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Good natural resource governance: A key to development

May 11, 2022.

Globally, natural resources, both renewable and non-renewable, are part of the real wealth of a nation. These contribute towards fiscal revenue, income, job creation and poverty reduction.

In Ghana, over the past years, extraction of natural resources such as cocoa, gold, and oil among others has helped transform Ghana’s economic growth, with revenue contribution valued at 67% of exports and 15.4% of GDP. Notwithstanding these accomplishments, overtime analysis of trends in Ghana’s natural resources governance performance reveals some deficits and gaps.

As part of efforts to contribute to Ghana’s efforts to enhance natural resource governance, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) organized a dialogue to examine Ghana’s progress in its efforts towards good natural resource governance and explore policy options to address existing and emerging deficits to accelerate the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Addressing the dialogue on the theme “Gaps in natural resource governance: spaces for accountability and transparency”, the UNDP Resident Representative in Ghana, Angela Lusigi, called for stronger collaboration among stakeholders to drive a transformational change and co-create together the future of governance needed for sustainable development.

“At UNDP, we believe that there are opportunities for us to work together to consolidate gains and take bold and decisive steps in the area of governance to ensure that Ghana’s wealth of natural resources become true national assets; benefiting all.”

The Keynote Speaker at the maiden Future of Governance Series, Professor Abdul-Gafaru Abdulai, an Associate Professor in the Department of Public Administration at the University of Ghana Business School, applauded Ghana for the substantial progress in the governance of the extractives sector, particularly relating to legislations and value realizations. He noted that Ghana’s gold mining sector scored 69% in the 2021 resource governance index, which is an improvement of 13 points from the 2017 score.

He however highlighted key challenges that need to be addressed to improve natural resource governance in Ghana.  Among the key deficits he cited is the issue of contract disclosures where there is currently no legislation or policy to make contract disclosure compulsory. He also mentioned inefficient open data system, revenue management issues and challenges with artisanal small-scale mining particularly issues of environmental degradation.

Moreover, he added that, despite Ghana being signatory to the international protocol on Free Prior Inform Consent (FPIC), which makes it important for the local people to agree to any extraction that takes place in their jurisdiction, the final consent must be given by the sector minister which sometimes limit citizens participation in extraction governance. But he commended the transparency in the oil and gas sector, where oil blocks are awarded through an open and competitive bidding process but stressed on the need for more accountability.

Professor Abdul-Gafaru Abdulai, in his presentation, recommended investment in geological data and open data system, particularly in the mining sector which will be beneficial to the mining industry, land-use planners and environmental scientists. He also suggested the need to explore opportunities to formalize the artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) operators through innovative financing solutions.  

He further recommended the inclusion of mandatory contract disclosure in the mining sector, the need for a more transparent, accountable, and productive use of mining revenues by subnational authorities, as well as greater citizens participation.

A Project Coordinator at CARE International, Mr. Zakaria Yakubu highlighted the need to evaluate the relevance of Ghana’s Natural Resources and Environmental Governance Programme (NREG) to enhance effective coordination between agencies in the resource sector.

“It is my hope that, the NREG initiative would be evaluated and implemented to provide annual sector budgetary support to the natural resource sector and also enable coordination between the various agencies to ensure that important key policies that need to be put in place are addressed”, he stated.

The Future of Governance dialogue series seeks to create a platform for critical analysis and engagements with national stakeholders with interest and mandate in governance to explore innovative and sustainable alternative solutions towards good governance. 

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Environment and Natural Resource Research Initiative (ENRRI-EfD Ghana)

The environment and natural resource research initiative (enrri – efd ghana) is one of the 15 centers under the environment for development (efd) initiative. enrri is hosted by the institute of statistical, social and economic research (isser) at the university of ghana (ug), and the school of research and graduate studies (srgs) at the ghana institute of management and public administration (gimpa), two of ghana’s most respected institutes of research and training..

ENRRI brings together accomplished researchers with varied expertise in environmental economics from Ghana and elsewhere to conduct evidence-based research, and advise government and development partners on policy options for managing the environment and scarce natural resources.

Central to our work at ENRRI is a deep understanding of the critical role of natural resources in sustaining the lives and livelihoods of Ghana’s people, especially in rural Ghana, and in meeting national poverty reduction and development goals. This both motivates and fills us with a sense of duty as we strive to achieve our objectives.

Recognizing the importance of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in aligning global development efforts, we strive to align our work with these goals. We hope to demonstrate a strong commitment to support the achievement of SDGs that address the environmental dimensions of development, notably SDG 7 (affordable and clean energy), SDG 12 (responsible consumption and production), SDG 13 (climate change), SDG 14 (life underwater), and SDG 15 (life on land). Our work will also address cross-cutting SDGs, including SDG 1 (no poverty), SDG 2 (zero hunger), and SDG 5 (gender equality).

ENRRI aspires to become a leading research initiative in Ghana, recognized for conducting world-class research on environment and natural resource management issues, building research capacity at the graduate level (Masters and PhD), and serving as the go-to think-tank for policy makers. The Initiative has 19 researchers from selected universities and academic institutions in Ghana, and three international research associates. It operates with funding support from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida).

ENRRI operates in three core areas:

▪     We conduct policy-relevant research, grounded in local realities and on a wide range of topics, with emphasis on coastal and mineral resource management, extractive industries, energy resources management, climate change, and green growth.

Capacity Development

▪     Beyond contributing actively to teaching activities in the host institutions, we organize short-term training programs to build capacity among junior researchers, graduate students, and decision makers in Ghana, based on current and emerging environment and natural resource management challenges.

Policy Advice and Research Communication

▪     ENRRI supports government with evidence-based policy advice on natural resources management issues. We also provide regular updates on changes in the state of natural resources to key decision makers, including national and local government, government agencies and other natural resource custodians, through policy briefs and other communication media.

