea han perdido todo el interés en el manejo o la protección de ellos. Una vez que los aldeanos realicen el objetivo principal de la gerencia del gobierno es resolver urbano y las necesidades industriales internacionales, su motivación cambian de puesto de la conservación a explotar recursos tan completamente como sea posible. Un ejemplo se ilustra en un artículo reciente en los tiempos ghaneses, que divulgaron la historia de Nana Ameyaw Gyensiamah III, jefe de Kwahu Tafo. El jefe está abrogando al ministerio de tierras y de la silvicultura para lanzar la reserva cuadrada del bosque de la milla 30 en Kwahu (una ciudad en la región del este de Ghana) a la gente para la protección contra la tala ilegal de árboles y de fuegos del arbusto; la reserva había sido dada vuelta en un prado debido a la negligencia por el departamento. Ninguna aldea puede funcionar claramente dentro de un marco jurídico que evite que tome cuidado de su ambiente de la aldea. Varios leyes tendrán que ser cambiados a la gente de la elasticidad la derecha de mejorar y de desarrollar la base del recurso natural de su aldea. La eficacia de cualquier medida del planeamiento o de la conservación en mayores partes del país es obstaculizada a menudo por los problemas de la adquisición de la tierra. En la mayoría de los casos, los límites de la propiedad no se documentan y no se colocan claramente, y juntado con la ausencia de los datos adecuados para el planeamiento del local y de la granja, lograr utilización del suelo óptima puede ser un espejismo, a menudo dando por resultado la falta de aprovechamiento o el uso erróneo de la tierra. En este estado confuso, la degradación de la tierra se convierte en la orden del día en mayores partes de Ghana. La cooperación internacional la puesta en práctica de los programas de desarrollo sostenibles en países como Ghana requiere inversiones y el acceso importantes a las tecnologías que respetan el ambiente; solamente en esta poder de la manera los países en vías de desarrollo evitan de tener que elegir entre el desarrollo económico y la conservación ambiental. La cooperación internacional es imprescindible permitir los países pobres y de renta media para asegurar el desarrollo sostenible y a participar en la protección del equilibrio ecológico global de la tierra. En el nivel internacional, el EPA ha organizado o ha participado activamente en un número de seminarios y de talleres. Por ejemplo, el EPA facilitó la ratificación de la convención sobre biodiversidad y de la convención del cambio del clima por Ghana. La preparación de la documentación necesaria para la ratificación de la convención para combatir la desertificación y de la convención sobre el estado de preparación y la respuesta de la contaminación por petróleo también se ha terminado.
NGOs: -
El desarrollo sostenible no es exclusivamente un asunto del gobierno sino es una cuestión para la sociedad en su totalidad. Ghanaians se debe movilizar para continuar y para amplificar acciones del gobierno a favor del desarrollo sostenible. Los esfuerzos de alcanzar el desarrollo sostenible no pueden tener éxito si el EPA no mantiene sociedad activa con todos los segmentos de la sociedad. Sobre 100 NGOs ambientales sea activo en Ghana. Algunos han estado en la existencia por más de 20 años y tienen amplia experiencia del ambiente natural y de actividades para promoverlo y para proteger.
El EPA hace uso las habilidades reconocidas de NGOs implicándolos en la preparación de la política. El EPA ha estado sacando su cooperación implicándolos en la preparación y la toma de decisión de la política con respecto al ambiente. En junio de 1991, por ejemplo, un taller nacional fue organizado en Sunyani en la región de Brong Ahafo de Ghana para más de 20 NGOs ambientales en el plan de acción del ambiente.
Educación y conocimiento ambientales: -
Como resultado de los esfuerzos del gobierno de hacer las ediciones ambientales una prioridad, una estrategia ambiental de la educación fue adoptada. Apunta asegurarse de que todas las secciones de la población entienden cómo el ambiente trabaja y qué oportunidades y problemas presenta. Esta estrategia cubre los sectores educativos formales e informales, y era un esfuerzo cooperativo desarrollado con la entrada de los medios, de las divisiones no-formales del ministerio de la educación, del servicio de la educación de Ghana, de los NGOs y del consejo nacional sobre mujeres y el desarrollo.
Un objetivo de la llave de la educación ambiental es levantar el nivel de la conciencia pública en ediciones ambientales a un punto donde los individuos, los grupos y las organizaciones pueden asumir completamente sus responsabilidades en salvaguardar el ambiente, particularmente en los pueblos llano.
La educación ambiental todavía no se ha integrado completamente en el sistema educativo del país. Si las medidas no se toman para tratar este problema inmediatamente, mismo la puntería del NEAP será derrotada. Es también importante que dar la educación no-formal la atención para todo el los que no atiendan a la escuela; comerciantes, granjeros, juventud parada; alcáncese. Los métodos alternativos tales como compañías del drama, furgonetas del cine, líderes de opinión y jefes locales se pueden movilizar para alcanzar a esta comunidad en sus propios dialectos locales.
En el sector formal, la educación ambiental se puede enseñar junto a temas existentes y los asuntos podrían relacionarse más de cerca al ambiente de las comunidades dentro de quienes las escuelas están situadas. La población que sabe leer y escribir puede también ser alcanzada a través de los periódicos, compartimientos y periódicos, así como radio y la televisión.
Hay una carencia notable de la información científica y de un nivel de forma preocupante bajo de la conciencia pública sobre muchos aspectos del ambiente en Ghana.
Además de la educación, este boquete de la ignorancia se puede llenar parcialmente por una divulgación ambiental activa, que no sólo aumenta conocimiento, pero también establece una participación informada y activa de parte del individuo.
Los oficiales del gobierno deben ver a los pocos periódicos ambientales y periodistas ambientales en el país como socios en el desarrollo, y las críticas publicadas en estos periódicos se deben tomar de buena fé y constructivo.
Pero éste no es el caso. El periódico del triunfo, un semanario privado poseído, investigado y publicado una historia sobre la importación y el entierro ilegales del material de desecho tóxico en el país por un nacional libanés. El cuarto parlamento republicano de Ghana instituyó a comité independiente para investigar la autenticidad de la historia, y para encontrar que la importación ilegal contuvo las altas concentraciones del plomo y del mercurio, que podrían ser dañosas a la salud humana. No obstante, no se tomó ninguna acción punitiva contra los autores de este crimen atroz; la basura tóxica no exhumed, a pesar del informe de la comisión parlamentaria.
Las investigaciones conducidas por el triunfo en una fábrica del producto del asbesto indicaron que la fábrica había estado contaminando el aire con los humos carcinógenos del asbesto. Despite persistent calls by The Triumph for a relocation of the factory or its closure, the country's environment officials ignored the request and turned a deaf ear. Yet the factory is located in a densely populated area. This official insensitivity to environmental news reporting is rather discouraging and undermines the country's attempts at sustainable development.
Poverty:-
Poverty is a major setback to environmental protection and sustainable development in Ghana and chereponi is no exception. This is because majorities of the people, particularly in rural areas, are poor. For them, where to get the next meal is much more important than any problem of desertification or wildlife depletion. The government must embark on serious poverty alleviation efforts, not only to raise the living standards of the people, but also to prevent them from unleashing their anger on the forests and other natural resources in their desperate bid to keep bone and flesh together.
Income-generating activities, revenue sharing or alternative employment opportunities can be initiated by the government on the principle that by providing other sources of income, the economic incentive to utilize wildlife illegally will be removed. These opportunities could include jobs as wardens, rangers, guides, labourers, or administrative staff. Revenue-sharing activities could mean the distribution of both cash and kind derived from tourist entrance fees. This approach would not only improve local income and living standards, but also curb the illegal use of wildlife and remove pressure from protected areas.
