Ghana seeking to establish global geopark — Environment Minister
Ghana is actively seeking a designated land for the establishment of a global geopark.
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This move underscores the country’s commitment to preserve and showcase the nation's unique geological heritage and open new possibilities for environmental conservation and sustainable tourism within the country and beyond.
At a forum on the concertation on UNESCO’s Global Geoparks in West Africa in Accra last Tuesday, the Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI), Dr Kwaku Afriyie, stated that it was worrying to note that out of the 195 UNESCO Global Geoparks in 48 countries, Africa could boast of just two, which were situated in Morocco and Tanzania.
Thus, it was important for other African countries to carefully subject themselves to the assessment and criteria for the designation of sites for the establishment of the geoparks on the continent.
“This initiative is not a competition, it is a common good for not only our countries but the world at large.
The more Geoparks we have in the world, the better for our very own environment; the very source of our sustenance,” the Director of Finance at MESTI, Constant Gladzah, who spoke on behalf of the minister stated.
Concertation
The concertation was aimed at supporting UNESCO member states with the capacity to establish UNESCO Global Geoparks in West Africa.
It brought together stakeholders from Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria to be equipped with knowledge of the UNESCO International Geoscience Geoparks Programme
(IGGP) and operational guidelines for UNESCO Global Geoparks with a focus on the procedure of establishing National Geopark Committees and nomination of Geoparks.
The two-day event was also to explore fund mobilisation for the establishment of the geoparks once the sites were nominated.
Geoparks
The UNESCO Representative to Ghana, Edmond Moukala, noted that one of the mandates of the organisation was to use it to convene power for cooperation and knowledge sharing for productive outputs that support sustainable development in its member states.
Thus, the concertation was geared at sensitising and providing knowledge background for countries to initiate the processes that will enable the designation of geoparks in West Africa.
Mr Moukala noted that Geoparks did not only promote sustainable development but gave local people around and within the geopark a sense of pride and encouraged the creation of innovative local enterprises, high-quality training, protection of geological resources of the area and the generation of new sources of revenue through geo-tourism.
He further charged the participating countries to collaboratively work to designate lands that would birth the first geopark in West Africa as he assured of UNESCO’s commitment to support the process to work towards sustainable development.
Proliferation
The Secretary-General for the Ghana Commission for UNESCO, Ama Serwah Nerquaye-Tetteh, commended UNESCO for its commitment to geopark proliferation across Africa.
She indicated that despite Africa's rich natural resources, the continent had a meagre representation in the global geopark arena.
Hence, she stated that the workshop was timely for the participating countries to actively prioritise the need to tap the potential of the continent in the geopark sector.
Speaking on behalf of the Secretary-General, Christopher Wetcher, encouraged the five countries to embrace the opportunity and make a mark for sustainable development for their countries and the continent as a whole.