▪     ENRRI publishes evidence-based materials such as discussion papers, policy briefs, journal articles, feature articles, and media releases to share research findings with its stakeholders in government, academia, civil society organizations (CSOs), non-government organizations (NGOs), and other policy and advocacy groups. Further, we organize public events such as conferences, seminars, workshops, book launches, and lectures. These provide a platform for researchers, decision makers, students, and other stakeholders to meet and set the research agenda, discuss and validate research findings, and network.

What Sets ENRRI Apart

ENRRI has a number of comparative advantages that set it apart from other players addressing natural resources management issues in Ghana.

First of all, is ENRRI’s sole thematic focus on natural resources,  this sector is close to the hearts and minds of the government and people of Ghana, on account of its central role in driving the nation’s social and economic transformation efforts.

Second is our commitment to conduct demand-driven and policy relevant research, based on first-hand information from stakeholders. Our work is defined by a desire to exchange ideas, to construct solutions with partners who have practical, tried-and-tested experience, and to hear from networks of people and organizations that are focused on the themes we cover. Carrying out our mandate involves constant learning from and with others, information sharing, and identification of the right people to multiply the impact of our work.

Third is ENRRI’s diverse network of qualified professionals.

Finally, ENRRI’s affiliation with respected bodies like the University of Ghana (Ghana’s premier university) and the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), along with its membership of the EfD network affords it access to productive knowledge resources and collaborative networks vital to achieve sustainable and far-reaching impact.

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Ghana: Balancing economic growth and depletion of resources

Sanjay srivastava, agata ewa pawlowska.

Ghana has an impressive story of economic growth. But this comes with a warning: the natural resources that underpin this success must be protected and sustainably managed. 

Over the past 30 years, an increase in the price and production of cocoa, gold, and oil helped transform Ghana: real GDP growth quadrupled, extreme poverty dropped by half, and in 2011, Ghana moved to a Lower Middle-Income Country status. The fundamental question is: How can this impressive development, anchored firmly on natural capital, continue to deliver gains in macroeconomic growth and poverty reduction?  

The recent World Bank Ghana Country Environmental Analysis  (CEA) responds by providing the scale, scope, and economic effects of environmental degradation on society. Air, plastics, and water pollution affect health and hygiene; gold mines, unmanaged solid waste, and contaminated sites release hazardous chemicals; land degradation, deforestation, and overfishing heavily impact livelihoods and limit drivers of growth.   

According to the CEA, environmental degradation costs $6.3 billion annually or nearly 11% of Ghana’s 2017 GDP  . Non-renewable resources such as gold and oil cannot sustain growth as resources deplete while renewable resources like cocoa, timber, and other tree and food crops, depend on good environmental stewardship. There are clear signs and scientific evidence that the erosion of the natural capital may put at risk growth, livelihoods, and human health. 

Air pollution , the number one environmental risk to public health, costs roughly $2 billion per year and causes the premature death of nearly 16,000 people each year. Elderly account for most of the deaths, while more than half of the deaths from pneumonia in children under five is associated with air pollution.  

Water Pollution causes significant damage equivalent to 3% of the GDP. This is due to the health effects of inadequate water supply, poor sanitation, and discharge of solid industrial and toxic waste into water systems. 

Plastics pollution is rising to crisis proportions. Each day, over 3,000 metric tons of plastic waste is produced with much of it dumped as litter or placed into improvised landfills. This waste clogs open drainage systems and pollutes the ocean.  

E-waste , associated with the Agbogbloshie dumpsite, is Accra’s main source of air pollution. Here, burning electronic parts cast carcinogenic compounds into the air while deposited toxic metals enter waterways and oceans. Each year, exposure to lead and mercury-causing diseases and the lost IQ points in children cost $440 million.  

Poor land management leads to land degradation , costing over US$500 million a year and to deforestation costing US$400 million a year: five million hectares of forest was lost between 2001 and 2015. Over the past decade, artisanal gold mining aggravated the degradation as streams and rivers were dug up to find gold. Miners’ exposure to the toxic mercury also costs $240 million in health costs.  

Ghana loses about 2.7 million m 2 of its shore every year, with 80% of the shoreline actively eroding. Coastal erosion and flooding are particularly serious in Greater Accra where sea level rise increases erosion intensity and raises the chance of flooding by 20%. This puts at risk communities and UNESCO World Heritage sites such as Cape Coast and Elmina. Overfishing cost $233 million and could lead to the collapse of small pelagic fisheries and the loss of half a million jobs.  

Climate change heavily affects climate- sensitive sectors on which Ghana’s growth is based - agriculture, forestry, and energy. It also triggers environmental disasters: in the last 40 years, floods affected four million people and a 2015 flash flood in Accra caused $55 million in damages. 

Ghana is responding to the urgent need to protect the natural capital through evidence-based actions and concrete steps to share the impact of growth, especially in terms of food security and human development.  

Informed by this analysis, Ghana is prioritizing environmental issues in development planning. But it's crucial to act now to prevent the impacts of environmental degradation and climate change on vulnerable people in Ghana  . It is also key to understand the importance of well-informed communities and strong institutions in seeking accountability and transparency. Finally, Ghana would benefit from advancing critical policy reforms to allocate resources and benefits to communities. 

E-Book: Learn more about Ghana Country Environmental Analysis

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Practice Manager, Environment, Natural Resources and Blue Economy Global Practice, Europe and Central Asia, World Bank

Operations Manager for Ghana, Liberia, and Sierra Leone

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• What Are The Major Natural Resources Of Ghana?