The cuttings of forests in search of cheap firewood and energy, the grazing of marginal lands, the drift to the towns, all are problems caused by poverty. At the same time, the debt crisis facing Ghana and many developing countries today dramatically affects commodity prices and increases the outflow of resources from the less developed countries.
Also, one cannot forget the impact of structural adjustment policies on a country like Ghana. These policies have forced the government to cut down on social services, cut back the labour force (bread winners of families in most cases), and remove subsidies on medical care.
The World Bank's policy of structural adjustment as a condition for loans has stressed export crops to earn foreign exchange to pay off the mounting debt. This has certainly had a detrimental impact on many of the poor people in Ghana as most of them have been pushed off land needed for export crops. In desperation, most have moved to marginalized and less fertile areas or to the burgeoning cities, while others become dependent on the informal sector to survive.
One wonders how we can ever achieve sustainable development when the debt crisis has not been eased and when the government continues to swallow IMF/World Bank conditionalities hook, line and sinker, when women and children continue to bear the brunt of these harsh polices, and when such policies continue to wreak havoc on our environment.
Conclusion:-
The sustainability of economic and social development in Ghana depends to a large extent on its resource base, more so when economic growth has been based on the use of renewable and non-renewable natural resources like forests, soil and water. Clearly, the pressure on these natural systems is enormous. Unfortunately, past attempts to address the environmental problems have been largely on an ad hoc basis. There is a need for a rethinking of our natural development efforts along more sustainable lines.
The government of Ghana, through the NEAP, has stated its commitment to environmental protection and sustainable development. While not all promises have been realized, Ghana's efforts have been more than lip service. With the passage of time, efforts have gone beyond words into strengthening institutions, developing human resources, research capacity and methodology, thus improving popular participation and balancing access to and distribution of resources.
Already the NEAP is helping to facilitate national strategies and networking in the field of sustainable development. These considerable efforts must be intensified since environmental protection is a recurring challenge requiring constant vigilance and periodic revision. Perhaps what is needed most is a sustained and consistently orchestrated campaign by the mass media in Ghana to instill a commitment in the public to halt the alarming rate of environmental degradation and to develop new strategies for sustainable living.
Incentives and deterrents should also be provided to complement the legal texts already in force in the environmental field to give greater weight to the policy of environmental protection. Land and forest laws in particular need to become more rational, both from a scientific and social perspective, to encourage people's involvement and ecological regeneration.

Verso sviluppo sostenibile nel Ghana
Automatically translated into Italian thanks to WorldLingo
VERSO SVILUPPO SOSTENIBILE nel GHANA
vicino: Email del Davis Opoku Ansah (attivista giovane
): Telefono
di Nanapoku_2@yahoo.com: +233 244 861593

dappertutto, la gente e le nazioni stanno cominciando a rendersi conto che i percorsi distruttivi correnti di sviluppo sono chiaramente insostenibili e che ci ora è una necessità di conservare l'integrità e la base dell'ambiente entrambe delle risorse naturali per le generazioni presenti e future. Il Ghana non è stato lasciato fuori in questa linea di pensare, quindi nell'approvazione del piano d'azione ambientale nazionale (NEAP), che fornisce una struttura coerente per gli interventi ritenuti necessari per salvaguardare l'ambiente e per riorientare gli sforzi di sviluppo più in condizioni ambientali nei programmi e nelle pratiche sostenibili.
Priorità bassa: -
Il Ghana è dotato di risorse naturali abbondanti che hanno contribuito indubbiamente immenso all'industrializzazione del paese dopo indipendenza. Ma l'estrazione di queste risorse non è stata senza problemi poichè la cura non è stata presa al difend dal loro svuotamento. Infatti, nessun'azione governativa è stata intrapresa per richiamare l'emissione di degradazione ambientale nel Ghana fino alla partecipazione del paese al congresso delle Nazioni Unite sull'ambiente umano a Stoccolma nel giugno 1972.
Il Ghana ha da allora diventare cosciente dell'enormità dei relativi problemi ambientali e in 1974 il governo ha stabilito il Consiglio di protezione dell'ambiente (EPC). Uno sguardo critico al EPC durante questo periodo rivelerebbe che il relativo metodo da funzionare era piuttosto ad-hoc ed i problemi ambientali sono stati affrontati mentre hanno presentato. Nessun programma completo ha esistito per identificare i problemi ambientali e per fornire le soluzioni, né era ci macchinario per generare la coscienza ambientale fra Ghanaians. I problemi ambientali serii quali disboscamento, degradazione del terreno ed inquinamento industriale hanno persisto. Il P.I.L. è caduto ad un tasso medio di 1.3% all'anno e la popolazione si è sviluppata velocemente.
Affrontato alla realtà rigida di un'economia declinante veloce, il governo del Ghana in 1983 ha lanciato il relativo programma di miglioramento della situazione economica (ERP). Questo programma delle riforme di politica economica, calcolato per mettere l'economia del Ghana su un percorso positivo di sviluppo, è stato dato il supporto finanziario e tecnico dalla banca del mondo e dal FMI (fondo monetario internazionale). I componenti degli sforzi di riforma hanno incluso la creazione di un ambiente permettente per l'investimento straniero e domestico e la liberalizzazione di accreditamento e delle disposizioni monetarie.
Un obiettivo di chiave del ERP era il miglioramento del risultato economico del Ghana dall'agricoltura di ravvivamento, dalla silvicoltura, dall'estrazione mineraria e dall'industria manufatturiera. Mentre questo ha condotto a sviluppo economico positivo, era sviluppo ad un prezzo ambientale elevato: 41.7 miliardo cedis valutati, 4% del P.I.L., o US$128.3 milione in 1988 soli.
Chereponi un distretto della regione nordica del Ghana ha una popolazione valutata di circa 3.000 con la gioventù che costituisce 60% (EC 2004). Chereponi ha una vegetazione della terra dell'erba della savanna con cotone, miglio, soghum ed il mais come loro prodotti principali di agricoltura, la loro fonte di reddito principale nel sostenimento delle loro vite è l'agricoltura agricola. In 2000 il chereponi era i produttori principali di cotone nel Ghana, più successivamente in 2004 mantiene ancora il produttore principale di cotone ed ancora ha tenuto quel prestigio.
Problemi ambientali derivando dal ERP: -
L'agricoltura ha imposto il costo di degradazione ambientale più grande, a 69% o 28.8 miliardo cedis (US$88.5 milione). Questi costi sono stati riflessi nell'erosione dell'acqua e del vento, nel consolidamento di terreno, crusting di superficie del terreno e nella perdita di stabilità e di fertilità del terreno, non dimenticanti l'uso indiscriminato dei fertilizzanti e degli antiparassitari. Mentre queste pratiche agricole insostenibili hanno avute effetti contrari sull'ambiente, inoltre hanno intensificato i poveri stati di vita di una maggioranza di Ghanaians.
Le foreste del Ghana inoltre hanno sofferto dal ERP. Le foreste coprono 34% del paese e contengono 2100 specie della pianta e molti animali rari. Un 95% di stupore del bosco del Ghana già è stato annotato e soltanto 1% di ciò che resta si trova all'interno delle zone protette quali i santuari della fauna selvatica, le riserve del gioco ed i boschetti sacred.
Come nell'agricoltura, il ERP ha condotto ad un recupero nello sfruttamento delle risorse della foresta, specialmente di legname. Rafforzi i guadagni con legname aumentati da 5.9% in 1986 - 13.2% di 1990. Ma il costo di occasione di questo progresso impressionante era eccessivamente alto, valutato a 10.8 miliardo cedis, o a US$33.4 milione. Questo svuotamento continuato della foresta ha provocato la degradazione della terra, il biodiversity di diminuzione, la desertificazione ed il restringimento del dispersore naturale per l'anidride carbonica, un gas della serra.
