GCF allocates $54.5 m to address deforestation in Ghana

GCF allocates $54.5 m to address deforestation in Ghana
By Marwa Nassar - -

The Green Climate Fund (GCF) has earmarked $54.5 million for the Ghana Shea Landscape Emission Reductions project to address the alarming deforestation and forest degradation challenges in the Northern Savannah Zone of Ghana.

The project will be implemented by the Forestry Commission (FC), Ghana with technical support from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), in partnership with multiple national and local institutions, civil society organizations and the private sector.

The project’s interventions are expected to result in the restoration of 200,000 hectares of off-reserve savanna forests and 300,000 hectares of degraded shea parklands including the establishment of 25,500 hectares of forest plantations in severely degraded forest reserves. It is expected that the activities will result in an estimate of over 6 million tCO2e in emission reductions and removals over the first seven years of the project’s lifetime and 25.24 million tCO2e over the period of 20 years.

“I welcome this great milestone in Ghana’s Forestry Sector in the deployment of programs and projects that reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, build ecosystem resilience and also enhance the lives of communities that nurture the forests’’, stated Chief Executive of the Forestry Commission John M. Allotey.

He further emphasized that the success of the project would provide a strong contribution to Ghana’s commitment to the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and the implementation of the National REDD+ Strategy.

The project has leveraged vertical funds, with $ 30,100,000 grant from the GCF, about $ 15 million funding from the Government of Ghana and mobilized about $ 9 million impact investments from the private sector in the shea value chain.

Among other significant benefits, the Ghana Shea Landscape Emission Reductions Project will also bring about a breakthrough in the shea sector by enhancing revenue generation for women and strengthen the livelihoods of over 500,000 people in Northern Ghana.

The Global Shea Alliance (GSA), a non-profit industry association with 500 members from 35 countries, will be a key partner during the project implementation.

“We are particularly happy with the approval from the GCF Board because of how critical this project is in reducing emissions, the expected value additions in the utilization of forest resources and contributions to livelihood improvement especially for women”, noted Silke Hollander, Deputy Resident Representative for UNDP in Ghana.

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