Ghana is an African nation located on the continent's western edge, and it spans an area of roughly 92,497 square miles. Currently, the Ghanaian economy is among the top 100 globally, and in 2017 its gross domestic product was the 84th highest in the world standing at $47.33 billion. The success of the Ghanaian economy can be attributed to various factors with the major one being the country's proper utilization of its natural resources such as arable land and minerals.

Arable Land

One of Ghana's most vital natural resources is arable land which covered approximately 20.66% of the country's total land area as of 2014. Since 2004, according to data from the World Bank, the size of arable land in Ghana has fluctuated significantly which is mainly attributed to the fluctuating weather patterns around the globe. However, agriculture is still one of the country's most important economic activities. The Ghanaian labor department estimated that in 2013, more than 53% of the nation's labor force was employed in the agriculture sector. Ghanaian farmers grow a wide variety of crops such as yams and sweet potatoes that are mainly grown for subsistence while cocoa, rubber, and sugarcane are primarily grown for the export market. Due to the importance of agriculture to the Ghanaian economy, the government has invested heavily in improving the sector mainly through providing training to farmers on modern agricultural techniques. Despite the efforts of the Ghanaian government, the country's agricultural sector faces numerous challenges such as the fluctuating prices of farm products in the global market and the country's poorly developed transport infrastructure.

Ghana is well-known for the production of cocoa as the country is often considered one of the top cocoa producers globally. Most of the Ghanaian cocoa farmers grow the crop in forested regions such as the Volta and Eastern regions due to the high rainfall received in those areas. The Ghanaian cocoa industry has been growing at a fast rate with the government estimating that from 2000 to 2003 the sector grew by 16% on average. In spite of the cocoa sector's rapid growth, it faces several significant challenges such as smuggling and the long period that cocoa takes to mature.

In 2015, approximately 41% of Ghana's territory was covered with forests according to estimates compiled by the World Bank. As of 2004, Ghana's forest cover was roughly 39.6%, the area under forests had increased dramatically which is partially due to the Ghanaian government emphasizing the importance of forest conservation. Forests in the southern part of Ghana are considered more economically viable than forests in the rest of the country. The forestry sector is vital to the Ghanaian economy, and in 1990 it contributed 4.22% of the country's GDP. The Ghanaian government invested more than $100 million in the forestry sector to modernize it and make it more productive.

Ghana has vast fish resources made up of both marine fish and freshwater fish. Ghanaian fishers mainly get their freshwater fish from lakes such as the Volta and the Bosumtwi. In Ghana, marine fishing is limited to the Atlantic Ocean that is located on the country's southern edge. Apart from natural fishing grounds, Ghanaian fishers also obtain fish from fish farms. Fishing is vital to the Ghanaian economy, and the government estimated that on average the fishing industry contributed 3% of the country's total gross domestic product. The Ghanaian labor department estimated that roughly 10% of the country's population was reliant on the fishing sector. The government of Ghana has invested huge sums of money in trying to solve the challenges facing the country's fishing sector.

Ghana has a vast quantity of minerals within its borders ranging from gold to diamonds which are essential natural resources. The Ghanaian government estimated that on average, the mining industry contributed 5% of the nation's GDP. Minerals in Ghana are mainly extracted for the export market with the government estimating that minerals made up roughly 40% of the country's total exports. The Ghanaian government has encouraged investors from other nations such as South Africa and Canada to invest in the country's mining industry. Despite the numerous benefits the mining sector brings to the Ghanaian economy, it has a significant impact on the country's environment as it reduces the country's natural beauty. The government has embarked on land reclamation projects to reduce the environmental impact of mining.

An essential mineral in Ghana is gold which is primarily obtained through underground and alluvial mining. According to the Ghanaian government, gold made up close to 90% of the minerals exported from the country every year. Ghana's gold deposits have attracted companies from Canada such as the Red Back Mining Company, and companies from South Africa such as the Anglo Gold Ashanti Company. For most of the early 1990s, approximately 20% of the gold mined in Ghana was extracted from underground mines particularly in the Ashanti region.

Ghana also has significant deposits of diamonds which plays a significant role in the country’s economy. Alluvial mining is the primary method through which diamonds are extracted in Ghana. In 2009, Ghana produced 370,000 carats of rough diamonds, and although these are minimal compared to the world top producers, it plays a significant role in the country’s economy.In 2014, the country was ranked among the top rough diamond producers. A 2014 report indicated that the most significant challenge facing the Ghanaian diamond sector was the smuggling of the precious stones into neighboring nations such as the Ivory Coast.

Historical evidence suggests that several organizations were searching for oil in Ghana during the 19th century. Despite the long history of oil exploration in the country, the first commercially viable field was discovered in 2008. Ghana is believed to have between 5 billion and 7 billion barrels of oil reserves, which makes the country as Africa’s 6th largest and the world’s 25th largest with proven oil reserves.

Challenges Facing The Ghanaian Economy

The Ghanaian economy faces numerous challenges such as the poorly developed infrastructure as well as the high poverty rates in most of the country. The government of Ghana has partnered with international financial institutions to tackle the challenges affecting its economy. According to the World Bank report, Ghanaian agriculture has a huge potential to be one of the leading sectors in the economy and could easily be transformed into an engine of job creation and economic growth. According to the report, agriculture has a significantly larger multiplier effect particularly on employment, with the possibility of creating more than 750 jobs for every additional $1 million of output.

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Natural resources in Ghana : management, policy and economics

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How to Save Humanity in 17 Goals: ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all (SDG 7)

Julien Harou’s career started in geology in his current role as a water management and infrastructure researcher now straddles economics and engineering, with a particular focus on using artificial intelligence (AI) to measure Ghana’s future energy needs.

