Ghana to host 2020 World Resources Forum

Ghana will host the World Resources Forum (WRF) in June 2020 in Accra, with a focus on the sustainable governance and use of natural resources in Africa, particularly, the Western sector.

This follows the momentum built up from the two-day WRF 2019, held in Geneva, Switzerland, which was attended by industry leaders, key policy makers and representatives and regions around the world.

A statement issued by the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI), and copied to the Ghana News Agency on Friday, said: “The WRF 2020 would continue the conversation on the important themes discussed in Geneva and would place a significant emphasis on the sustainable use of natural resources in West Africa and Africa at large.

Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, the sector Minister, represented Ghana at this year’s event, held in Geneva on October 23-24.

“With the WRF 2020, MESTI, with its partners, will bring together these natural synergies to drive forward the discussions on natural resource governance”.

With diverse resources - such as forests, minerals, metals, and oil and gas – natural resource governance is of clear importance for Ghana, it said.

“This situation underpins why it is crucial that Ghana takes its place in this international discussion.”

The statement said the Forum would address two parallel discussions on natural resources; the primary sector and the secondary sector.

Within the primary sector, the focus would be on artisanal and small-scale mining, illicit financial flows, and mineral governance from the perspective of an extractive economy.

The secondary sector would be on topics, such as sustainable waste management with a special focus on e-waste and plastics, and the circular economy.

In line with the WRF goal of providing a platform for multi-stakeholder dialogue on natural resources, the statement said, MESTI had already identified partners across business, academia, and global organisations.

It said the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) had been earmarked to be the official industry partner for the conference.

“Topics of interest have already been highlighted by the AGI that align well with WRF themes, including corporate social responsibility and capturing revenues minerals effectively,” the statement said.

The United Nations University’s Institute for Natural Resources in Africa, which is in Accra, but represents Africa as a whole, has also agreed to be an official partner.

Additionally, the United Nations Environment Programme in Nairobi, Kenya has shown its willingness to support the WRF 2020.

The Institute of Environment and Sanitation Studies and Department of Geography at the University of Ghana had also expressed their interest to act as the academic conference partner, the statement said.

MESTI is working closely with the WRF in Ghana, which is the GIZ.