The project's objective is to contribute to sustaining and strengthening the resource and ecosystem services provision capacities of Atewa Forest and other forests in Ghana by identifying green development pathways and green jobs and businesses that are viable alternatives to bauxite mining.
Specific objectives:
- Identify the suite of green development pathways that will inure job creation and incentivize the government to commit to a green economy in the Atewa Landscape.
- Identify green job creation and business opportunities for the teeming youth in the landscape based on the existing skill sets and prospects for skills enhancement, as well as financial instruments and mechanisms for the implementation of the identified opportunities.
- Elaborate and validate a Green Development Strategy and Action Plan for the sustainability of Atewa Landscape.
Tasks for Objective 1
- Proceed with online research to identify the broad spectrum of green development pathways for forests, looking first at West Africa’s tropical forests and broadening the scope to other countries beyond tropical forest zones that may also offer compelling ideas and innovations for integrated forest conservation.
- Identify the desired outcomes of the green development pathways (number of jobs and other socio-economic benefits that need to be created)
- Organise two presentation workshops: one in Accra and one in Atewa area, with main private and public stakeholders (including NGOs, community and traditional leaders, Government organisations and potential donors) to agree and select the green development pathways for the research studies and report.
- Review the report according to the suggestions and recommendations of the workshops.
Tasks for Objective 2
- Conduct a desk study to identify job types and business opportunities expected for each identified green development pathway and its sustainable value chains of goods and services.
- Develop community surveys, in Atewa Forest area, to gather inputs and thoughts on potential green jobs and businesses for Atewa Forest.
- Conduct an economic and social analysis and a viability study of the green investments and opportunities identified.
- Identify working case examples of jobs created through sustainable development of the identified goods and services in other natural areas and National Parks in Ghana and beyond.
- Identify and propose viability options for each green development pathway and their goods and services, including the values created for communities and the state:
- Financial;
- Socioeconomic and well-being;
- Equity and
- Ecological (biodiversity targets).
- Organise a workshop to validate the green development pathways identified, with potential business leaders and enterprises.
- Desk study of other financial/incentive mechanisms across the world to protect nature, especially forests and watersheds, from damaging developments and to restore degraded forest landscapes.
- Participatory evaluation (with communities and other resource/ecosystem service users) of ecosystem services and the existing mechanisms, new ideas, and innovations to incentivise their protection and enhance restoration efforts.
Tasks for Objective 3
- Prepare and identify an action plan for the implementation of the options identified for the implementation of a green development pathway. The action plan should include a description of the actions, the human, economic and financial resources, potential partners and actors and finance and incentive mechanisms.
- Prepare a road map for the implementation of the strategy and the action plan, with a vision of how to help raise, manage, and deploy funds/finance for project opportunities including jobs in buffer zones of the Atewa forest and funds for conservation activities.
- Organise two workshops, one in Accra and one in Atewa forest with the main stakeholders for the validation of the action plan and road map.
- Revise the document according to the comments and suggestions of the main stakeholders.
- Publish and disseminate the Strategy and Action Plan with the main stakeholder.
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