Harou is relatively upbeat about progress so far towards achieving sustainable and reliable energy for all by 2030, the seventh of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) agreed by the United Nations in 2015. He points out that from 2015 to 2021, the portion of the global population with access to electricity increased from 87% to 91%, and last year about 30% came from renewable sources.

Harou’s research at the University of Manchester, UK, incorporates computer modeling and artificial intelligence design algorithms to balance Ghana’s long term renewable energy and infrastructure needs. But AI also helps to address the environmental and human health impacts. For example, Ghana’s Volta River was dammed in the 1960s to create the Akosombo dam. But its arrival depleted fish stocks and increased weed and algae growth, providing habitat for vectors of waterborne diseases. It’s all about compromise and trade-offs, Harou tells the seventh episode of How to Save Humanity in 17 Goals , a podcast series that profiles scientists whose work addresses one or more of the SDGs.

Episodes 7-12 are produced in partnership with Nature Water , and introduced by Fabio Pullizi, its chief editor.

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-024-01316-w

Fabio Pullizi: 00:09

Hello, this is How to Save Humanity in 17 Goals , a podcast brought to you by Nature Careers, in partnership with Nature Water .

I’m Fabio Pulizzi, chief editor of Nature Water . This is the series where we meet the scientists who have been quietly incrementally working towards the global development targets set by the United Nations in 2015.

World leaders pledged to solve a range of economic, environmental and social issues, and the package of 17 Sustainable Development Goals were born.

Since then, in a huge effort, thousands of researchers all over the world have been tackling the biggest problems that the planet faces today.

In episode seven, we look at Sustainable Development Goal number seven: how to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all.

And meet an engineer who uses artificial intelligence to help Ghana design its renewable energy future.

Julien Harou 01:21

Okay, hi, my name is Julien Harou. I’m a professor in water management and infrastructure systems at the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom.

I started out as pretty much a pure water resources professor. So I would look to help water companies and countries plan their their water resources and manage them.

But very quickly, because of hydropower, I moved into joint water and energy systems. And water is also used for food production. So I somehow grew from water to water, energy, food. The United Nations General Assembly in 2015 developed a series of goals. And goal number seven is the one related to energy. So the formal goal is to ensure access to affordable, reliable and sustainable modern energy for all.

And so the question quickly becomes: “Well, are we making any progress to that goal?”

Well, actually, the news is relatively good. From 2015 to 2021, the portion of the global population with access to electricity increased from 87% to 91%.

So it’s pretty decent, that means there’s a little less than than 10% of people now who don't have access to energy.

The other, the other thing that was mentioned was that these goal wants sustainable energy. And what that generally means is renewable energy. So energy that doesn't require burning fossil fuels. And in 2023, about 30% of the global energy generation was from renewable energy sources.

These have much lower carbon dioxide emissions. And so this is also a pretty big success, especially since….in the year 2000, so just less than 25 years ago, it was 18%. So the news for SDG goal number seven is actually pretty decent. And things are progressing rapidly.

Julien Harou 03:33

You can’t study in university water energy food systems, that doesn’t exist. So it’s quite, the people who are in this field, it’s generally a little bit unusual where they come from.

So I was actually born in Brazil, grew up and raised in the United States. Then I trained in Belgium, my native country where my parents are from, as a geologist.

And then slowly I started working in the in the water field, and then got drawn to civil engineering because I just saw the problems in the world created by infrastructure.

So I went back late in life. I was a mature student, and did graduate degrees at Cornell and UC Davis.

And there I really started to focus on on water and economics. And so that’s how I got slowly into this area of water, energy, food systems and human natural systems.

Recently, I work mostly in Africa and Asia. And looking at how to better manage human natural systems.

So, my focus is on countries where the water, the energy and the food system, and the environment are interconnected and interacting and so when you act in one, you affect the the other.

The big turning point in my career is I was working on a project for the World Bank evaluating dam investments. So these are reservoirs, hydropower dams in in Nepal. And it occurred to me and to our research group that it was just not possible to evaluate the value of an investment in a hydropower dam if you didn’t consider what it was contributing to the to the wider energy system.

So that’s where I stopped being a pure water engineer and moved to, you know, water, energy food systems. Because I found you couldn’t, you couldn’t evaluate how valuable a water asset was an infrastructure asset like a hydropower dam, if you didn’t consider how it was contributing to the energy system at national scale.

And for example, what we’re talking about today, renewable energy. You know, hydropower is a renewable source. But it’s a renewable source that comes at a certain cost.

You have to flood certain areas, you have to change the way the water regime works. And so there’s some environmental sacrifices there, and potentially human sacrifices.

Surprisingly, even though I started my career as a geologist, and I really had no interest in computers whatsoever, I very quickly realized that these human natural systems are very large and very complex. And your brain just can’t wrap itself around the problem. You need computers.

So strangely, from geologist, I went to kind of applied computer guy, and spent many years developing these computer simulation tools to represent how the different elements of water energy food systems work together.

Finally, this led to artificial intelligence. It turns out, you can connect these simulators to these new artificial intelligence design methods.

And you can find really clever ways to develop human natural systems that get lots of benefits and don't have too many negative impacts. So yeah, that was my career in a nutshell. Starting in geology and finishing in economics, engineering and artificial intelligence.

There are many ways to generate energy, and water is just one of them. And in fact, people have used water and moving water to help do work throughout history.

For many, many years, water was used to drive mills that would grind grain into flour to make bread. So that was the, that was the initial hydropower.

Nowadays, we just convert it to electricity. And so the way it works is that water is stored at altitude, it has a lot of potential energy, it’s heavy, and it’s high up and so when it flows down, that will create kinetic energy.

And hydropower is simply taking that kinetic energy and using turbines and generators to convert the kinetic energy into the electricity that we use in the electrical grids and power grids.

