40 Years of environmental protection in Ghana: Footprints from EPC to EPA

The task of environmental protection in Ghana has not been easy, but for the past four decades, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has made tremendous strides in the discharge of that responsibility.

And on the occasion of its 40th anniversary in February, it is worth celebrating, the modest achievements of the EPA even in the face of human resource, financial and logistical constraints.

But beyond the celebration of EPA @ 40, there is a job to be done for future celebrations; it may seem daunting, but with a collective responsibility and greater consciousness by everyone about the need to protect the environment, that task will be surmounted.

The history

Prior to the 1970s, there had been growing concern globally about the dangers human activities posed to the environment.

That concern prompted the United Nations (UN) to organise the Stockholm Conference on Human Environment in June 1972, and according to the leader of Ghana’s delegation to the conference, Mr K. B. Asante, Ghana made a strong impression at that event which was very important, given the decisions taken.

Based on the recommendations of the Stockholm Conference, Ghana established the Environmental Protection Council (EPC) in 1974 with the view of addressing emerging environmental challenges.

Former President J. A. Kufuor, who once had oversight responsibility of the EPC as Deputy Secretary of Local Government and Rural Development, thought the decision to set the agency was very appropriate.

“We need to think ahead, perhaps two to three decades ahead and formulate policies so we are not overtaken by population explosion and its impact on the environment,” he pointed out.

Law establishing the EPC

The EPC was established by the Environmental Protection Council Decree, 1974 (NRCD 239), after the Head of State and Chairman of the National Redemption Council (NRC) had given his assent to the law on January 23, 1974.

But it was not until June 4, 1974 that the council was inaugurated by the Attorney-General, Mr Nathaniel Moore, acting on behalf of the Commissioner for Economic Planning, Mr Amon Nikoi.

It was charged with the responsibility of coordinating all environmental matters in the country and advising the government on all matters relating to the environment.

However, with the creation of the Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology, it became increasingly necessary to redefine the role of the EPC.

Subsequently, the Environmental Protection Council Decree, 1974 (NRCD 239) was amended by the EPC (Amendment) Decree, 1976 (SMCD 58).

Despite the fact that Ghana was among the first countries in the world to implement the decision of the Stockholm Conference with the establishment of the EPC, Prof Kwamena Ahwoi, a former Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, who had oversight responsibility of the EPC, was not happy about the fact that the EPC was not (and is still not) a decentralised institution.

“If we are to act locally and think globally, we need to decentralise so that officials of the EPA at the district level will be responsible to the DCEs,” he remarked.

Transition

A major landmark in the history of the institution was the transition from the old order to the new era with the establishment of the EPA on December 31, 1994 by the Environmental Protection Agency Act, 1994 (Act 490).

The act mandates the EPA to regulate the environment and ensure the implementation of government policies on the environment.

In addition, the EPA seeks, under the law, to dedicate itself to continuously improve and preserve the country’s environment, while seeking solutions to global environmental issues.

Having been appointed as Minister of Environment, Science and Technology at the embryonic stage of the transition, Mr Lee Ocran recalls that “the challenges were many so we had to work as a team to meet the expectations of the general public.”

Structure of EPC

The 40-year journey of the EPC/EPA has been torturous administratively, as it was tossed from one sector ministry to another.

Prior to its establishment, there were plans, in the administrative structure, to place the council directly under the Office of the Head of State, but it was later placed under the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning.

That was the beginning of the ‘EPC chess game’ as far as its administrative structure was concerned, as it was transferred to the Ministry of Health in 1981 and then to the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development in 1982.

It was until the creation of the Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology that the EPC found a resting place.

Prof Ahwoi says the change from one ministry to the other reflects the fact that it is not clear whether it is just an environmental issue or a policy issue at the national level.

“So although it was under the Ministry of Local Government in my time, I knew it was not its place,” he submits.

The Okyenhene, Osagyefo Amoatia Oforipanin, who served as Board Chairman of the EPA from 2001 to 2009, takes the argument further, saying it is even odd to put EPA under a ministry.

He says in line with the best practice in other countries, the EPA should be an autonomous institution, adding, “It’s a conflict of interest for the policymaker to be the regulator.”

Early beginnings

After its inauguration on June 4, 1974, the EPC started work in a temporary accommodation at the headquarters of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) at the Airport Residential Area with a complement of two senior officers and two junior staff members.

The two senior officers were Prof. E. A. Boateng (Executive Chairman) and Mr F. K. A. Jiagge (Secretary).

Just a day after the inauguration, the staff hit the ground running with the celebration of the first World Environment Day in Ghana on the theme: “Cleanliness and citizens’ action,” which was marked with clean-up campaigns and a panel discussion on television.

Subsequently, other senior officers, including Ms Joyce Aryee and Dr C. Dorm Adzobu, joined the council.

Past heads

The story of the EPA is not complete without recounting the immense and profound contributions made by former executive chairmen/executive directors of the agency.

After the pioneering efforts of Prof. E. A. Boateng from 1974 to 1981, Dr B. W. Carbrah took over the mantle for a four-year period from 1981 to 1985.

But the top position of the institution was not a preserve of men, as women also played very significant roles, with Lt Col  Christine Debrah (retd) serving as first female Executive Chairperson for five years - from 1985 to 1990 - followed by Ms Francisca Issahaka, who acted from 1990 to 1993.

Dr Farouk Braimah then assumed office as acting Executive Chairman for one year, serving from 1993 to 1994.

Perhaps, one person whose name may be indelible in the history of the EPA is Dr Peter Claver Acquah for leading the institution’s transition from the old to the new order.

He was at the helm for seven years, first as the last Executive Chairman of the EPC from February 1994 to December 1994, and then as the first Executive Director of the newly established EPA from 1995 to 2001.

When Mr Jonathan A. Allotey took over from Dr Acquah, he also walked his way into fame as he became the longest serving Executive Director (or Executive Chairman), having been in charge for 10 years from 2001 to 2011.

For Mr Daniel S. Amlalo, his own piece of fame does not lie in his relatively short tenure as acting Executive Director from December 2010 to date, but in the singular honour of superintending over the 40th anniversary celebrations.

Achievements

The achievements of the EPC/EPA are enormous but suffice it to mention but a few of them such as developing policies and regulations for environmental management like the Standards for Environmental Quality.

One big achievement is the foresight and fortitude of the EPC when, in 1985, more than two decades before Ghana discovered oil in commercial quantity and began production, it prepared a National Oil Spill Contingency Plan.

Following the drought that hit the country in the early 1980s and with the increasing threat of desertification globally, the EPC, in 1986, developed a National Plan of Action to Combat Desertification.

Beyond developing policies and regulations, the council also provided a platform for stakeholders in environmental protection to share ideas.

One of such platforms was the National Conference on Resource Conservation for Ghana’s Sustainable Development organised in 1987.

Another significant achievement is the role the EPC played in 1988 to coordinate the drawing-up of a National Environmental Action Plan for comprehensive, consistent and coherent programme to manage the environment which was eventually launched in 1991.

In recent years, the institutionalisation of the EPA Ghana ‘AKOBEN’ Programme, which rates manufacturing and mining companies against environmental best practices in a unique manner, with red being poor, orange (satisfactory), blue (good), green (very good) and gold (excellent), is also an achievement worth celebrating.

The purchasing of a marine vessel to monitor activities in the oil and gas industry and the acquisition of machines to deal with aquatic weeds at Atimpoku are also commendable.

“I think the Environmental Protection Agency is doing a good work but people must help them. You don’t have to be at the EPA before you protect the environment,” Mr Asante submits.

Way forward

The way forward is for all to appreciate the fact that environmental protection is a collective responsibility, as the slogan of the 40th anniversary states and as President Kufuor notes, political leadership is very essential in this business.

“If you become president and you are aware of all these things (environmental degradation) and you do not show concern for the environment, then what are you doing?” he wondered.

Prof Ahwoi seems to agree with President Kufuor when he recalls that in the 1990s, the manner in which former President J. J. Rawlings was very passionate about the environment and captured it in his speeches, raised public awareness of the environment.

“That passion seems to have died now. I wish that it will come back,” he remarks.

In the view of Osagyefo Amotia Oforipanin, the EPA should be given prosecutorial powers and must be adequately resourced to enable it to discharge its responsibilities more effectively.

For Mr Asante, it is time for everyone to be conscious of environmental protection since that “moves you away from the animal kingdom.”

“The environment makes us different from other creatures. I think the environment should be part and parcel of our living,” he added.

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