GREEN CLIMATE FUND

Countries covered by the ambitious Great Green Wall initiative to reverse land degradation in Africa are among the world’s poorest and most climate vulnerable. Climate shocks are causing a loss of assets, crops and livestock; disruptions to value chains; and soaring food prices. Projections indicate persistent agricultural strain - as rainfall levels are set to continue declining while temperatures increase. This cross-cutting programme will enhance access to credit and technical assistance for local farmers, farmers’ organisations, cooperatives and micro and small sized enterprises. This will help them implement climate-resilient and low-emission agriculture and agroforestry. This programme covers 11 countries in the Great Green Wall, in addition to Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana. A major aim of the initiative is to build greater coherence and complementarity of climate action in Africa.

THE GREENLOVE GHANA REVOLUTION

Truth stands! At long last, our ever-cherished dream of protecting the environment through advocacy and practice for sustainable development and for our common future, has been realized through the implementation of the Green Ghana project by the government of Ghana. As enshrined in the United Nations Sustainable development goals, humankind remains at the center of concern as long as climate change remains a reality. Greenlove Ghana is seeking for the support of everyone so we can together plant trees along the banks of all the waterbodies in and around Kintampo, so we can sustain the multiple magnificent waterfalls we have. Climate change has drastically degraded the flora and fauna of the waterbodies in and around Kintampo. The opportunity is ripe, the Forestry Commission is giving out seedlings for free, all we need now is the genuine goodwill to volunteer in the planting of these trees. We need the youth to volunteer, so together we can. All volunteers should contact Mr. Appiah Gyasi, the Executive Secretary through 0243215490. The schedules to plant the trees along the various waterbodies will be made known as soon as possible. Greenlove Ghana! Our Common Future!

Green Gold

We the members of Greenlove Ghana stand fortified and resolute to our genuine goodwill to protect and safeguard our environment through advocacy and practice.

So far, all members have a plantation to their credit.

We adopted practical tactics since action in deed surmounts sheer rhetoric. In our own way of communalism, coupled with a common network of mutuality, green revolution remains our resolve.

As enshrined in the United Nations Sustainable Development goals, we are convinced beyond reasonable doubts that, our common future is secured with providence.

Now that we hold the lamp of hope in the green fortune, we are calling all and sundry to join in this success story.

Plantation culture is the antidote to wretchedness and recklessness.

Cashew is the ultimate Green Gold so long as we are concerned, mango as well as other plants are beneficial, nonetheless, the cashew fever is like a celebrated storm blowing all over.

The natural adaptability of the cashew plant, henceforth, referred to as the Green Gold, is comparable with none. This is what we call natural selection of the prime plant.

Its easy to find, plant and sustain. With personal and shared experiences, I urge all to embrace this simple approach with all zeal and zest it deserves.

Time will tell, but its already obvious and glaring like the morning sun in the Savannah.

Never before have we had an opportunity great as much as this one. Lets leave the streets  and go farming like our noble grandfathers did.

A single cashew plant is worth more than a Taxi cab, so in logical deduction, a man worth an acre plantation of cashew is ultimately 'DANGOTE'.

Acquire land and plant your own now, else you may grow into a helpless envier.

Lets go green for our common future with the ultimate Green Gold.

By: Appiah Gyasi

Executive Secretary. 

 Climate Action for COP21 30 November 2015
Achim Steiner, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations, and Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme

Every so often, the world can choose to take a historic step forward as a global community. The latest edition of Climate Action explores why tackling climate change is one such occasion and shows that a meaningful agreement to limit greenhouse gas emissions and avoid catastrophic levels of global warming is within our grasp.

The world has already taken one historic step this year, with 193 nations agreeing to the 17 goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. For the first time, this planet has an agenda that addresses the needs of both the developing and the developed world. Crucially, that agenda integrates environmental sustainability, social equity and economic progress – a combination that is galvanising momentum for a strong, universal climate agreement.
However, the latest UNEP Emissions Gap Report makes it clear that greenhouse gas emissions must start declining within the next few years to stay within the 2 degrees C limit, highlighting the dramatic and far reaching socio-economic consequences of any failure to do so.
In response, the new Climate Action publication explains many of the efforts under way to address these issues, including mitigation and adaptation activities, smart cities and clean energy. It also explains why these efforts can only succeed if we make the transition away from the current carbon-intensive economic model of consumption and waste towards an inclusive green economy, driven by strong evidence-based policies and market demand.

Making that transition to economic and climate compatibility requires proactive collaboration from governments and the private sector, but it is not as difficult as many people imagine: it is about spending wisely, not just spending more. For example, cities already contribute up to 70 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions.
As urban population increases and cities continue to expand and build, the carbon emissions and energy consumption of the building sector could increase by 70 per cent and 50 per cent respectively by 2050, if current trends continue. Investments needed to transform the building sector to address these challenges are estimated to cost US$330 billion per year, much of which can be achieved by reallocating less than 4 per cent of the current annual investment in construction.
Clearly, on a global level this still equates to a massive redeployment of investment towards the green infrastructure, technology and finance that can deliver long-term, sustainable profits and growth.
But again, we have tools to make this happen, with initiatives like the Green Climate Fund deploying investment for mitigation and adaptation projects in developing nations, the UNEP Finance Initiative working with over 200 financial institutions to improve understanding of the links between environmental, social and financial performance, and the UNEP Inquiry helping to put sustainable development at the heart of national decisions by facilitating market reform and more effectively channelling capital to green investment.