And so essentially, hydropower is this conversion of the energy that’s in water into electricity. The big win from hydropower, and particularly storage hydropower, is that it’s a renewable source because water falls from the sky in rainfall and that water becomes then available. If it’s stored, it becomes available when you need it.

Hydropower is both renewable and dispatchable. Dispatchable is a technical term from the energy sector means in summary is that you can turn it off and on when you when you want it.

This is not the case for other renewable energy sources. So solar and wind energy are called variable sources or intermittent sources. That means they’re unpredictable, right? You don’t really know when it’s going to be sunny, and you don’t really know when it’s going to be windy, and it can stop being sunny or windy at any time. So that’s why those renewable sources are called variable or intermittent.

It just means that there’s they are somewhat unpredictable. So hydropower is the perfect complement to that. And so, you know, that’s, that’s a good thing. It’s a good thing that hydropower is compatible in that way.

And it can allow countries to really increase their, the amount of renewables they use, right? If you have a backup of hydropower, you can have more solar, you can exploit more solar and more wind power, because you know, that if all of a sudden those turn off, you can just put on your hydropower.

However, that sounds like a perfect solution. But imagine what would happen if the rivers were going up and down just to react to the how much wind and sun there were.

You would really change the way rivers look, you know, could become quite dangerous. You would never know if a river is going to be flowing quickly or, or slowly. It wouldn't be great for humans, but also not great for wildlife.

So, yeah. So although wind, solar and hydropower can work well together, in practice you have to make sure that you’re not creating a negative impacts on humans and the environment when you when you do use them together.

Ghana is a country in West Africa. It has about 32 million people, the area is about the same as as the United Kingdom, perhaps. It’s on the coast. It’s near other countries like Burkina Faso and Nigeria.

And the most surprising thing with Ghana is that has the Volta River, which in 1960s, there was a large dam created there.

And this dam, called the Akosombo dam, it flooded a part of the Volta River, and created an absolutely huge reservoir that you can see from space. It’s 8500 square kilometres.

So it’s just a huge amount of landmass there that was lost. Of course, in exchange for power production.

Nowadays, it’s about two thirds of the national production is from thermal sources. So these are things like natural gas and crude oil and diesel. But about one third is still from dams.

The other thing happening in Ghana is that they are, like most other countries, rapidly trying to increase the renewable energy there. It’s currently well, because of hydropower, it’s 33%, the solar and wind is quite low now in Ghana, just a few percent.

And that is trying to be increased. One issue is that the solar potential is in the north, that’s where it’s quite sunny, in the highlands there. And most of the people live near the coast in the south. Right, so in the 1960s, this really large dam was put in place. Originally, it was mostly for a large aluminum smelter. They wanted to create metal production there, and they needed a lot of energy to do so.

What happens is that the whole, the river was really changed to suit their energy needs. And so the dam was operated to favour baseload hydropower. So that means you’re, you’re trying to release the same amount amount of water all the time every day to have that steady supply of energy.

And that really wasn’t that great for the environment. The Volta river traditionally would have quite a bit of natural variability, it would have wet seasons, dry seasons. And so when all of a sudden it became the same amount of water flowing all year, it really affected the environment and the ecosystems and that had a few manifestations.

For example, the Volta river flows down into the sea, in an estuary. And there the fact that the saltwater and freshwater stopped mixing the way they did meant that there was less fish to be caught, less clams, oysters, and the fish catch was changed and decreased.

There was also unfortunately, a lot of growth of weeds and algae. The presence of aquatic weeds along the lakes and also the tributaries that flow into the Akosombo really negatively affected the local human health.

These weeds provide habitat for animals like blackflies, or mosquitoes, or snails, that became or that are vectors of waterborne diseases.

And there’s unfortunately several diseases that really strongly increased. One called bilharzia, one called river blindness, and malaria as well. You can definitely see how there’s a clear impact healthwise from, from the dam.

Julien Harou 13:47

We created a computer model of the Ghananian natural and human natural system. And we did that really to try to answer the question: “What infrastructure elements should Ghana pick up over the next 20-30 years?”

So how should they get their energy in the future? How should they improve their water supplies? What infrastructure should they put in place? So really, it’s a design problem or an investment problem?

And so the computer models were built specifically to answer those questions. And so, we have, you know, one river system model, which, you know, has the Volta River and other of the major rivers and the major dams.

Then we had a power system model. This is like, imagine like a network of the of the grid, the electrical grid and you’re representing all the locations where energy is generated and where energy is consumed.

And then we also have, you know, the accounting of the benefits that come from water and energy. So every place where you have economic production of some sort like irrigation food production, that’s also represented.

And so the model will march along through time. Computer simulation of human natural systems, it's very cool.

But it’s been active since the 1960s. So economists, scientists and engineers have been doing that, pretty much since the 1960s.

The really cool thing that hapened in the last 10 years is artificial intelligence. You can take your integrated resorce system simulator, which is maybe kind of boring, just a computer tool that tracks resources over time. And you can connect it to AI.

You can connect it to artificial intelligence design algorithms. In this case, we use one which is very cool, called evolutionary algorithms.

These are algorithms which just imitate evolution. If you look at yourself or your cat, and you will see that evolution produces amazing things.

And so we just use the same processes of evolution. And we encode all the potential investments into these genomes.

And then we allow these genomes to exist over many generations, and let the population evolve. And so it’s kind of an artificial way to design a system where you kind of trick evolution to not evolve a species, but to evolve an infrastructure system that works very well.

And so the evolutionary algorithm and the simulators just work hand in hand. And over millions of generations, they just refined the design.

And after a lot of calculations, something that would take you years to do on your laptop, (we do it on supercomputers, of course, or cloud computers), you get these really evolved designs.

