By Mercy Darko
A $54.5M Ghana Shea Landscape Emission Reductions Project (GLSERP) has been launched in Tamale. The GLSERP seeks to mitigate the effects of climate change on the fragile ecosystem of the Northern Savannah Landscape and improve the shea value chain, especially for the thousands of women engaged in the entire value chain. Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia who launched the project said it will be the second emission reductions programme to be implemented under the REDD+ process in Ghana, after the Ghana Cocoa Forest REDD+. The focus of this particular project is on the northern landscapes which are currently undergoing rapid deforestation and degradation including the loss of valuable shea trees. Dr Bawumia called on the chiefs and people of the five regions of the north, especially farmers, to “own the project” and ensure its success.
Government has since 2017, supported scientific research on the shea plant in a bid to make the shea a reliable income generating product. This work, spearheaded by the COCOBOD, has led to significant breakthroughs, including reducing the gestation period of the shea plant from over 20 years to an average of three years. It is against this background that the government committed in the 2022 Budget Statement to implement projects and programmes that will promote the cultivation of shea in the north, just as cocoa in the south, to transform the local economies of the Savannah regions. Vice President Bawumia said the GSLERP will provide a unique opportunity to engage on a bigger scale in the Shea commodity and its by-products, which remain important income generating activities for over 600 thousand women.
”If successfully implemented the project will see the planting of more than 1.7Million shea trees within the seven-year project period.
Dr Bawumia called on stakeholders and beneficiaries in the five regions of the north to collaborate to make the project a success and build ecosystem resilience as it is estimated to achieve 6.1M tonnes in emission reductions over the next 20 years.
The Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor, expressed Government’s gratitude to the Chiefs for banning the harvesting of wood and charcoal burning, saying it will go a long way in the fight against climate change.
”I want to assure you that as a Ministry, we will continue to pursue aggressive afforestation programmes”.
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