Il settore estraente inoltre è stato riabilitato pesante durante il ERP. Impolveri, anidride solforosa ed il triossido dell'arsenico è gli effetti estrar-relativi principali su qualità dell'aria nelle zone estraenti. I metalli quali arsenico e mercurio sono stati scaricati nei sistemi del fiume ed il deterioramento di qualità dell'acqua ha interessato gli organismi acquatici residenti. I livelli di arsenico e di cianuro scaricati nell'acqua; quale inoltre serve da fonte di acqua potabile per i residenti locali; erano superiore a quelli suggeriti dall'Organizzazione Mondiale della Sanità. L'estrazione mineraria incontrollata inoltre ha lasciato nel relativo terreno incolto sterile della traccia.
Dato questo peggioramento dei problemi ambientali del Ghana come conseguenza dell'industrializzazione veloce, nel marzo 1988 il governo ha costituito un gruppo degli esperti. Li ha caricati della riesaminazione delle politiche attuali relative a protezione dell'ambiente e della proposta della strategia per richiamare i punti chiave di disboscamento, amministrazione della terra, silvicoltura e fauna selvatica, di gestione delle acque, ecosistemi marini e litoranei, estrazione mineraria, industrie manufatturiere e prodotti chimici pericolosi, stabilimenti umani, edizioni legali ed istituzionali, formazione ambientale e sistemi di dati ambientali.
La politica ambientale nazionale (NEAP) allora è stata adottata per fornire la vasta struttura per l'esecuzione del piano d'azione e per accertare l'amministrazione sana delle risorse su un periodo di dieci anni, da 1991-2000. Il NEAP firma un metodo preventivo all'amministrazione ambientale e dà risalto ad una necessità di promuovere lo sviluppo socioeconomico all'interno del contesto dei campioni ambientali accettabili. Effettivamente cerca di riconciliare la progettazione economica e lo sviluppo delle risorse ambientale in vista del realizzare lo sviluppo nazionale sostenibile.
Chereponi che è un distretto impressionante povertà con esso coltivatori agricoli degli abitanti pricipalmente durante questo periodo ha sfruttato la vegetazione poiché non ci erano mezzi per sostenere le loro vite ed anche dovuto l'analfabetismo e l'ignoranza.
Successi di NEAP finora: -
Il Consiglio di protezione dell'ambiente (EPC) è l'istituzione di governo che raccomanda e coordina tutte le edizioni ambiente-relative nel paese. È il corpo coordinating generale per il NEAP, con i complessivi del distretto che svolgono i ruoli chiave.
L'approvazione dell'insieme di NEAP in movimento alcuni cambiamenti strutturali ed organizzativi. Benchè il EPC effettui il relativo ruolo creditably durante i relativi 20 anni dell'esistenza, il consiglio non era efficace come dovrebbe essere perché difettava dell'alimentazione fare rispettare le relative decisioni. In 1994, è stato sostituito dall'ente per la salvaguardia dell'ambiente (EPA), che ha ricevuto la protezione e l'applicazione politiche necessarie.
Altri mandati di EPA includono la pubblicazione dei permessi ambientali, la richiesta delle valutazioni di impatto ambientale per i programmi di sviluppo, fornire le informazioni sull'ambiente e notificare le diffide di applicazione. Il EPA inoltre pubblica le guide e fornisce l'addestramento nelle procedure su questi argomenti.
Un nuovo Ministero dell'ambiente, della scienza e della tecnologia inoltre è stato generato ed è caricato della formulazione di politica. Il ministero pubblica occasionalmente gli indirizzamenti di politica al EPA.
Gli antiparassitari controllano
il programma di A per controllare gli antiparassitari inoltre è stato messo sul posto. Il bordo di campioni del Ghana, che è responsabile di controllo di qualità del prodotto, controlla la qualità di tutti gli antiparassitari da usare nel Ghana, mentre il Ministero dell'agricoltura fornisce l'addestramento per le comuni agricole sull'applicazione sicuro ed efficace degli antiparassitari.
Il programma di controllo interdipartimentale dell'antiparassitario ha composto del EPA, Ministero dell'agricoltura, il bordo di campioni del Ghana e la scuola medica del Ghana è stata installata dal governo con il EPA come corpo coordinating. Le legislazioni per controllare l'importazione, la distribuzione, la vendita e l'uso degli antiparassitari e di altri prodotti chimici tossici è stata disegnata e disposto stata all'esame del Parlamento. Ciò è lodabile perché nel corso degli anni l'importazione, la fabbricazione, la distribuzione ed il maneggiamento e l'uso di prodotti chimici potenzialmente tossici nel Ghana ha acceso senza considerare le conseguenze ambientali e perfino le quantità ed i tipi di prodotti chimici nel paese completamente non sono conosciuti.
Agro-Silvicoltura: -
la Agro-silvicoltura sempre più sta diffondendosi come l'opzione migliore per intraprendere la produzione dell'animale e dell'alimento senza nuoc la copertura dell'albero della terra; la fertilità di terreno inoltre è effettuata. Una scuola di silvicoltura e un istituto delle risorse naturali rinnovabili sono stati stabiliti per offrire i corsi in questo campo.
Legislazione: -
La penuria di legislazione ambientale nel Ghana è forse uno dei problemi più grandi che militano contro i tentativi di protezione dell'ambiente e sviluppo sostenibile. È evidente che il corpo di legislazione attuale sulle varie funzioni dell'ambiente è inadeguato e la maggior parte delle disposizioni non hanno diretto riguardante le realtà attuali o sulle aspirazioni della gente di questo paese. Per esempio, non ci è utilizzazione delle terre o la politica di amministrazione coordinata e completa. Il composto del questo è la molteplicità di agenzie responsabili per varie funzioni dell'amministrazione della terra. Finora, uno può contare circa 20 tali agenzie. Questi problemi critici nell'amministrazione ambientale possono alterare seriamente tutti gli sforzi richiamare i problemi ambientali del Ghana. Le poche leggi attuali sull'ambiente resalgono ad era coloniale e dovuto la loro natura regola-orientata, abusi sia comune. Il Ghana continua ad usare le leggi britanniche, alcuni di cui hanno distrutto i sistemi tradizionali dell'amministrazione del villaggio. In alcune zone, la terra, l'acqua e le foreste sono possedute dal governo. Di conseguenza, le Comunità del villaggio hanno perso tutto l'interesse nel controllo o nella protezione loro. Una volta che i villagers realizzano l'obiettivo principale dell'amministrazione di governo è venire a contatto di urbano ed i bisogni industriali internazionali, la loro motivazione sposta dalla conservazione a sfruttare le risorse completamente come possibile. Un esempio calzante è illustrato in un articolo recente nei tempi del Ghana, che hanno segnalato la storia di Nana Ameyaw Gyensiamah III, capo di Kwahu Tafo. Il capo sta facendo appello al Ministero delle terre e della silvicoltura per liberare la riserva quadrata della foresta di miglio 30 a Kwahu (una città nella regione orientale del Ghana) alla gente per protezione contro l'abbattimento illegale degli alberi e dei fuochi del cespuglio; la riserva era stata trasformata in un pascolo dovuto negligenza dal reparto. Nessun villaggio può funzionare chiaramente all'interno di un quadro giuridico che lo impedisce la presa della cura del relativo ambiente del villaggio. Parecchie leggi dovranno essere cambiate alla gente di give la destra migliorare e sviluppare la base delle risorse naturali del loro villaggio. L'efficacia di tutte le misure di conservazione o di progettazione nelle maggiori parte del paese è impedita spesso dai problemi di aquisizione della terra. Nella maggior parte dei casi, i contorni di proprietà chiaramente non sono documentati e non registrati ed accoppiato con l'assenza dei dati sufficienti per la pianificazione dell'azienda agricola e del local, raggiungere l'utilizzazione delle terre ottimale può essere un mirage, spesso con conseguente sottoutilizzazione o abuso di terra. In questo confuso dichiari, degradazione della terra si trasforma in nell'ordine del giorno nelle maggiori parte del Ghana. La cooperazione internazionale l'esecuzione dei programmi di sviluppo sostenibili in paesi come il Ghana richiede gli investimenti e l'accesso principali alle tecnologie che rispettano l'ambiente; soltanto in questo modo i p#si in via di sviluppo della latta evitano di devono scegliere fra sviluppo economico e conservazione ambientale. La cooperazione internazionale è indispensabile permettere gli scarsi e paesi a reddito medio per accertare lo sviluppo sostenibile e da partecipare a proteggere l'equilibrio ecologico globale della terra. Al livello internazionale, il EPA ha organizzato o partecipato attivamente ad un certo numero di ad seminari e di gruppi di lavoro. Per esempio, il EPA ha facilitato la ratifica della convenzione su biodiversity e della convenzione del cambiamento di clima dal Ghana. La preparazione della documentazione necessaria per la ratifica della convenzione per combattere la desertificazione e della convenzione sulla preparazione e sulla risposta di inquinamento di olio inoltre è stata completata.