And these will, these will recommend the synergistic ways that the water system, the energy system, and the food production system and the environmental system, how they can really synergistically and opportunistically work well together.

Okay, so the the results of the study were quite interesting. The first thing the artificial intelligence did is it said, “Oh, you know, renewable energy is good, let’s generate a ton of new energy from solar power and wind power.”

And so that’s the first thing it tried. It just, you know, full speed on expanding the renewable power from solar and wind.

What happened then is that to produce a stable electrical grid, it needed to start having the hydropower just turn on and off.

As soon as there was not enough power from wind and sun, the hydropower would just release water.

And so what happened is the rivers across Ghana in the computer model became very dangerous. Flashy, flashy rivers, if you will

They would just have high flows, and then they would have low flows. And it would just change all the time. And so that’s not good for the environment. And it's not good for humans who live near the rivers. It is quite dangerous.

So in the end, what the computer model found, and what we were able to tease out of these artificial intelligence, a design approach, was a compromise, really.

So we looked at the trade-offs between all the performance metrics that we were tracking, all the benefits we wanted from the system. And in the end, it invested in a system that put quite a bit of biogas and solar power in the north of Ghana.

A lot of winds near the coast on the southeast of the country where a lot of people live, and then created a whole series of new transmission lines across the country to kind of equalize, and, you know, to make sure that all the energy produced by in these different regions of Ghana, could, could be at the right place at the right time, if you will.

And by doing that, really intelligently, it was able to really reduce the damage to rivers. And so the the hydro-peaking, or the kind of artificial river regime, was really reduced very much.

In this compromise solution that was found the intermittent renewables, although they could go up to nearly 40%, that was found to be very damaging to the, to the aquatic ecosystems.

And so we were able to find a solution that is more like 20 to 30%, you know, because hydropower is already over 30%.

So we could get to a system by the 2030s. Ghana would be more than half of its national power would be from a renewable sources, but still it wouldn't have some of these damages that would happen if your only objective was increasing renewables.

So we were happy with this compromise solution. It was getting Ghana very quickly by the 2030s to more than half of their national energy from from well over half from renewable sources, and, but without some negative impacts that might happen if you try to do that too quickly.

Julien Harou 20:28

At the moment the best predictions are that the renewable energy mix by 2030 will be about 42%, which is a very large amount.

At the year 2000, it was only about 17%. So going from in 20, you know, in 30 years going from 17% to 42% would really be a huge success for the world.

But what I think this study underlined is that because energy systems are linked to other natural resource, or other resource systems like water, food production and the environment, countries and policymakers in the UN and other places need to be very careful to not try to go too quickly and not try to change the way our human natural systems are organized, too quickly, because then you could have all sorts of negative social and economic and environmental impacts.

If you try to make the change too quickly, make the transition too quickly to renewable energy, you might create some negative impacts.

And so that’s really what this study tried to underline is that you should look at this the whole system, the whole country, or in some cases, in the case of power pools, where countries are working together, you should look synergistically at how the whole energy system can cooperate effectively with the water system, the food production system, the environment, and find solutions that are acceptable for all the different sectors and the regions of the country or the regions of the, or the countries in a multi-country system.

We’re pretty excited about this design approach. So it’s really a computer simulation linked to artificial intelligence.

It’s an exciting use of of artificial intelligence design. We think that this will make lots of contributions. There’s lots of researchers around the world who are starting to use these these methods.

So we’re excited to see this work expanding throughout the world and countries making use of these, these planning and design methods to improve the way they select infrastructure investments.

You know, infrastructure is very expensive, it’s there for a long time. And it’s just essential that countries not make mistakes, you know, as they push forward in the energy transition.

It’s just very important that they make infrastructure investment solutions, which make the most sense for their people, for their environment, and for their economies, so that you know, they can continue to thrive and they can quickly move towards, towards you know, in the direction of the SDGs in particular SDG number seven, the one on renewable energy and sustainable energy for all.

Fabio Pullizi: 23:39

Thanks for listening to this series How to save humanity in 17 goals . Join us again next time when we look at Sustainable Development Goal number 8: economic growth and decent work for all.

See you then.

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Ending Deforestation from Cocoa in West Africa with New Data-Driven Resources

Ripe Cocoa pods from a cocoa farm in Ghana. Credit: U.S. Department of Agriculture

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The global demand for chocolate has had a significant impact on West African forests. Approximately 70% of the global supply of cocoa originates from Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, where production sites have replaced millions of hectares of forest. Between 2001 and 2015 alone, cocoa was linked to the loss of a third of Ghana’s forest area and a quarter of Côte d’Ivoire’s.

The Cocoa & Forests Initiative (CFI) , facilitated by World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) and the Sustainable Trade Initiative (IDH) , was established in 2017 in an effort to end cocoa-driven deforestation and restore forest areas. Companies that joined the CFI agreed to map their supply chains, align methodologies on deforestation risk assessment and contribute to transparent monitoring and reporting. To support these efforts, World Resources Institute (WRI) partnered with WCF and 19 major cocoa and chocolate companies to create two new resources:*

• The West Africa Cocoa dataset (WAC) , a database of mapped cocoa plot boundaries in the direct supply chains of participating companies that provides an extensive view of mapped cocoa production in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana. The public version of the dataset is available on Global Forest Watch (GFW) as a cocoa plot heat map that further anonymizes data to protect the privacy of farmers and companies.
• The Cocoa Deforestation Risk Assessment (Cocoa DRA) , a map that provides a standardized view of cocoa-driven deforestation risk across the cocoa growing region of these two countries. The Cocoa DRA map layer is available for download on GFW.

