Japan, UNESCO sign agreement to combat water-related disasters

The government of Japan and UNESCO have signed a $750,000 project that is aimed at combating Ghana's increasing water-related disasters, including severe floods and droughts.

Dubbed "Strengthening resilience on water-related disasters under climate change for a sustainable society in Ghana," the project has a 12-month duration.

Japan’s Ambassador to Ghana, Yoshimoto Hiroshi, signed on behalf of his government in Accra last Monday, while the UNESCO representative to Ghana, Edmond Moukala Ngouemo, initialled on behalf of his organisation.

Present were officials from the Water Resources Commission.

Background

Spearheaded by UNESCO and funded by the government of Japan, the project is informed by erratic weather events, including recurrent floods and droughts that a lot of regions in the country experienced last year.

The key outcomes of the project are to provide early warning systems and risk assessment, equip both state and non-state actors with the tools to address climate-related problems and, most importantly, the involvement of communities and institutions working to build their capacities. 

Extreme weather impact

Mr Ngouemo said Ghana had faced the destructive impacts of extreme weather, including severe floods and droughts and the events of 2023, including the Akosombo Dam spillage that displaced tens of thousands and the drought that affected over one million people across eight regions, had highlighted the urgency of their collective action.

Community empowerment

The UNESCO representative to Ghana pointed out that the exciting thing about the project was its potential to empower communities, explaining that through gender-inclusive and youth-centred approaches, they aimed to cultivate local leadership and ownership.

He said by equipping people with knowledge and tools; they were planting seeds for a sustainable future in which communities became the champions of climate resilience.

Mr Hiroshi said Japan had been at the forefront of disaster risk reduction and climate change mitigation.

That commitment was reflected in its continuous support for global initiatives, including the Sendai Framework of Disaster Risk Reduction, which aligned directly with the project’s goal, particularly in enhancing early warning systems and strengthening institutional and community resilience.

He said Japan, which was prone to natural disasters, including flooding and earthquake-tsunami, had successfully implemented early warning systems and infrastructure improvements to mitigate these risks.

He said that guided by its official development assistance principle of "Leave no one behind,” which aligned with the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG), Japan was actively working to ensure that developing countries such as Ghana received the necessary support to strengthen their resilience against climate-related disasters.

Gratitude

The Director of Legal Affairs of the Water Resources Commission, Dr Bernadette Araba Adjei, expressed the commission's gratitude to the government of Japan for funding the project, which she said would ultimately help Ghana achieve the goals set out in SDG Six on water and sanitation for the population of Ghana.