NGOs: -
Lo sviluppo sostenibile non è esclusivamente un affare di governo ma è un aspetto per la società nell'insieme. Ghanaians deve essere mobilitato per continuare ed amplificare le azioni di governo per sviluppo sostenibile. Gli sforzi realizzare lo sviluppo sostenibile non possono riuscire se il EPA non effettua l'associazione attiva con tutti i segmenti della società. Oltre 100 NGOs ambientali sia attivo nel Ghana. Alcuni hanno avuti luogo in atto per oltre 20 anni ed hanno vasta esperienza nell'ambiente naturale e nelle attività per promuoverli e proteggere.
Il EPA usa le abilità riconosciute dei NGOs coinvolgendoli nella preparazione di politica. Il EPA sta traendo la loro cooperazione fuori coinvolgendoli nella preparazione e nella risoluzione di politica per quanto riguarda l'ambiente. Nel giugno 1991, per esempio, un seminario nazionale è stato organizzato in Sunyani nella regione di Brong Ahafo del Ghana per oltre 20 NGOs ambientali sul piano d'azione dell'ambiente.
Formazione e consapevolezza ambientali: -
Come conseguenza degli sforzi del governo rendere ad edizioni ambientali una priorità, una strategia ambientale di formazione è stata adottata. Mira a accertarsi che tutte le sezioni della popolazione capiscano come l'ambiente funziona e che occasioni e problemi presenta. Questa strategia riguarda sia i settori educativi convenzionali che informali ed era uno sforzo cooperativo sviluppato con input dai mezzi, dalle divisioni non-convenzionali del Ministero di formazione, dal servizio di formazione del Ghana, dai NGOs e dal Consiglio nazionale sulle donne e sullo sviluppo.
Un obiettivo di chiave di formazione ambientale è sollevare il livello di consapevolezza del pubblico sulle edizioni ambientali ad un punto in cui gli individui, i gruppi e le organizzazioni possono completamente assumere le loro responsabilità nel salvaguardare l'ambiente, specialmente ai grassroots a livello.
La formazione ambientale ancora completamente non è stata integrata nel sistema di istruzione del paese. Se le misure non sono prese per richiamare immediatamente questo problema, molto lo scopo del NEAP sarà sconfitto. È inoltre importante che prestare la formazione non-convenzionale attenzione in moda da tutto coloro che non assiste alla scuola; commercianti, coltivatori, gioventù disoccupata; sia raggiunto. I metodi alternativi quali i troupes di dramma, i furgoni del cinematografo, i leader d'opinione ed i capi locali possono essere mobilitati per raggiungere questa Comunità nei loro propri dialetti locali.
Nel settore convenzionale, la formazione ambientale può essere insegnata accanto agli oggetti attuali ed i soggetti potrebbero collegare più strettamente all'ambiente delle Comunità presso cui le scuole sono situate. La popolazione literate può anche essere raggiunta attraverso i giornali, scomparti e periodici, così come la radio e la televisione.
Ci è una mancanza notevole di informazione scientifica e di livello disturbingly basso di consapevolezza del pubblico circa molte funzioni dell'ambiente nel Ghana.
Oltre che formazione, questo spacco dell'ignoranza può essere colmato parzialmente da una segnalazione ambientale attiva, che non solo aumenta la consapevolezza, ma inoltre stabilisce una partecipazione informed ed attiva da parte dell'individuo.
I funzionari di governo dovrebbero vedere i pochi giornali ambientali e giornalisti ambientali nel paese come soci in via di sviluppo e le critiche pubblicate in questi giornali dovrebbero essere prese in buona fede e costruttivamente.
Ma questo non è il caso. Il giornale di trionfo, un settimanale privatamente posseduto, studiato e pubblicato una storia circa l'importazione e la sepoltura illegali di materiale riciclato tossico nel paese da un cittadino libanese. Il Parlamento repubblicano di quarto del Ghana ha istituito un comitato indipendente per studiare l'autenticità della storia e per trovare che l'importazione illegale ha contenuto le alte concentrazioni di cavo e di mercurio, in grado di essere nocivi a salute umana. Eppure, nessun'azione punitiva è stata intrapresa contro i perpetrators di questo crimine heinous; lo spreco tossico non exhumed, nonostante la relazione della commissione parlamentare.
Le indagini condotte dal trionfo in una fabbrica del prodotto dell'amianto hanno indicato che la fabbrica stava inquinando l'aria con i vapori cancerogeni dell'amianto. Despite persistent calls by The Triumph for a relocation of the factory or its closure, the country's environment officials ignored the request and turned a deaf ear. Yet the factory is located in a densely populated area. This official insensitivity to environmental news reporting is rather discouraging and undermines the country's attempts at sustainable development.
Poverty:-
Poverty is a major setback to environmental protection and sustainable development in Ghana and chereponi is no exception. This is because majorities of the people, particularly in rural areas, are poor. For them, where to get the next meal is much more important than any problem of desertification or wildlife depletion. The government must embark on serious poverty alleviation efforts, not only to raise the living standards of the people, but also to prevent them from unleashing their anger on the forests and other natural resources in their desperate bid to keep bone and flesh together.
Income-generating activities, revenue sharing or alternative employment opportunities can be initiated by the government on the principle that by providing other sources of income, the economic incentive to utilize wildlife illegally will be removed. These opportunities could include jobs as wardens, rangers, guides, labourers, or administrative staff. Revenue-sharing activities could mean the distribution of both cash and kind derived from tourist entrance fees. This approach would not only improve local income and living standards, but also curb the illegal use of wildlife and remove pressure from protected areas.
The cuttings of forests in search of cheap firewood and energy, the grazing of marginal lands, the drift to the towns, all are problems caused by poverty. At the same time, the debt crisis facing Ghana and many developing countries today dramatically affects commodity prices and increases the outflow of resources from the less developed countries.
Also, one cannot forget the impact of structural adjustment policies on a country like Ghana. These policies have forced the government to cut down on social services, cut back the labour force (bread winners of families in most cases), and remove subsidies on medical care.
