The Ghanaian Perspective on

CLIMATE CHANGE- DAAD Ghana Alumni Webinar -

Resource person: ERIC ADABOR

Eric Adabor

PhD Candidate (KNUST)

• Research Interest

▫ Climate Change,

▫ Urban Planning

▫ Residential Mobility

▫ Environment and Development

Climate Change

• Climate - average weather conditions, of any given geographic region, estimated over a long period of time, from a few weeks to infinite years, but generally for as long as 30 years or more (NASA, 2008)

• Weather on the other hand describes the state or condition of the atmosphere at a particular time (i.e., from a few minutes to few hours) and at a particular place (i.e., point location).

• Both climate and weather are described in terms of the same variable conditions such as solar radiation, precipitation, temperature, humidity, wind velocity and barometric pressure

Principal Climatic Parameters –

• Temperature - the departure from mean annual temperatures of an area

• Precipitation - rainfall amounts over a region generally exceeding mean annual values

• CO2 Levels – changes in global atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide.

There have been changes in the CO2 concentration over the

last 800,000 years. However, the change within the last

century exceeds all.

5World Development report 2010. p 4

CO2 concentration over time

Oct 2010: 388 ppm

Climate Change and Africa

• Africa is amongst the most vulnerableregions in the world to climate change (IPCC,2009).

• Africa's vulnerability is heightened by the factthat most of theeconomies in this region rely mainly on naturalresources and rain-fed agriculture, whichare very sensitive to climate change andvariability.

•

Climate Change and Ghana• Temperatures in Ghana have increased by about 1

oC over the past 40 years (Hansen et al.,2012).

• Reduction in the number of wet season days totaling less than 20 mm of rainfall between 6oN and 9.5oN.

• Delay of about 0.5 day/year in onset of the wet season at several locations.

• Lengthening of dry periods by about 0.1 day/year in the wet season in the south and center of Ghana.

Climate Change Trends in Ghana• Climate change is manifested in Ghana through:

▫ Rising Temperatures,

▫ Declining rainfall totals and increased variability,

▫ Rising sea levels and

▫ High incidence of weather extremes and disasters.

Climate Change Trends in Ghana – Rising Temperature

• Average annual temperature has increased 1°C in the last 30 years.

• In all agro-ecological zones average annual temperatures are estimated to increase between 0.8°C and 5.4°C for the years 2020 and 2080 respectively. Within the same period average annual rainfall total is estimated to decline by between 1.1%, and 20.5% (Karley, 2009, Adabor, 2012).

Climate Change Trends in Ghana – Rainfall• Rainfall variability may be the single largest component

of rainfall changes affecting all agro-ecological zones in Ghana.

• In the Transition zone for instance, the short dry spell(July and August) which is crucial for preparing the landfor the second crop is increasingly becoming wetter andthe short rainy season terminating early.

• There is a progression toward a uni-modal regime for the transitional zone with serious consequences for rain-fed agriculture.

•Year Sudan Guinea Transitional Deciduous

rainforest

Rainforest Coastal

Savannah

2020 -1.1 -1.9 -2.2 -2.8 -3.1 -3.1

2050 -6.7 -7.8 -8.8 -10.9 -12.1 -12.3

2080 -12.8 -12.8 -14.6 -18.6 -20.2 -20.5

Climate Change Trends in Ghana – Sea-Level Rise

• A sea-level rise of 2.1 mm per year over the last 30 years, with projections of 5.8 cm, 16.5 cm and 34.5 cm by 2020, 2050 and 2080 respectively.

• Studies predict a 1 m rise in sea-level globally by 2100

• The major challenges in the Coastal zone include coastal erosion and salt water intrusion. The east coast of Ghana is the most affected with whole communities in Ada, Keta, Ningo and Prampramat risk of losing their houses and other infrastructure.

Incidence Of Weather Extremes And Disasters

• Ghana ranks high amongst African countries most exposed to risks from multiple weather related hazards.

• The country is exposed to floods particularly in the northern savannah and the coastal belt (Tschakert et al., 2010).

