SIGRA officials with the queen mothers and traditional women leaders in Tamale
Strengthening Investments in Gender-Responsive Climate Adaptation (SIGRA), in partnership with the Centre for Indigenous Knowledge and Organisational Development (CIKOD), has organised a training workshop for queen mothers and traditional women leaders on climate adaptation in Tamale, Northern Region.
The queen mothers and traditional women leaders were selected from Northern and Volta regions, and are expected to develop action plans on climate adaptation such as protection of water bodies, promoting the use of organic farming methods, discouraging the use of harmful agrochemicals, and advocating against the cutting of shea and other indigenous trees,
which they will go back to implement in their respective communities and traditional areas.
The training workshop aims to strengthen their capacities to play a more meaningful role in addressing the negative impacts of climate change in their communities.
Rev. Joseph Banyen, the Regional Development Officer-Northern Region, Cowater SIGRA Project, indicated that the project will improve the resilience of Ghanaian citizens, particularly women, girls, and vulnerable groups, through increased investments in inclusive and gender-responsive climate adaptation initiatives.
According to him, SIGRA will provide technical assistance and support to strengthen governance and national systems with key Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDA) such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Ministry of Local Government, Chieftaincy, and Religious Affairs (MLGCRA), Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (MoFEP), National Development Planning Commission. (NDPC) and the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection (MoGCSP), while providing direct grants to five Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to fund local gender-responsive climate adaptation projects as well as support regional government stakeholders in the Northern and Volta regions, including Regional Coordinating Councils (RCCs) and the decentralised agencies of the key MDA engaged at the national level, and strengthen the ability of targeted MMDAs to plan, implement, and report on climate adaptation initiatives as well as work closely with women-led civil society to strengthen their participation, voice, and influence in government decision-making.
Some of the participants, who spoke on behalf of the group, thanked SIGRA for the training, adding that it will enhance their knowledge in climate adaptation.
FROM Eric Kombat, Tamale