The World Bank's policy of structural adjustment as a condition for loans has stressed export crops to earn foreign exchange to pay off the mounting debt. This has certainly had a detrimental impact on many of the poor people in Ghana as most of them have been pushed off land needed for export crops. In desperation, most have moved to marginalized and less fertile areas or to the burgeoning cities, while others become dependent on the informal sector to survive.
One wonders how we can ever achieve sustainable development when the debt crisis has not been eased and when the government continues to swallow IMF/World Bank conditionalities hook, line and sinker, when women and children continue to bear the brunt of these harsh polices, and when such policies continue to wreak havoc on our environment.
Conclusion:-
The sustainability of economic and social development in Ghana depends to a large extent on its resource base, more so when economic growth has been based on the use of renewable and non-renewable natural resources like forests, soil and water. Clearly, the pressure on these natural systems is enormous. Unfortunately, past attempts to address the environmental problems have been largely on an ad hoc basis. There is a need for a rethinking of our natural development efforts along more sustainable lines.
The government of Ghana, through the NEAP, has stated its commitment to environmental protection and sustainable development. While not all promises have been realized, Ghana's efforts have been more than lip service. With the passage of time, efforts have gone beyond words into strengthening institutions, developing human resources, research capacity and methodology, thus improving popular participation and balancing access to and distribution of resources.
Already the NEAP is helping to facilitate national strategies and networking in the field of sustainable development. These considerable efforts must be intensified since environmental protection is a recurring challenge requiring constant vigilance and periodic revision. Perhaps what is needed most is a sustained and consistently orchestrated campaign by the mass media in Ghana to instill a commitment in the public to halt the alarming rate of environmental degradation and to develop new strategies for sustainable living.
Incentives and deterrents should also be provided to complement the legal texts already in force in the environmental field to give greater weight to the policy of environmental protection. Land and forest laws in particular need to become more rational, both from a scientific and social perspective, to encourage people's involvement and ecological regeneration.

In Richtung zur stützbaren Entwicklung in Ghana
Automatically translated into German thanks to WorldLingo
IN RICHTUNG zur STÜTZBAREN ENTWICKLUNG IN GHANA
vorbei: Davis Opoku Ansah (junger Aktivist)
email: Nanapoku_2@yahoo.com
Telefon: +233 244 861593

auf der ganzen Erde, Leute und Nationen fangen an, festzustellen, daß gegenwärtige zerstörende Wege der Entwicklung offenbar unhaltbar sind und daß es jetzt eine Notwendigkeit gibt, die Vollständigkeit und die Naturresourceunterseite des Klimas beide für gegenwärtige und Erzeugungen zu konservieren. Ghana ist nicht heraus in dieser Linie des Denkens, folglich in der Annahme des nationalen Klimaaktionsplans (NEAP) verlassen worden, der einen zusammenhängenden Rahmen für die Interventionen gemeint notwendig, das Klima zu schützen und Entwicklung Bemühungen in stützbare Programme und in Praxis umweltsmäßig umzuadressieren zur Verfügung stellt.
Hintergrund: -
Ghana wird mit reichlich vorhandenen Naturresourcen ausgestattet, die ohne Zweifel unermeßlich zur Industrialisierung des Landes nach Unabhängigkeit beitrugen. Aber die Extraktion dieser Betriebsmittel ist nicht ohne Probleme gewesen, da dem Schutz gegen ihre Entleerung Obacht nicht angewendet wurde. Tatsächlich wurden keine Regierungsmaßnahmen ergriffen, um den Punkt der Klimaverminderung in Ghana bis die Teilnahme des Landes an der Nationen Konferenz auf dem menschlichen Klima in Stockholm im Juni 1972 anzusprechen.
Ghana hat, seit geworden bewußt der Ungeheuerlichkeit seiner Umweltprobleme, und in 1974 stellte die Regierung den Umweltschutz-Rat her (EPC). Ein kritischer Blick auf das EPC während dieser Periode würde aufdecken, daß seine Annäherung zum zu arbeiten ziemlich ad hoc war und Umweltprobleme angepackt wurden, während sie entstanden. Kein kompletter Plan bestand, um Umweltprobleme zu kennzeichnen und Lösungen zur Verfügung zu stellen, noch gab es die Maschinerie, zum des Klimabewußtseins unter Ghanaians zu verursachen. Ernste Umweltprobleme wie Abholzung, Bodenverminderung und industrielle Verunreinigung bestanden fort. GDP fiel mit einer durchschnittlichen Rate von 1.3% pro Jahr, und Bevölkerung wuchs schnell.
Gegenübergestellt worden mit der steifen Wirklichkeit einer schnellen abfallenden Wirtschaft, stieß die ghanaische Regierung in 1983 sein Wirtschaftsaufschwung-Programm aus (ERP). Dieses Programm der Wirtschaftspolitikverbesserungen, errechnet, um die ghanaische Wirtschaft auf einen positiven Wachstumweg zu setzen, wurde finanzielle und technische Unterstützung durch die Weltbank und den IWF gegeben. Die Bestandteile der Verbesserungbemühungen schlossen Kreation eines ermöglichenden Klimas für fremde und Investition im Inland und Liberalisierung der Gutschrift und der finanziellen Vorbereitungen ein.
Eine Schlüsselzielsetzung des ERP war die Verbesserung von Ghanas ökonomischer Leistung durch Wiederbelebenlandwirtschaft, Forstwirtschaft, Bergbau und die Fertigungsindustrie. Während dieses zu positives Wirtschaftswachstum führte, war es Wachstum zu einem hohen Klimapreis: geschätzte 41.7 Milliarde cedis, 4% von GDP oder US$128.3 Million in 1988 allein.
Chereponi ein Bezirk der Nordregion von Ghana hat eine geschätzte Bevölkerung von ungefähr 3.000 mit der Jugend, die 60% (EC 2004) festsetzt. Chereponi hat eine Savannegras-Landvegetation mit Baumwolle, Hirse, soghum und Mais als ihr Hauptlandwirtschaft Erzeugnis, ihre Haupteinkommensquelle, wenn er ihre Lebensunterhalt unterstützt, ist ländliches Bewirtschaften. 2000 war chereponi die führenden Produzenten von Baumwolle in Ghana, später wieder 2004 behält es den führenden Produzenten von Baumwolle und hat noch dieses Prestige gehalten.
Umweltprobleme, resultierend aus dem ERP: -
Landwirtschaft erlegte die größten Klimaverminderung Kosten, bei 69% oder 28.8 Milliarde cedis auf (US$88.5 Million). Diese Kosten wurden in der Wind- und Wasserabnutzung, in Bodenverdichtung, in Oberflächenbodenverkrusten und in Verlust der Bodenstabilität und -ergiebigkeit reflektiert und nicht vergaßen den unterschiedslosen Gebrauch der Düngemittel und der Schädlingsbekämpfungsmittel. Während diese unhaltbare landwirtschaftliche Praxis schädliche Wirkungen auf dem Klima hatte, verstärkten sie auch die schlechten lebenden Zustände einer Majorität von Ghanaians.
Wälder Ghanas litten auch unter dem ERP. Wälder bedecken 34% des Landes und enthalten 2100 Betriebssorten und viele seltene Tiere. Ein überraschendes 95% von Ghanas hohem Wald ist bereits und nur 1% geloggt worden von, was Lügen innerhalb der geschützten Bereiche wie Wildnisschongebiete, Spielreserven und heilige Waldungen gelassen wird.
Wie in der Landwirtschaft, führte das ERP zu eine Wiederaufnahme in der Ausnutzung der Waldbetriebsmittel, besonders des Bauholzes. Timber das Einkommen, das von 5.9% 1986 bis 13.2% 1990 erhöht wird. Aber die Kosten dieses eindrucksvollen Fortschritts waren außerordentlich hoch, geschätzt bei 10.8 Milliarde cedis oder US$33.4 Million. Diese anhaltende Entleerung des Waldes ergab Landverminderung, abnehmenden Biodiversity, Desertification und die Schrumpfung der natürlichen Wanne für Kohlendioxyd, ein Gewächshausgas.
Der gewinnensektor wurde auch schwer während des ERP rehabilitiert. Wischen Sie, Schwefeldioxid ab und Arsentrioxyd sind die gewinnen-in Verbindung stehenden hauptsächlichauswirkungen auf Luftqualität in gewinnenbereichen. Metalle wie Arsen und Quecksilber sind in Flußsysteme entladen worden, und die Verschlechterung der Wasserqualität hat Residentwasserorganismen beeinflußt. Die Niveaus des Arsens und des Cyanids entladen in das Wasser; welches auch als Quelle des Trinkwassers für lokale Bewohner dient; waren höher als die, die durch die Weltgesundheitsorganisation empfohlen wurden. Unbeaufsichtigter Bergbau verließ auch in seinem Hinterunfruchtbaren ödland.
Diese Verschlechterung von Ghanas Umweltproblemen unmittelbar nach schneller Industrialisierung gegeben, im März 1988 setzte die Regierung eine Gruppe Experten fest. Es lud sie mit dem Wiederholen der vorhandenen Politik auf, die auf Umweltschutz bezogen wurde, und mit dem Vorschlagen einer Strategie, um die Schlüsselpunkte der Abholzung, des Landmanagements, der Forstwirtschaft und der Wildnisses, des Wassermanagements, der Marine- und Küstenoekosysteme, des Bergbaus, der Fertigungsindustrien und der gefährlichen Chemikalien, der menschlichen Regelungen, der zugelassenen und Institutionsausgaben, der Klimaausbildung und der Umgebungsbedingungsysteme anzusprechen.
Die nationale Klimapolitik (NEAP) wurde dann, um den weitgesteckten Rahmen für die Implementierung des Aktionsplans zur Verfügung zu stellen angenommen und stichhaltiges Management der Betriebsmittel über einen zehnjährigen Zeitraum, von 1991-2000 sicherzustellen. Der NEAP indossiert eine vorbeugende Annäherung zum Klimamanagement und hebt eine Notwendigkeit hervor, sozioökonomische Entwicklung innerhalb des Kontextes der annehmbaren Klimastandards zu fördern. In der Tat sucht es, Wirtschaftsplanung und Klimahilfsmittelentwicklung bezugnehmend auf das Erzielen der stützbaren nationalen Entwicklung zu versöhnen.
Chereponi, das ein Armut getroffener Bezirk mit es ländliche Landwirte der Einwohner hauptsächlich während dieser Periode ist, nutzte die Vegetation aus, da es keine Mittel gab, ihre Lebensunterhalt zu unterstützen und auch wegen des Analphabetismus und der Unwissenheit.
Ausführungen von NEAP bis jetzt: -
Der Umweltschutz-Rat (EPC) ist die Regierung Anstalt, die allen Klima-in Verbindung stehenden Ausgaben im Land rät und koordiniert. Es ist der gesamte coordinating Körper für den NEAP, wenn die Bezirke Schlüsselrollen spielen.
Die Annahme des NEAP-Satzes in Bewegung etwas strukturelle und organisatorische änderungen. Obwohl das EPC seine Rolle creditably während seiner 20 Jahre des Bestehens durchführte, war der Rat nicht so wirkungsvoll, wie sie gewesen sein sollte, weil sie die Energie ermangelte, seine Entscheidungen zu erzwingen. 1994 wurde es durch die Behörde für Umweltschutz (EPA) ersetzt, die den notwendigen politischen Schutzträger und die Durchführung empfing.
Andere EPA Vollmacht schließen die Ausgabe von Klimaerlaubnis, das Bitten um Klimaauswirkung Einschätzungen für Entwicklungsprogramme, das Zur Verfügung stellen von Informationen auf dem Klima und das Dienen der Durchführungnachrichten mit ein. Das EPA auch gibt Führer heraus und stellt Training in den Verfahren auf diesen Angelegenheiten zur Verfügung.
Ein neues Ministerium des Klimas, der Wissenschaft und der Technologie ist auch verursacht worden und wird mit Politikformulierung aufgeladen. Das Ministerium gibt gelegentlich Politikrichtlinien zum EPA heraus.
Schädlingsbekämpfungsmittel steuern
A Programm, um Schädlingsbekämpfungsmittel zu steuern ist auch gesetzt worden an der richtigen Stelle. Die Ghana Standards verschalen, das für Produktqualitätskontrolle, Monitoren die Qualität aller in verantwortlich ist Ghana verwendet zu werden Schädlingsbekämpfungsmittel, während das Ministerium der Landwirtschaft Training für die Bauernverbände auf sicherer und wirkungsvoller Anwendung der Schädlingsbekämpfungsmittel zur Verfügung stellt.
Das Zwischenabteilungsschädlingsbekämpfungsmittelsteuerprogramm bildete vom EPA, Ministerium der Landwirtschaft, verschalen die Ghana Standards und die Ghana medizinische Schule wurde durch die Regierung mit dem EPA als coordinating Körper aufgestellt. Die Gesetzgebungen, zum des Imports, der Verteilung, des Verkaufes und des Gebrauches von Schädlingsbekämpfungsmitteln und anderen giftigen Chemikalien zu steuern ist vor Parlament gezeichnet worden und gesetzt worden. Dieses ist lobenswert, weil über den Jahren der Import, die Herstellung, die Verteilung und die Behandlung und der Gebrauch von möglicherweise giftigen Chemikalien in Ghana weitergegangen ist, ohne die Klimakonsequenzen zu betrachten und sogar Quantitäten und Arten der Chemikalien im Land nicht völlig bekannt.
Landwirtschafts-Forstwirtschaft: -
Landwirtschafts-Forstwirtschaft wird in zunehmendem Maße als die beste Wahl popularisiert, um sich Nahrungsmittel- und Tierproduktion aufzunehmen, ohne die Baumabdeckung des Landes zu schädigen; Bodenfruchtbarkeit wird auch beibehalten. Eine Schule der Forstwirtschaft und ein Institut der auswechselbaren Naturresourcen sind hergestellt worden, um Kurse diesbezüglich anzubieten auffangen.
