By Mildred Siabi-Mensah
Sekondi, June 18, GNA- The African Foundation for Climate Change and Sustainable Development, (AFCCSD) has shared details of the Climate Change and vulnerability portal developed for the Sekondi Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly with key staff for their inputs.
The Climate change Vulnerability Portal, for key staff of the STMA would help the Assembly to identify climate challenges, areas that are prone to risk and how the Assembly could adopt mitigation and adaptation measures to control its effects.
The key staff, were schooled on the usage of the Portal, the various interfaces, how to utilize information as well as update it to drive the needed responses to inform decision making.
The platform, when officially handed over, would allow the Assembly to make changes and updates from time to time at the backend also.
Mr. Steve Ampofo, Climatologist and consultant to the project indicated that the project, under the National Planning Plan by the Environmental Protection Agency was a nationwide initiative sponsored by the Green Climate Fund and the UN Environment Programme.
He said, the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis, Bekwai and Tamale have been selected as pilot project Assemblies.
Mr. Ampofo said, the Portal was developed through a multidisciplinary approach and that the training was to also help validate the inputs on the Portal, enhance some of the features and ensure that it was dynamic and suitable for the Assemblies to work along.
He said, “The Portal will offer lots of information on data, maps and other configuration which would be a good resource for socio-economic planning and development “.
The Consultant, however, bemoaned the bureaucratic nature in gathering information and data from state owned institutions…the delays in getting real data to work around was a major challenge, sometimes we have to pay hard cash to access this state information “.
He singled out Alhaji Abu Mahama, the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly Planning Officer for the promptness in providing the needed assistance for the duration of the project.
Mr. Francis Aforve, the Executive Director of the African Foundation for Climate Change and Sustainable Development (AFCCSD) said the Paris Agreement coupled with the SDGs enjoined countries to work at adaptation and mitigation to suppress the impact of climate change.
He noted achieving SDG 1 (No Poverty), SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), and SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being) demanded that communities became resilient by reducing the vulnerability index to improve upon lives.
Mr. Aforve, therefore praised the government of Ghana and its partners for the development of the portals to guard in that direction and urged the pilot district assemblies to effectively utilise the Portal for decision making.
GNA
Edited by Justina Paaga/George-Ramsey Benamba