Accra, Nov. 25 GNA- Natural resources and environment based Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in Ghana will from January 2022, hold various engagements on Ghana’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), to enable them support government in implementing its commitment towards climate mitigation and adaptation.
The CSOs, that formed the Kasa Initiative Ghana, a platform made up of about 500 CSOs who operates in areas of natural resources, environment, fisheries and climate change, said they were organising themselves for the post-COP discussions to lend support to the process.
“We are planning forums where we will open up discussions on Ghana’s NDCs and see the roles we can play as CSOs in implementing the agenda and contribute to the achievement of our targets as a country, “ Mr Jonathan Gokah, Coordinator of Kasa Initiative Ghana, told the Ghana News Agency in an interview in Accra.
He said: “We will compare what is being agreed at the international level to how it will reflect on our Ghana NDCs and supports the efforts.
“We will begin by unpacking the NDCs to our members and identify areas where we can contribute by way of direct implementation of activities or playing a monitoring role of stakeholders who are supposed to implement aspects of the NDCs and make sure they are able to do whatever they have to do as government agencies or any other stakeholder”.
Mr Gokah spoke to the GNA on the side-lines of a two-day annual review meeting held on the theme: “Sustained NRE Governance: Impacts of CSOs Intervention in Ghana.”
Dubbed, the 12th Civil Society Organisation’s Annual Review Forum on Natural Resources and Environment Sector,” the forum served as a stock taking endeavour on the impacts of Kasa and its coalitions work over the past 10 years.
The CSOs shared with other stakeholders documented stories on the impacts of their work in their operation areas, aimed at deepening awareness and visibility as well as enhance knowledge on Kasa’s intervention areas among a wider stakeholder population.
Mr Gokah, who led some members of Kasa Ghana to attend the recently held COP26 in Glasgow United Kingdom, described Ghana’s participation in the just ended COP as very good, saying, for the CSO’s that participated in the global event for the first time, it afforded them the exposure into how the climate decisions were taken and translated into local decisions.
“It’s been positive, it’s been good. And I will even go ahead to say that the organisers for this year’s COP have really done well since they were able to get a Ghana Pavilion for the first, which served as a rallying point and strategizing unit where national negotiators were able to meet and plan on how to engage in the various discussions. So it’s been a success.”
He indicated that the post-COP discussions in Ghana should be based on how decisions of COP would impact Ghana’s development.
Meanwhile, the CSOs participating in the annual forum were taken through a learning and experience sharing sessions meant for the exchange of ideas and thoughts on natural resource and environment advocacy strategies to increase their capacities on relevant advocacy strategies and skills needed to become more impactful in the sector.
GNA