burden of deforestation, desertification, erosion of ... - Social Watch

TABLE 1
Trends in Forest Cover in Ghana
1990-2005
year
Forest Cover
(Hectares)
Rate of Deforestation
1990 7,448,000 -
2000 6,094,000 -18.2%
2005 5,517,000 -9.5%
Annual Average -1.8%
Source : Rainforest Alliance, 2006/FAO
respectively” in all agro-ecological zones except
for the rainforest zone where rainfall may increase.
Available data also shows a sea-level rise of 2.1mm
per year over the last 30 years, indicating a rise of
5.8cm, 16.5cm and 34.5cm by 2020, 2050 and
2080 respectively. 5
While 23% of the urban population and 51.6%
of the rural population still live below the poverty
line, 6 it should be noted that data from the 2008 Ghana
Living Standards Survey (GLSS) shows that the
number of extremely poor declined by 8.6 percentage
points from 26.8% in 1998-99 to 18.2% in 2005-
06. 7 However, given the country’s high dependence
on agriculture and forestry, changing climate conditions
have serious implications for the standard of
living of women and men in those communities and
could reverse that trend. There is already evidence
that vital economic resources – the coastal zone,
agriculture, and water – have been affected by climate
change with adverse implications for women’s
rights, poverty, health and livelihoods. Those who
live in communities with high poverty levels will be
most negatively affected.
In the northern parts of the country, flooding in
2007 showed that the impact of climate change on
development efforts is overwhelming. An estimated
317,000 persons were affected; 1,000 kilometres of
roads were destroyed; 210 schools and health facilities
were damaged; and 630 drinking water facilities
were damaged or contaminated.
Since then, weather variability has continued
to affect different societal groups and geographical
locations, inhibiting efforts to meet the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs). The MDGs were incorporated
into Ghana’s Poverty Reduction Strategy
(GPRS 1-2003-2005 and GPRS 11-2006-2009), but
the impact of climate change already makes clear
that Millennium Development Goal 7 (MDG-7) – en-
5 LWF Youth Blog, Youth challenge leaders on climate change
at UN, (September 2007), .
10 The rural areas in the three northern regions in Ghana are far
behind the target for access to basic sanitation. See: National
Development Planning Commission, Ghana Millennium
Development Goals 2007, (UNDP, 2007).