These resources are the result of an unprecedented collaboration among companies to share highly sensitive cocoa plot data, and an extensive ethics and legal review to ensure the protection of farmers’ data throughout the process. For the first time, companies and other stakeholders in the cocoa sector have a shared view of priority areas in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire for coordinated efforts toward a deforestation-free cocoa sector.

What is the West Africa Cocoa dataset?

The West Africa Cocoa dataset (WAC) aggregates data from 2021 on cocoa plot locations (a cocoa plot is a subset of a cocoa farm, and a single farm may be represented by multiple plots) in the direct supply chains of 19 cocoa and chocolate companies operating in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire. Project participants developed and agreed on a data collation protocol and data sharing agreement that outlined submission requirements and the procedure for cleaning and aggregating individual company data sets. To be included in the WAC, each plot had to be current, actively growing cocoa and occupying a single parcel of land. WRI then reviewed, cleaned and aggregated the data.

While the cocoa plot polygon data is considered sensitive and will not be available publicly (see more below), we visualized the data as a heat map, available on GFW , which avoids disclosing the precise boundaries of the plots in the WAC while giving users access to information on the approximate location of cocoa plots. Additionally, we distributed the plot data to impartial research institutions for use as training data to create derivative products; specifically, public cocoa production extent maps.

These strategies make the data publicly available to support companies and other users in more robust cocoa mapping and monitoring while safeguarding the privacy of individual farmers.

What is the Cocoa Deforestation Risk Assessment?

The Cocoa Deforestation Risk Assessment (Cocoa DRA) is a map that assesses the risk of future deforestation due to new or expanding cocoa production. The Cocoa DRA aligns various methods for assessing risk to provide a standardized view that companies and other stakeholders can use to make decisions around reducing deforestation. It can be used to proactively and efficiently identify deforestation risk across a supply chain that includes tens of thousands of geographically dispersed producers. Once risk has been identified, Cocoa DRA users can implement interventions for promoting sustainable production, protecting remaining forest cover and improving farmer livelihoods.

To create the map, we analyzed spatial variables that influence cocoa-linked deforestation including recent forest loss, proximity to cocoa, accessibility and suitability for cocoa production. The present-day extent of natural forest was approximated using the University of Maryland’s tree canopy cover data set and removing cocoa plots mapped in the WAC, other data sets that map planted trees and historic tree cover loss.

Primary and intact forests in West Africa are limited, so to ensure the Cocoa DRA comprehensively assesses where future cocoa-linked deforestation is likely to occur in all natural forests, its scope includes natural forests both inside and outside of protected areas as well as naturally regenerating forests.

The Cocoa DRA translates risk into five priority rankings at a 1-km resolution (high, mid-high, medium, mid-low and low priority) indicating the likelihood of future deforestation associated with cocoa production. Cocoa DRA users can assess risk at different scales, including groups of farms, supply sheds around cocoa bean collection points and other types of landscapes.

Users can download the Cocoa DRA map layer on GFW.

What have we learned from the WAC and Cocoa DRA?

Across Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, the WAC maps 840,000 unique cocoa plots in 2021. Though cocoa plots tend to be small (most plots were between 1 to 2 hectares), the plots included in the WAC cover approximately 1.5 million hectares of planted cocoa area.

Cocoa plot data is most comprehensive in western Côte d’Ivoire as well as near the shared border between Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana. The forests in these areas have been particularly impacted by cocoa production . We found that the Cocoa DRA showed that these same regions had a significant amount of high priority areas (areas with higher likelihood of future cocoa-related deforestation). This is most evident in Côte d’Ivoire near the border of Liberia, while in western Ghana the landscape is more mixed.

While creating the Cocoa DRA, we found that proximity to recent loss was an important predictor of future deforestation risk. The influence of this variable is most evident in several high-interest protected areas where, presumably due to effective legal protection, forest loss has been prevented in their boundaries. Because these forests have experienced less loss compared to the surrounding landscape, this resulted in a low priority ranking for the areas.

A good example of this is Taï National Park in western Côte d’Ivoire, which contains the only remaining intact forest within the study area. This is notable because the park is located within a region of Côte d’Ivoire where forests have been significantly impacted by cocoa production. A similar example is Bia National Park in western Ghana, which contains primary forest that has experienced low rates of forest loss compared to the surrounding landscape.

That being said, additional data on legal status and conservation value provides important contextual information and we recommend users consider this data when using the Cocoa DRA for prioritizing engagement activities and supply chain interventions.  

Driving collective action: How companies and others can use the WAC and Cocoa DRA

Used together, the WAC and the Cocoa DRA can inform decision making and coordinated action to reduce cocoa-driven deforestation. These resources also have utility beyond the scope of the CFI. For example, the public WAC heat map of cocoa plots may be used alongside near-real-time alerts to identify deforestation in cocoa production landscapes, or as a resource to collectively assess the industry’s progress towards ending deforestation. Use of the WAC as training data to develop public cocoa extent maps will also shed light on production across West Africa. Such accessible and holistic extent data is essential for stakeholders striving to tackle cocoa-driven deforestation.

For companies and farmers seeking to comply with the EUDR, the WAC and Cocoa DRA can also be valuable tools. The risk map can enable companies and other stakeholders to identify high-priority landscapes and prevent deforestation before it happens. To achieve this, engagement with farmers in high priority areas will be needed, enabling them to protect remaining forests while safeguarding their livelihoods. The risk map and WAC can also help companies determine where to prioritize further cocoa plot data collection efforts. High priority areas where the WAC shows a lack of mapped cocoa plots is a good indication of where such efforts are needed for enabling compliance with the EUDR’s geolocation requirement. This data will also be key for enabling inclusion of smallholder farmers in the EU market.