Climate Action shows how all of these elements can fit together to deliver lasting, meaningful change

Climate Action shows how all of these elements can fit together to deliver lasting, meaningful change through the 2030 Agenda and the Paris climate deal. So, with the policies and tools in place, it just remains for each of us to take personal responsibility for making it happen.

CLIMATE SUMMIT.
COP21 has begun in Paris as nations work to achieve a comprehensive climate change agreement. The International Resource Panel has provided a guide of key messages on how sustainable management of natural resources can contribute to global efforts to combat climate change.

From the carbon cycle and drivers of deforestation to financing approaches and stakeholder engagement, explore technical issues and processes.

WORLD WATER ASSESSMENT REPORT

• UN Water

The report, published by the World Water Assessment Programme on behalf of UN-Water stresses the urgent need to change the way we use and manage this vital resource, as the United Nations prepares to adopt new Sustainable Development Goals.

Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) said, "The impacts of our increasingly stressed global water resources can be felt by almost everyone, in the form of food insecurity, disease, degraded ecosystems, biodiversity loss, loss of economic productivity, endangered marine life, loss of tourism and more".

"What this means is that the remedy to these ills cannot be administered in a piecemeal and fragmented form. An integrated approach is key because solutions that address the environmental challenges, if they are to be effective, must also address the economic and social ones. All countries, regions and international agencies should combine efforts to apply integrated approaches to water supply chain management to address these challenges, now, and in the post-2015 development agenda", he added

"Water resources are a key element in policies to combat poverty, but are sometimes themselves threatened by development. Water directly influences our future, so we need to change the way we assess, manage and use this resource in the face of ever-rising demand and the over exploitation of our groundwater reserves. This is the appeal made by the latest edition of the UN World Water Development Report. The report's observations are timely, because the international community has to draw up a new development programme, to take over from the Millennium Development Goals", said UNESCO Director-General, Irina Bokova.

"There is already international consensus that water and sanitation are essential to the achievement of many sustainable development goals. They are inextricably linked to climate change, agriculture, food security, health, energy, equality, gender and education. Now, we must look forward to measurability, monitoring and implementation", said Michel Jarraud, Chair of UN-Water and Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organisation

Growing demand

In 2000 India had nearly 19 million mechanised or tube wells, compared to less than a million in 1960. This technological revolution has played an important role in the country's efforts to combat poverty, but the ensuing development of irrigation has, in turn, resulted in significant water stress in some regions of the country, such as Maharashtra and Rajasthan.

This example alone illustrates the complex relationships between access to water and development. While water is essential for economic growth and the fight against poverty, it is also itself directly affected by economic development. To find a solution to this conundrum, we must seek a balance between water supply and demand. But we are nowhere near this. Despite the considerable progress that has been made in recent years, 748 million people are still without access to an improved drinking water source. And those first affected are the poor, the disadvantaged and women.

At the same time, the planet has never been so thirsty. To answer the needs of an ever- growing population, the agriculture and energy sectors have to keep producing more and more. From now until 2050, agriculture, which consumes most water, has to produce 60 per cent more food globally, 100 per cent in developing countries. Demand for manufactured goods is also increasing, which, in turn, puts further pressure on water resources. Between 2000 and 2050, the demand for water by industry is expected to increase by 400 per cent.

But while demand for water rockets - it is expected to increase by 55 per cent by 2050 - and

20 per cent of global groundwater sources are already overexploited, it is still not being managed sustainably. Intensive crop irrigation, uncontrolled release of pesticides and chemicals into watercourses and the absence of wastewater treatment - which is the case for 90 per cent of wastewater in developing countries − are all proof of this state of affairs.

Development is putting a strain on water

The environmental cost of practices like these is high. It means wide-scale water pollution and significant wastage. In the North China Plain, intensive irrigation has caused the water table to drop by over 40 metres. The environmental cost is also seen in terms of the sometimes irreversible damage to many ecosystems across the world, especially in wetlands and coastal areas. This substantially reduces their capacity to perform vital ecosystem services such as water purification and storage.

Climate change only adds to this pressure. The increased variation in rainfall and rising temperatures lead to greater evaporation and transpiration by vegetation. Meanwhile, sea level rise is threatening groundwater in coastal areas. Just like Calcutta (India), Shanghai (China) and Dacca (Bangladesh), other cities are finding their groundwater reserves are being contaminated by salt water. The picture is the same in the Pacific islands of Tuvalu and Samoa, whose inhabitants increasingly depend on imported water to satisfy their needs, as their own groundwater has become too salty.

According to the authors of the report, this growing pressure on water resources is also likely to lead to greater competition between sectors, as well as between regions and nations.