Gesetzgebung: -
Der Mangel der Klimagesetzgebung in Ghana ist möglicherweise eins der größten Probleme, die gegen Versuche am Umweltschutz und an der stützbaren Entwicklung sprechen. Es ist offensichtlich, daß der Körper der vorhandenen Gesetzgebung auf den verschiedenen Aspekten des Klimas unzulänglich ist und die meisten Bestimmungen kein direktes mit Nachdruck auf heutige Wirklichkeiten oder auf den Aspirationen der Leute dieses Landes haben. Z.B., gibt es keine koordinierte und komplette Flächennutzung oder Politik der Unternehmensleitung. Dieses zusammenzusetzen ist die Vielfältigkeit der Agenturen, die für verschiedene Aspekte des Landmanagements verantwortlich sind. Bis jetzt kann man ungefähr 20 solche Agenturen zählen. Diese kritischen Probleme im Klimamanagement können alle mögliche Bemühungen ernsthaft hindern, Ghanas Umweltprobleme zu adressieren. Die wenigen vorhandenen Gesetze auf dem Klima gehen auf der Kolonialära zurück und wegen ihrer Richtlinie-orientierten Natur, Mißbräuche seien Sie allgemein. Ghana fährt fort, britische Gesetze zu verwenden, von denen einige die traditionellen Systeme des Dorfmanagements zerstört haben. In etwas Bereichen werden Land, Wasser und Wälder durch die Regierung besessen. Infolgedessen haben Dorfgemeinschaften alles Interesse verloren, sie an zu handhaben oder an zu schützen. Sobald die Dorfbewohner verwirklichen, ist die Hauptzielsetzung des Regierung Managements, städtisches zu treffen und internationale industrielle Notwendigkeiten, ihr Beweggrund verschiebt sich vom Konservieren auf die Ausnutzung der Betriebsmittel so, völlig wie möglich. Ein typischer Fall wird in einem neuen Artikel in den ghanaischen Zeiten, die über die Geschichte von Nana Ameyaw Gyensiamah III berichteten, Leiter von Kwahu Tafo veranschaulicht. Der Leiter gefällt dem Ministerium der Länder und der Forstwirtschaft, um die quadratische Meile 30 Waldreserve bei Kwahu (eine Stadt in der östlichen Region von Ghana) zu den Leuten für Schutz gegen ungültigen Holzschlag der Bäume und der Buschfeuer freizugeben; die Reserve war zu eine Wiese wegen der Vernachlässigung durch die Abteilung gemacht worden. Offenbar kann kein Dorf innerhalb eines Gesetzesrahmens arbeiten, der verhindert, daß es um seinem Dorfklima kümmert. Einige Gesetze müssen zu den Gebenleuten geändert werden das Recht, Naturresourceunterseite ihres Dorfs zu verbessern und zu entwickeln. Die Wirksamkeit aller möglicher Planung oder Erhaltung Masse in den meisten Teilen des Landes werden häufig durch die Probleme Landerwerb gehemmt. In den meisten Fällen werden Besitzgrenzen nicht offenbar dokumentiert und registriert, und verbunden worden mit dem Fehlen ausreichenden Daten für Einheimisch- und Bauernhofplanung, optimale Flächennutzung kann zu erreichen ein Trugbild, häufig mit dem Ergebnis der Unterausnutzung oder der Fehlanwendung des Landes sein. In diesem konfusen Zustand wird Landverminderung die Tagesordnung in den meisten Teilen von Ghana. Internationale Mitarbeit die Implementierung der stützbaren Entwicklungsprogramme in den Ländern wie Ghana erfordert Haupt-Investitionen und Zugang zu den Technologien, die das Klima respektieren; nur auf diese Art Dose vermeiden Entwicklungsländer zwischen ökonomischer Entwicklung und Klimaerhaltung wählen zu müssen. Internationale Mitarbeit ist unentbehrlich, den schlechten und mit mittlerem Einkommen Ländern zu ermöglichen, zum der stützbaren Entwicklung sicherzustellen und teilzunehmen, an, das globale ökologische Gleichgewicht der Masse zu schützen. Auf dem internationalen Niveau hat das EPA entweder aktiv an einer Anzahl von Seminaren und Werkstätten organisiert oder teilgenommen. Zum Beispiel erleichterte das EPA die Bestätigung der Versammlung über Biodiversity und der Klimaänderung Vereinbarung durch Ghana. Die Vorbereitung der notwendigen Unterlagen für die Bestätigung der Versammlung, zum von Desertification zu bekämpfen und der Versammlung über ölverunreinigung Bereitschaft und Antwort ist auch durchgeführt worden.
Nichtstaatliche Organisationen: -
Stützbare Entwicklung ist, nicht ausschließlich eine Regierung Angelegenheit aber ist eine Angelegenheit für Gesellschaft als Ganzes. Ghanaians muß mobilisiert werden, um Regierung Tätigkeiten zugunsten der stützbaren Entwicklung zu weitermachen und zu verstärken. Bemühungen, stützbare Entwicklung zu erzielen können nicht folgen, wenn das EPA nicht aktive Teilhaberschaft mit allen Segmenten der Gesellschaft beibehält. Über 100 Klimanichtstaatlichen organisationen seien Sie in Ghana aktiv. Einige sind im Bestehen für rüber 20 Jahre gewesen und die ausgedehnte Erfahrung des natürlichen Klimas und der Tätigkeiten, um es zu fördern und zu schützen haben.
Das EPA gebraucht die anerkannten Fähigkeiten der nichtstaatlicher Organisationen, indem es sie in Politikvorbereitung mit einbezieht. Das EPA hat ihre Mitarbeit herausbekommen, indem es sie in Politikvorbereitung und -beschlußfassung betreffend ist das Klima mit einbezog. Im Juni 1991 zum Beispiel wurde eine nationale Werkstatt in Sunyani in der Brong Ahafo Region von Ghana für rüber 20 Klimanichtstaatliche organisationen auf dem KlimaAktionsplan organisiert.
Klimaausbildung und Bewußtsein: -
Resultierend aus den Bemühungen der Regierung, Klimaausgaben eine Priorität zu bilden, wurde eine Klimaausbildung Strategie angenommen. Es zielt darauf ab, sicherzugehen, daß alle Abschnitte der Bevölkerung verstehen, wie das Klima arbeitet und welche Gelegenheiten und Probleme es darstellt. Diese Strategie umfaßt die formalen und formlosen pädagogischen Sektoren und war eine kooperative Bemühung, die mit Eingang von den Mitteln, von den nicht-formalen Abteilungen des Ministeriums der Ausbildung, vom Ghana Ausbildung Service, von den nichtstaatlichen Organisationen und vom Nationalrat auf Frauen und Entwicklung entwickelt wird.
Eine Schlüsselzielsetzung der Klimaausbildung ist, das Niveau des allgemeinen Bewußtseins auf Klimaausgaben zu einem Punkt anzuheben, in dem Einzelpersonen, Gruppen und Organisationen ihre Verantwortlichkeiten völlig übernehmen können, wenn sie das Klima schützen, besonders an der Basis gleich.
Klimaausbildung ist nicht noch völlig in das pädagogische System des Landes integriert worden. Wenn Schritte nicht unternommen werden, um dieses Problem sofort zu adressieren, wird das Ziel des NEAP besiegt. Es ist auch wichtig, daß nicht-formale Ausbildung Aufmerksamkeit damit alles die gegeben wird, die sich nicht Schule sorgen; Händler, Landwirte, arbeitslose Jugend; seien erreicht Sie. Alternative Methoden wie Drama troupes, Kinopackwagen, Meinungsführer und lokale Leiter können mobilisiert werden, um diese Gemeinschaft in ihren eigenen lokalen Dialekten zu erreichen.
Im formalen Sektor kann Klimaausbildung neben vorhandenen Themen unterrichtet werden und Themen konnten genauer beziehen zum Klima der Gemeinschaften, in denen die Schulen sich befinden. Die gebildete Bevölkerung kann durch Zeitungen, Zeitschriften und Zeitschriften, sowie Radio und Fernsehen auch erreicht werden.
Es gibt ein bemerkenswertes Fehlen von Fachinformation und einem störend niedrigen Niveau des allgemeinen Bewußtseins über viele Aspekte des Klimas in Ghana.
Zusätzlich zur Ausbildung kann dieser Abstand der Unwissenheit durch einen aktiven Klimabericht teilweise gefüllt werden, der nicht nur Bewußtsein erhöht, aber auch eine informierte und aktive Teilnahme von seiten der Einzelperson herstellt.
Regierungsbeamte sollten die wenigen Klimazeitungen und die Klimajournalisten im Land als Partner in der Entwicklung sehen, und die Kritiken, die in diesen Zeitungen veröffentlicht werden, sollten gutgläubig und konstruktiv genommen werden.
