The Landscapes and Environmental Agility Across the Nation (LEAN) project was launched by Tropenbos Ghana and EcoCare Ghana in Techiman on Thursday.
The four-year project, which is funded by the European Union’s flagship GCCA+ initiative, seeks to contribute to the national efforts of conserving biodiversity, improving livelihoods of about 12,000 smallholder farmers, increase climate change resilience, and reduce emissions from land-use changes in the savannah, high forest and transition zones of Ghana.
The Director of Tropenbos Ghana, Mrs. Mercy Owusu Ansah who spoke to Citi News stated that the project is to help expand and scale up the government’s efforts to the country’s climate change resilience.
“We need to act very fast given the fact that we are being threatened by the issue of climate change, especially the main driver being deforestation which is associated with agriculture.”
She further stated that the delay in rains and increase in temperatures indicate the impact of climate change, “and that is why these interventions we are bringing are very relevant.”
The project is being implemented by a consortium of four local NGOs; Rainforest Alliance in the High Forest Zone, World Vision in the Savannah Landscape and Tropenbos Ghana, and EcoCare Ghana in the Forest-Savannah Transition Landscape.
The Forest-Savannah Transitional Landscape
The forest-savannah transitional belt of Ghana has always been referred to as the country’s food basket, with agricultural activities as the main socio-economic activity of the people.
The LEAN project through integrated approaches will work with local communities to improve the productivity of farmers in the project communities and districts.
The project will also build climate resilience and promote natural resource conservation through training and mentoring of Twelve Thousand smallholders on Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) and Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) in collaboration with the District’s Offices of the Departments of Agriculture and the Forestry Commission.
In the transition landscape, the project will be implemented by Tropenbos Ghana and EcoCare Ghana in six selected districts; Nkoranza North, Nkoranza South, Techiman North, Techiman municipal in the Bono East Region, and Offinso North and Offinso Municipal in the Ashanti Region.
The project will be working with a total of sixty (60) communities in the selected districts, with ten (10) communities from each district.
To achieve the aim of the project, the partners will embark on activities such as the creation of wood lots, landscape restoration, and conservation, mobilizing the private sector and political authority to facilitate the creation of access to market for commodities cultivated by farmers, empowering farmers and youth with entrepreneurial skills among others.
Transition Landscape Project launch
The project launch took place in Techiman, on the 8th of July 2021. The keynote address was given by the Director of Operation of the Transition Zone Forestry Services Department. The welcome address was given by Mrs. Mercy Owusu Ansah, the Director of Tropenbos Ghana and Mr. Obed Owusu Addai provided a detailed overview of the project.
Other key personalities present at the launch were, Ms. Abena Woode (the LEAN project Coordinator), representatives of World Vision Ghana, Mrs. Lucy Amoh Ntim ( Bono East Regional Director of Forestry Commission), representatives of the 6 district assemblies, Forestry Commission, Department of Agriculture, Traditional Authority and Gang Leaders of beneficiary farmers.