The time has therefore come for us to change the way we assess, manage and utilise this resource, the report stresses, pointing to failures in our governance of water. Water is too cheap, compared to its real value, and is rarely taken into account when decisions are made regarding energy and industry. In general, decisions that determine how most of water is used are taken by a limited number of players (public, parapublic and private) and follow a logic dictated by short-term goals, rather than environmental concerns.

The virtuous circle of sustainable development

The report emphasises the role of public authorities in influencing the strategic choices that will guarantee a lasting future for our water resources. In particular it recommends limiting the development of thermal power stations that, today, produce 80 per cent of our electricity and consume vast quantities of water. This could be achieved, for example, by granting subsidies to renewable energies such as wind and solar, which are still relatively expensive. It could also mean rewarding farmers who use efficient irrigation methods. For example, in an arid country like Cyprus, subsidies like this have led to a major change in farmers' attitudes towards irrigation techniques and the imposition of techniques that consume less water.

The transition towards more sustainable models of production comes at a cost, but as the report points out, such investments are part of a virtuous circle. Indeed, studies show that for every dollar invested to protect a catchment area up to $200 can be saved on water

treatment. So, while $235,000 are needed annually to optimise the treatment of waste in order to maintain the Nakivubo marshlands in Uganda ecologically intact, this ecosystem provides a water purification service for Kampala that is estimated to be worth USD 2 million per year. In New York, managing the upstream catchment areas saves the city an estimated USD 300 million a year.

The efforts that some countries are making show that better governance and more careful use of water are possible, including in developing countries. The water authorities in Phnom Penh (Cambodia) are a case in point. This organisation, once accused of corruption and on the verge of bankruptcy has, in the space of a decade, become one of the world's most efficient water suppliers. It has reduced water losses from 60 per cent in 1998 to 6 per cent in 2008, which is equivalent to Singapore's entire water supply.

As the United Nations prepares to adopt the future Sustainable Development Goals for 2030, the report points to the need to devote an entire goal to water. It argues that the focus be extended from drinking water and sanitation - as was the case in the Millenium Development Goals - to the global management of the whole water cycle. The proposed SDGs would thus take into account questions of governance, water quality, wastewater management and the prevention of natural disasters. The Sustainable Development Goals will be finalised in the autumn of 2015 during the United Nations General Assembly.

The United Nations World Water Development Report is the result of collaboration between the 31 agencies of the United Nations system and the 37 international partners that make up UN-Water. It is produced by the World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP), hosted by UNESCO. The report presents an exhaustive account of the state of the world's water resources and, up until 2012, was published every three years. Since 2014 it has become an annual publication, devoted to a specific theme. Its publication is now timed to coincide with World Water Day, whose theme is also aligned with that of the report.

THOUGHTS ON POLLUTION AND ENVIRONMENT

When seeking to define pollution, a very useful reference point is the ambient quality of the physical environment. Basically, physical environment refers to the natural state of the environment without the interference by mankind.
Based on the above scenario, pollution can therefore be explained as a lowering or reduction of the ambient quality of the physical environment as a result of the activities of human.
Pollutants can classified taken into consideration three key elements:
        The first key element has to do with chemical and physical properties. This usually explain a situation whereby pollutants are classified into organic compounds(detergents, oil, solvents, etc), inorganic compounds ( acids, salts,, etc) ,infectious agents (virus, bacteria, etc) and energy firms        ( radioactive waste).
         The next element is the source of emission which is classified into three of which are:
1st: Cumulative and non-cumulative pollutants:
        these are non-biodegradable , for instance, plastic and radioactive waste whiles the non-cumulative are biodegradable , for instance noise.
2nd: Point sources and non-point sources pollutants:
        these are pollutants whose source point of emission can be traced and identified, eg. carbon monoxide, whiles non-point source pollutants are those that cannot be identified, eg. fertilizer washed away into water bodies.
3rd: Continuous and episodic pollutants:
        Continuous pollutants are generated on the routine bases. eg. carbon monoxide from engines
whiles the episodic pollutants on the other hand are generated occasionally. eg. chemical fertilizers been washed into water bodies.
 The last key element and also prominent among the all has to do with the geographic scale of the impact of the pollutants.
The above element reveals three levels of pollutants, thus the global, regional and local pollutants.
Global pollutants emitted locally with a potential world wide impact. eg. the emission of chlorofloro carbon (CFC) on the ozone layer in the worlds stratosphere.
Regional pollutants emitted locally but the impact extends beyond the geographic boundaries of the source of emission but not world wide. eg. carbon monoxide , waste disposal, etc.
Local pollutants emitted locally with a potential local impact. eg. smoking, intensive local pollution is also prevailing in most cities in China and India.
Sixteen of the the twenty world polluted cities are situated in China. Serious pollution has long term health and environmental damages or effects.
China and most developing countries of which Ghana is among are now exchanging good health and healthy environment for industrial gains.
Lets go green to protect and safeguard our environment for our common future.
By: Afriyie Moses
      Environmental Officer
      Greenlove Ghana.