The Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology on Wednesday launched the National Climate Change Adaptation Strategy (NCCAS) Guidelines for Acquisition of Environmental Permits for Compost Projects Documents and Accessing the Global Carbon Credit Using Composting Guideline and Process in Koforidua.

The main objectives stated in the NCCAS document are to improve societal awareness and preparedness for climate change, enhance the mainstreaming of climate change into national development planning.

Ms Sherry Ayittey, the Sector Minister, in a speech read on her behalf, noted that climate change was a major developmental issue since it affected ecosystems and socio-economic well-being of people in the world over. “This is because climate change has resulted in increases temperature and changes of rainfall pattern”.

She said there was the need to respond with urgent action both at the national and international level-including helping the most vulnerable with the right and timely information that would assist them to adapt to the impact of climate change and making progress on reducing emissions of greenhouse gases.

Ms Ayittey said to that effect Ghana in 2008 with financial support from the Climate Change and Development Programme-Adapting by Reducing Vulnerability (CC-DARE) Project, commenced the preparation of the National Climate Change Adaptation Strategy Document.

She indicated that the main goal of the document was to enhance Ghana’s current and future development by strengthening its adaptive capacity with regards to climate change impacts and building the resilience of the Society and Ecosystem.

Ms Ayittey noted that the need to utilize waste as a resource had been used by many countries and said based on that Ghana had initiated several interventions in that area.

“The Co-operative Housing Foundation of Ghana under the technical direction of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has developed two publications.

“The first one is on accessing the global carbon credit using composting and the second one is guidelines for the acquisition of environmental permits for composting projects in Ghana”.

She said those publications provided very useful information that guides investors on how to access Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and the permitting process of the Ghana Environmental Impact Assessment.

Ms Ayittey said more specifically those publications would provide a guide for operators in the waste sector to take advantage of the global emission trading system to earn carbon credits that could be sold at the international market.

She said the EPA under the auspices of the Ministry had undertaken various initiatives including the implementation of the African Adaptation Program which focuses primarily on early warning systems, climate change and human health with emphasis of improving adaptability climate-related diseases and make the health sector resilient to climate change.

Mr Daniel S. Amlalo, Executive Director of the EPA, said there was no doubt from research and careful observation that the impacts of climate change were having a toll on the entire globe and particularly on developing countries that are relatively vulnerable like Ghana.

He said global climate change was certainly one of the greatest environmental threats and the most devastating development challenge facing the world presently.

Mr Amlalo said Ghana had not been left out of the impacts and effects of climate change, adding that historical data for Ghana across the country from 1960 to 2000 clearly showed a progressive rise in temperature and decrease in mean annual rainfall in all agro-ecological zones in the country.

He noted that currently in Ghana there is an increasing variability of rainfall nationwide, extreme weather events and disaster; a widespread increase in the risk of flooding and erosion for many human settlements, which are impacting negatively on agriculture, water, physical infrastructure, health and the environment.