Aber dieses ist nicht der Fall. Die Triumphzeitung, eine privat besessene Wochenzeitung, nachgeforscht und einer Geschichte über den ungültigen Import und die Beerdigung des Abfallstoffmaterials im Land durch einen libanesischen Staatsangehörigen veröffentlicht. Ghanas viertes republikanisches Parlament leitete einen unabhängigen Ausschuß ein, um die Echtheit der Geschichte nachzuforschen, und zu finden, daß der ungültige Import hohe Konzentrationen der Leitung und des Quecksilbers enthielt, die zur menschlichen Gesundheit schädlich sein konnten. Noch wurden keine strafenden Maßnahmen gegen die Täter dieses schändlichen Verbrechens ergriffen; der giftige Abfallstoff wurde, nicht trotz des Reports des parlamentarischen Ausschusses exhumiert.
Die Untersuchungen, die durch den Triumph in eine Asbestproduktfabrik geleitet wurden, zeigten an, daß die Fabrik die Luft mit krebserzeugenden Asbestdämpfen beschmutzt hatte. Despite persistent calls by The Triumph for a relocation of the factory or its closure, the country's environment officials ignored the request and turned a deaf ear. Yet the factory is located in a densely populated area. This official insensitivity to environmental news reporting is rather discouraging and undermines the country's attempts at sustainable development.
Poverty:-
Poverty is a major setback to environmental protection and sustainable development in Ghana and chereponi is no exception. This is because majorities of the people, particularly in rural areas, are poor. For them, where to get the next meal is much more important than any problem of desertification or wildlife depletion. The government must embark on serious poverty alleviation efforts, not only to raise the living standards of the people, but also to prevent them from unleashing their anger on the forests and other natural resources in their desperate bid to keep bone and flesh together.
Income-generating activities, revenue sharing or alternative employment opportunities can be initiated by the government on the principle that by providing other sources of income, the economic incentive to utilize wildlife illegally will be removed. These opportunities could include jobs as wardens, rangers, guides, labourers, or administrative staff. Revenue-sharing activities could mean the distribution of both cash and kind derived from tourist entrance fees. This approach would not only improve local income and living standards, but also curb the illegal use of wildlife and remove pressure from protected areas.
The cuttings of forests in search of cheap firewood and energy, the grazing of marginal lands, the drift to the towns, all are problems caused by poverty. At the same time, the debt crisis facing Ghana and many developing countries today dramatically affects commodity prices and increases the outflow of resources from the less developed countries.
Also, one cannot forget the impact of structural adjustment policies on a country like Ghana. These policies have forced the government to cut down on social services, cut back the labour force (bread winners of families in most cases), and remove subsidies on medical care.
The World Bank's policy of structural adjustment as a condition for loans has stressed export crops to earn foreign exchange to pay off the mounting debt. This has certainly had a detrimental impact on many of the poor people in Ghana as most of them have been pushed off land needed for export crops. In desperation, most have moved to marginalized and less fertile areas or to the burgeoning cities, while others become dependent on the informal sector to survive.
One wonders how we can ever achieve sustainable development when the debt crisis has not been eased and when the government continues to swallow IMF/World Bank conditionalities hook, line and sinker, when women and children continue to bear the brunt of these harsh polices, and when such policies continue to wreak havoc on our environment.
Conclusion:-
The sustainability of economic and social development in Ghana depends to a large extent on its resource base, more so when economic growth has been based on the use of renewable and non-renewable natural resources like forests, soil and water. Clearly, the pressure on these natural systems is enormous. Unfortunately, past attempts to address the environmental problems have been largely on an ad hoc basis. There is a need for a rethinking of our natural development efforts along more sustainable lines.
The government of Ghana, through the NEAP, has stated its commitment to environmental protection and sustainable development. While not all promises have been realized, Ghana's efforts have been more than lip service. With the passage of time, efforts have gone beyond words into strengthening institutions, developing human resources, research capacity and methodology, thus improving popular participation and balancing access to and distribution of resources.
Already the NEAP is helping to facilitate national strategies and networking in the field of sustainable development. These considerable efforts must be intensified since environmental protection is a recurring challenge requiring constant vigilance and periodic revision. Perhaps what is needed most is a sustained and consistently orchestrated campaign by the mass media in Ghana to instill a commitment in the public to halt the alarming rate of environmental degradation and to develop new strategies for sustainable living.
Incentives and deterrents should also be provided to complement the legal texts already in force in the environmental field to give greater weight to the policy of environmental protection. Land and forest laws in particular need to become more rational, both from a scientific and social perspective, to encourage people's involvement and ecological regeneration.

Para o desenvolvimento Sustainable em Ghana
Automatically translated into Portuguese thanks to WorldLingo
PARA o DESENVOLVIMENTO SUSTAINABLE em GHANA
perto: Email de Davis Opoku Ansah (activista nova
): Telefone
de Nanapoku_2@yahoo.com: +233 244 861593

pelo mundo inteiro, os povos e as nações estão começando a realizar que os trajetos destrutivos atuais do desenvolvimento são claramente unsustainable, e que há agora uma necessidade preservar a integridade e a base do recurso natural do ambiente para as gerações atuais e futuras. Ghana não foi saido para fora nesta linha de pensar, daqui no adoption da planta de ação ambiental nacional (NEAP), que fornece uma estrutura coherent para as intervenções julgadas necessárias proteger o ambiente e dirigir de novo mais ambiental esforços do desenvolvimento em programas e em práticas sustainable.
Fundo: -
Ghana é dotado com recursos naturais abundantes que contribuíram indubitàvelmente immensely ao industrialization do país após a independência. Mas a extração destes recursos não foi sem problemas porque cuidado não foi tomado ao protetor de encontro a seu depletion. No fato, nenhuma ação governamental foi feita exame para dirigir-se à introdução da degradação ambiental em Ghana até a participação do país na conferência unida das nações sobre o ambiente humano em Éstocolmo em junho 1972.
Ghana tem desde tornado ciente da enormidade de seus problemas ambientais, e em 1974 o governo estabeleceu o conselho da proteção ambiental (EPC). Um olhar crítico no EPC durante este período revelaria que sua aproximação a trabalhar era rather ad hoc e os problemas ambientais tackled enquanto se levantaram. Nenhuma planta detalhada existiu para identificar problemas ambientais e para fornecer soluções, nem havia maquinaria para criar o consciousness ambiental entre Ghanaians. Os problemas ambientais sérios tais como o deforestation, a degradação do solo e a poluição industrial persistiram. O GDP caiu em uma taxa média de 1.3% por o ano, e a população cresceu ràpidamente.
Enfrentado com a realidade stark de uma economia declinando rápida, o governo Ghanaian em 1983 lançou seu programa da recuperação econômica (ERP). Este programa de reformas da política econômica, calculado para pôr a economia Ghanaian sobre um trajeto positivo do crescimento, foi dado a sustentação financeira e técnica pelo banco de mundo e pelo IMF. Os componentes dos esforços da reforma incluíram a criação de um ambiente permitindo para o investimento extrangeiro e doméstico, e o liberalization do crédito e de arranjos monetary.
Um objetivo da chave do ERP era a melhoria do desempenho econômico de Ghana pela agricultura revitalizing, pelo forestry, pela mineração e pela indústria de manufacturing. Quando isto conduziu ao crescimento econômico positivo, era crescimento em um preço ambiental elevado: 41.7 bilhão cedis estimados, 4% do GDP, ou US$128.3 milhão em 1988 sozinhos.
Chereponi um distrito da região do norte de Ghana tem uma população estimada de aproximadamente 3.000 com a juventude que constitui 60% (EC 2004). Chereponi tem uma vegetação da terra da grama do savannah com algo