As public resources that provide stakeholders with a shared understanding of where it’s most urgent to address deforestation while respecting farmer privacy, the WAC and Cocoa DRA can help realize a more sustainable cocoa sector. Through this collective knowledge, stakeholders can more easily form collaborative approaches to eliminate cocoa-driven deforestation. Furthermore, through ongoing updates based on best available data, both resources can remain a public good and contribute to transparent monitoring of the cocoa sector.

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Bawumia's 100% ownership of natural resources is propaganda — Alan

Alan Kyerematen, the leader of the Movement for Change, has dismissed Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia's pledges on Ghana's mineral resources as mere political rhetoric.

The flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr. Bawumia disclosed that he will set up a minerals development bank if he wins the 2024 general elections.

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According to him, this will provide financial support for Ghanaians in the mining and natural resources sector.

Speaking at the 3rd Annual Transformational Dialogue on Small Scale Mining in Ghana at the University of Energy and Natural Resources in the Bono Region, Dr. Bawumia said the practice of foreign mining companies exporting all their earnings will end when the policy is implemented.

But Alan Kyerematen disagreed and described his policy as misleading and amounts to populist propaganda.

He emphasized that according to Article 257 (6) of the 1992 Constitution, minerals in their natural state within Ghana and its territorial waters are already owned by the citizens, as they are vested in the President on behalf of the Ghanaian people.

This ownership extends to both solid and liquid minerals, with distinct laws governing their access and management, he added.

He noted that "So, Ghanaians already own 100% of their mineral resources by law. The impression being created by the Vice President that he will make Ghanaians own 100% of their natural resources is misleading and amounts to populist propaganda."

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Speaker Bagbin reconvenes Parliament

We will tackle concerns over unauthorized mobile money charges, bog expenditure on 2,203 employees surpasses gh₵1.62 b in 2022 - togbe afede xiv, churches will be incentivised if i become president – bawumia, imf expresses confidence in ghana's second review board meeting scheduled for june, prempeh i international airport in kumasi officially opened, i’ll march to the jubilee house if the anti-gay law is not signed – dr. lawrence tetteh, npp official arrested in mpohor on suspicion of registering a minor, the supreme court is to blame for the limited voter registration challenges – ndc.

Dr. Bawumia takes campaign to Bono, Bono East and Ahafo regions from May 8

Bawumia can win all the regions if elections are held today – Miracles Aboagye

CHRAJ petitioned to probe EC's actions regarding disposal of election-related equipment

Try bawumia; vote him out after 4 years if he fails – miracles aboagye to ghanaians.

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Minister Wilkinson Announces Progress on Canada’s Hydrogen Strategy

From: Natural Resources Canada

News release

The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, launched the Hydrogen Strategy for Canada: Progress Report. The Report is the result of three years of engagement, research and analysis, including with over 1,000 experts and stakeholders. It highlights the significant investments and notable developments that have advanced Canada’s hydrogen sector since 2020, features projections of hydrogen’s potential role in meeting Canada’s climate objectives and provides a roadmap for next steps and priorities.

May 10, 2024                            Ottawa, Ontario           Natural Resources Canada

As we continue to foster economic growth and build Canada’s clean economy, significant investments and progress are being made in the production, distribution, and use of clean fuels, including low-carbon hydrogen. These advancements are guided by Canada’s Hydrogen Strategy, which introduced a framework in 2020 to help position Canada as a global supplier and producer of low-carbon hydrogen on our path to net-zero by 2050.

Today, the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, launched the Hydrogen Strategy for Canada: Progress Report . The Report is the result of three years of engagement, research and analysis, including with over 1,000 experts and stakeholders. It highlights the significant investments and notable developments that have advanced Canada’s hydrogen sector since 2020, features projections of hydrogen’s potential role in meeting Canada’s climate objectives and provides a roadmap for next steps and priorities. 

Interest in low-carbon hydrogen in Canada has increased significantly in recent years, with over 80 low-carbon hydrogen production projects currently in various stages of development, representing an economic opportunity of over $100 billion in potential investment in domestic clean energy opportunities and jobs.  

This comes as Budget 2024 presents key investments to incentivize the development and adoption of clean fuels and accelerate innovation and investments in Canadian hydrogen, including the implementation of the Clean Hydrogen Investment Tax Credit and other major economic investment tax credits.

The federal government will continue to advance domestic low-carbon hydrogen opportunities to position Canada as a competitive and reliable supplier in the growing global market for clean fuels. 

“Unlocking the potential of clean hydrogen is an essential step to position Canada as a global leader of clean renewable fuels. Today’s Progress Update testifies to the remarkable advancements made in the hydrogen landscape since we released our Hydrogen Strategy in 2020, underscoring our dedication to sustainable energy innovation in the race to net zero.” The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson Minister of Energy and Natural Resources

Quick facts

Since 2020, British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick have published hydrogen strategies, identifying hydrogen as a provincial clean energy priority and describing provincial actions and objectives to realize regional low-carbon hydrogen objectives.

Canada has signed 12 international agreements to provide energy security and advance clean hydrogen export opportunities, including Germany, the Netherlands, the United States, South Korea and Japan.

There are now 13 low-carbon hydrogen production facilities in operation across Canada, able to produce over 3,000 tonnes of low-carbon hydrogen per year.

Associated links

• Hydrogen Strategy for Canada and Progress Report
• Budget 2024: Fairness for Every Generation
• Budget 2024 – Attracting Investment for a Net-Zero Economy
• Backgrounder: Economic Growth and Productivity
• 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan: Clean Air, Strong Economy
• Net-zero emissions by 2050
• Energy Innovation Program

Natural Resources Canada Media Relations 343-292-6100 [email protected]

Carolyn Svonkin Press Secretary Office of the Minister of Energy Natural Resources 343-597-1725 [email protected]

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