Call for Climate Action Part 2

Continued from Part 1

As part of the Millennium Developmental Goal, food security is one of

the sectors that drive most developing countries into famine and

extreme poverty. Ghana currently depends on Agriculture for a higher

percentage of employment; the agriculture sector provides as with

foods and has a significant percentage of the nation’s Gross Domestic

Product (GDP). Farming basically depends on the fertility of lands and

more importantly weather conditions. Over exploitation in Ghana has

led to increased soil degradation caused by soil-nutrient mining,

erosion, deforestation and desertification, water logging, falling

water tables, over salinization and potentially, climate change render

barren the marginal cropland the poor had counted on for survival.

Aside farming, fisheries play a key role in livelihoods for people

along the 550km coastline. Fisheries, both marine and inland (on

rivers, lakes and lagoons) play a vital role in livelihoods and are

crucial for nutrition in Ghana (on the average, 24kg of fish is

consumed by every Ghanaian annually). The fisheries sector accounts

for 1.4 percent of GDP (Ghana Statistical Service, 2014) and employs

at least 2 million people, including 135,000 fishers in the marine

sector (Finegold et al., 2010)

The impacts of and responses to climate change have significant

implications on the fisheries sector and the lives of poor people

(Allisonet al., 2005). The marine fisheries are expected to be

adversely affected by climate change. Increasing temperature means,

increasing ocean surface temperature; Ghana receives bumper harvest

which is attributed by colder water surfaces which results in

upwelling- regarded as bumper fish catch. With increasing

temperatures, sea surfaces will be hotter and will result in most

pelagic organisms shifting habitat to depths closer to the benthic

zone. Less fish catch gradually will lead Ghana to food insecurity,

more food importations and higher economic crisis.

Climate change-related initiatives in Ghana are increasing, and the

government is committed to mainstreaming climate change responses into

multi-scale and multi-sector planning and policy processes (MEST,

2011). However, there is increasing over exploitation accompanied with

these initiatives and therefore there is no significant resulting

climate action plans in Ghana.

World leaders are meeting in New York City for a UN summit on the

climate crisis this September. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is

urging governments to support an ambitious global agreement to

dramatically reduce global warming pollution.If all nations will agree

to the democratically effects of climate change impacts on their

citizens and how it can ruin economies, render millions homeless and

destruction of natural resources, we can all witness a secured future

for generations yet unborn.

The Peoples Climate Marchhappening in the United States of America

(New York City), 21stof September will bring together the voices of

many climate change advocates not because climate change is just an

eventual topic of discussion but a generational impact that we suffers

today, tomorrow and generations to come if fervent actions are not

taken. Let us all, every individual; raise his or her voice in support

of climate action at local and global level.

Thank You.

Author: Amponsem Joshua