As part of building the capacity of youth to participate in Ghana’s Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation programme (REDD+), SYND collaborated with the REDD+ Secretariat under the Climate Change Directorate of the Forestry Commission and held a two-day youth engagement workshop under the Ghana Cocoa Forest REDD+ Programme (GCFRP).
The event took place at the Forestry Commission Training Centre (FCTC), Akyawkrom, Ejisu from the 20th to 21st of March, 2024.
In his welcome address, the director of the Forestry Commission Training Centre, Dr. Andy Okrah encouraged participants to take advantage of the training to build their capacity and entreated them to have a long-term vision and contribute their bid to ensure that the environment is protected for the future.
The Ghana Cocoa Forest REDD+ Program lead at the Forestry Commission’s Climate Change Directorate, Mr Thomas Gyambrah, also reminded participants of their role as youth in the fight against climate change.
Adding that, the commission would also ensure the sustainability of the REDD+ project by
engaging in youth capacity building through sensitization of the programme highlighting
interventions put in place to include them
The Measurement Reporting and Verification officer of the REDD+ Secretariat, Tessia Boateng, in her presentation, provided insights into Ghana’s progress in REDD+ implementation, emphasising its importance for the country’s economy, agriculture, and environmental sustainability.The Forestry programme’s head at SYND, Prince Yeboah Okyere, took participants through an overview of Climate Change in Ghana, giving prominence to the actions on lands that contribute to emissions and climate change.
Participants who were farmers from the Hotspot Intervention Areas (HIAs) then shared their experiences on how Climate change has affected rainfall patterns and the increase of pests in their lands.
On the back of the effects shared, Mr. Yeboah emphasised that climate change results in
harvest losses and is a threat to Ghana’s food security.
The project lead of the Youth Participation in REDD+ Programme at SYND, Salomey Adjei, presented on the topic of complementary sources of livelihood and sustainable income earning.
The presentation was aimed at making participants, who are mostly farmers, understand alternative means of income that are available for them to depend on while helping save the climate.
A presentation on clean cooking innovation was done by co-founder of Bidi-Green Ghana, Eunice Mawuena Kloe.
She took participants through the problems their charcoal briquettes are addressing.
These were crop and food waste, health complications. The presentation also put into focus the “waste trade” opportunity their business offers. Farmers were encouraged to take interest in selling their waste to generate income for them.
Adding to this, Salomey encouraged the HIAs and local managers under the REDD+ program to take interest in using their income from the project into training youth in some of these complementary sources of income.
The workshop ended with a tree planting ceremony to commemorate the International Day of Forest.
