The Bui Power Authority, Ghana’s Renewable Energy Leaders, has made a strong case for Ghana through its climate change initiatives at the recently held COP 27 conference in Egypt.
Christentus B Kuunifaa, Deputy Director, Occupational Health, Safety, speaking on behalf of the Chief Executive Officer, Samuel Kofi Dzamesi touted the Authority’s climate change initiatives.
He praised the BPA’s Forest Resources Enhancement Program, which is intended to promote reforestation/afforestation activities as well as the conservation of gallery forest/savannah woodlots in the Black Volta Basin and other BPA operational areas.
According to him, the initiative was in cognizance of the imminent climate change, evaporation, and over-exploitation of forest resources, among others.
He also disclosed that all the climate change initiatives are funded through internally generated funds with a total of 1,423 acres; 576Ha of plantations and several hectares of gallery forest being conserved.
He further indicated the Authority wishes to do more but was constrained with funding, adding, that they remain committed to supporting Ghana to achieve Energy Transition to Net Zero Emission and the NDCs set.
”BPA is happy to partner with donor agencies to raise the needed funding in achieving their above targets. We are open to partner academic institutions to undertake research and development activities in the alternative cleaner energy solutions relevant to Ghana.”
He told the gathering that climate change and global warming were real and were optimistic that BPA’s FREP and other cleaner energy initiatives should be supported.
Benefits
Under the initiative, the forest being created under FREP is protecting the Bui Lake against soil erosion, reservoir station and sedimentation.
The initiative is expected to prolong the life span of the lake to sustain socio-economic activities, including, clean electricity generation, fishery, tourism, agriculture, and water supply.
FREP serves as Carbon Sinks to reduce Greenhouse Gases; it will improve the climate conditions (Rainfall pattern), providing windbreaks, fuel wood, herbal medicine and commercially valuable products (timber).
It is also creating job opportunities, and recreation as well as providing a habitat for a diversity of flora and fauna.
Other inimical activities that have the tendency to introduce nitrogen phosphate into the lake are being checked by FREP.
Key Initiatives successfully undertaken
BPA has successfully carried out sivilcultural practices within the established plantations (432 acres, 171.3 ha), bushfire control within the plantations and gallery forest, gallery forest protection around the dam enclave and within the Black Volta Basin, identification of all indigenous tree species within the enclave for preservation, and the formulation of a policy to protect some 28 indigenous economic trees within the Bui enclave.
The primary goals of FREP are to create carbon sinks to reduce GHG emissions, control and protect the reservoir shoreline against soil erosion, siltation, sedimentation, and depletion of vegetative cover within the Black Volta basin, improve sustainable utilization of forest resources within the Black Volta Basin and Acquired Land in terms of medicinal use, commercial timber, and fuel wood, and build climate change resilience to improve precipitation, microclimate, and water quality.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