Introduction• Areas prone to

flooding include: the Accra plains along the coast; Pra River and Ankobra River basins in the Western Region; White Volta basin in the Northern region; Black Volta basin in the Upper West Region; and Afram basin in the Eastern and Ashanti regions (Karley, 2009)

Family wade through flood waters in Ghana’s Upper East Region in September, 2007

Flooding in Accra

Effect of Climate Change

• Climate Change has serious effects on the social, economic, environmental, physical, health and the psychological wellbeing of people (WHO 2005; Messner et al. 2005; Dasgupta et al. 2009).

▫ Agriculture

▫ Water

▫ Natural Resources

▫ Energy

Effect of Climate Change - Agriculture

• Agriculture which is the largest employer suffers themost from climate change.

• The increasing variability of rainfall increases the riskassociated with farming as prediction becomes almostimpossible.

• rising temperatures and frequent droughts will increasethe incidences of bushfires and environmentaldegradation.

• Investments in agriculture are becoming expensive, riskyand less profitable.

Effect of Climate Change - Water

• Water is important for agriculture, energy, health, sanitation, manufacturing and domestic uses.

• Falling total rainfall affects the generation capacity of the water treatment dams.

• Salt water intrusion along coastal communities without centralised water systems deprives these communities of potable water for domestic and industrial uses.

Effect of Climate Change – Natural Resources

• Natural resources are the major sources of wealth and livelihoods for majority of rural Ghanaians and the state.

• Increasing frequency of droughts reduces biodiversity.

• Low levels of rainfall, high temperatures and winds exacerbate bush fires.

Effect of Climate Change – Energy• About 67% of electricity generation in the country is

from hydropower and 33% is from thermal generation using diesel (Energy Statistics, 2006)

• The vulnerability of the hydroelectric sector to climate change was highlighted by the output of hydro-electricity in 2003 (output was 3,885 GWh, or about 60% of the level of 6,610 GWh in 2000)

• Emergency supply of thermally generated electricity was brought on line in 2003 to partially compensate for the decrease in hydroelectric generation.

Effect of Climate Change – Infrastructure

• Coastal erosion aided by rising sea levels will destroy a substantial portion of the east coast of Ghana, carrying along millions of dollars of investments in infrastructure.

• Heavy downpours will affect the road network resulting in enormous annual cost of road repairs which prevents meaningful expansion of road infrastructure needed to increase accessibility.

• Climate-proof infrastructure cost more than conventional designs thereby reducing the quantum of infrastructural investments.

Climate Change and Vulnerability• The extent of the vulnerability of the population to hazards

has spatial, economic, and social dimensions.

• Droughts are a major problem for the northern and coastal savannahs with increasing significance for the transitional zone.

• Climate variability in terms of fluctuating weather conditions increases the vulnerability of the bulk of the population who depend on natural resource based activities for their living.

• Variability of rainfall has serious consequences for farmers in the transition and forest zones where slight changes in weather conditions affect cocoa and fruits such as pineapples, mangos, papaya etc.

Climate Change and Vulnerability

• The extent of the vulnerability of the population to hazards has spatial, economic, and social dimensions.

• Disaster management system is predominantly emergency response driven,

• Ghana has not yet carried out a national exercise of identifying the vulnerability of different population groups and theirlivelihoods and identifying ways to systematically address them.

Climate Change and Early Warning Systems

• Ghana has identified all climatic hazards and potentials under the National Climate Change Policy

• However, there is no well-established channel for communicating early warning information to communities to be affected.

Policy Responses and Actions • Policy response or actions to risks and events have been

mainly individual or household-based with very rare communal or state actions (Douglas et al., 2008, p. 197-198).

• Three clear worrying issues emerge ▫ First of these is that the uncoordinated nature of the approaches

lead to very little success.

▫ Second, there is very little approval and therefore involvement of government agencies; and

▫ Third, these victims return to their original locations after the flood events, without any plans of relocating to safer places. Efforts by local government institutions and community based nongovernmental organizations appear to be inadequate or late - if

occurring at all.

Way Forward• Research – Long Term Impacts needs further

research

• Adaptation policies must be addressed as part of a broader context of National Development Policy Framework (Long Term National Development Plan)

• Early Warning System that works

THANK YOU