The participants in a group picture
Members of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have been urged to implement locally developed climate change adaptation actions to lessen the vulnerability of citizens.
Acting Director of Environment and Natural Resources at the ECOWAS Commission, Moussa Leko, who made the call, said West African countries have developed adaptation innovations that need to be scaled up.
He said, already, the Member States with extreme climate impact are using sustainable local solutions like land restoration technology, seeds variety of shorter duration, and irrigation to ensure food security.
“We need to look within, especially government working with national research institutions to use the homegrown approach and support startup in value addition,” he said.
Mr. Leko was speaking on the sidelines of the ECOWAS Regional Climate Strategy and Climate Financing Strategy validation workshop in Accra.
The ECOWAS Regional Climate Strategy has six specific objectives, including ensuring the compatibility and coherence of the regional policy framework with the global objectives of the Paris Agreement and developing anticipation capacity and informed decision making to manage current and future climate risks.
The financial strategy is to help build the capacity of technical persons in the member states to develop bankable projects.
Minister of Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovation, Dr. Kwaku Afriyie, assured ECOWAS of the country’s support for the strategy.
He noted that extreme weather impacted key national infrastructure, which is the bedrock of economic growth and development.
According to him, the climate change disruption and cost to the economy had the potential to put years of progress toward growth and development targets at risk, impacting more on the poor and most vulnerable in society.
He, therefore, called on the ECOWAS Member States to turn climate change challenges into opportunities by working together.
“Achieving this alignment requires us to overcome our traditional silo approaches in favour of cross-sectoral decision-making and innovative solutions that unlock synergies across government portfolios, sectors of the economy, and the SDGs,” he said.
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri