How climate change affects Ghana’s key economic sectors

Isaac Kwaku, Accra
March 1st, 2023

The contribution of Ghana to global greenhouse gases emissions is not significant. But the country suffers from the negative effects of climate change. The most recurrent effects in Ghana are rising temperatures, floods, erosion and recurring droughts. They stem from domestic but also transboundary extreme weather events. Climate change affects every economic sector. In this article, we focus on five sectors: agriculture, utilities (water and electricity production), health, transport and tourism sectors. These five sector contributed over 35 percent of the gross domestic product in 2023.

Reccurent extreme weather events affect crop, livestock and labor productivity. Erratic and violent rainfalls often sweep away bridges, roads and buildings and innundate farms. Wild fire causes deforestation, while violent rainfalls lead to land degradation. In large cities, air pollution and congestion have become major causes of respiratory diseases and a vehicle for infectious diseases. In addition, the country recorded a rise in sea level of 2.1 milimeters per annum between 1960 and 2000. Ghanaian authorities estimate that this will increase to 5.8 cm and subsequently to 16.5 cm over the next three decades if this trend continues . The economic loss recorded by Ghana from these extreme events was US$95 million in 2020 alone, according to the World Bank¹. In 2018, the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) estimated that Ghana loses U.S. $200 million annually due to floods and drought².

Agriculture

Long-term weather predicts that Ghana will continue to record warmer temperatures over the next three decades. Temperature will rise by 1.0 degree Celsius to 3.0 degree Celsius, by 2050 and by 2.3 degree Celsius to 5.3 degree Celsius by the end of the century (MESTI, 2013)³. Higher temperatures are likely to become recurrent in the Northern regions. In Upper East, Upper West, Northern and Savana regions specifically, the probability of frequent extreme weather events will increase, marked by long drought and also erratic and intense rainfall. These natural disaters will cause floods and erosion. Variations in the weather pose a threat to the agricultural sector. Ghana has six agro-ecological zones, with different climate, which determine crops and livestock activities. Dependence on rain increases the risks of crop diseases, failure, and food insecurity.

Agriculture is the major source of income and employment in Ghana. The sector employs 38.3 percent of Ghanaians, supplies over 70 percent of national food, and contributes 20 percent of national gross domestic product (GDP). In 2007, after major floods, the Ministry of Food and Agriculture announced that a combination of drought and floods had damaged the productive surface soil in 70,500 hectares of farmland. These natural disasters, the Ministry said, resulted in losses of 144,000 tons of crops (including maize, sorghum, millet, peanuts, yam, cassava, and rice). In the decade that followed, between 2009 and 2018, the Ghana Ministry of Food and Agriculture recorded a decrease in mean annual production of maize, rice, yam, millet and sorghum. In 2022, after 12 years of sustained growth, cocoa production recorded a 31 percent fall after prolonged drought⁵.

During the same period, the ministry also recorded a relative stagnation in the production of other export crops, notably cocoa, coffee, rubber and palm oil. Indeed other factors contribute to the decline in production of crops. But climate change and more precisely, low continued low rainfall and drought are the most destructive natural disaters in West Africa. As a response, Ghana has developed a climate change mitigation and resilience scheme, which subsequently became a component of a broader national climate change policy.

Utilities

In Ghana, the sources of water include rainfall, rivers and reservoirs. The country also relies on underground water stored in the phreatic zone. Water loss stem from evaporation caused by rising temperature and drought. In rural areas, farmers and livestock producers rely on rivers, streams and lakes for irrigation and animal breeding. Farmers and cattle herders compete for this precious resource. Water scarcity leads to declining productions and conflicts between farmers and cattle breeders.

Data from Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) show that 96.4 percent of the urban population have access to basic water supply compared to 74.4 percent in rural areas. The Ghana 2021 Population and Housing Census (PHC) shows that 8 percent of Ghanaian households continue to rely on unsafe sources⁶. Three natural rivers (Volta, Bia, Tano) flow from neighboring countries to supply fresh water to Ghana's massive man-made lake in the Volta region⁷. The Volta Basin holds the largest reserve of fresh water. But expert forecast that reserves are declining. By the mid-century, reduced rainfall and evaporation could cause a decline of 24 percent and 45 percent by the end of the century⁸.

Although abundant sunshine represents an opportunity for solar electricity, drought also affects electricity production because low rainfall means lower hydro electricity production. Ghana’s electricity relies on hydropower and thermal energy. Hydropower generation is vulnerable to extreme weather events. Regular rain improves production but excessing rainfall increases risks of floods. After prolonged drought in 2007, hydropower generation dropped by two third from 1180 megawatts to 400 megawatts.

Healthcare

Climate change affects human health causing waterborne and infectious diseases according to the World Health Organization (WHO).Animals and vegetation also suffer from the consequences of climate change. The need for natural resources for economic development forces humans to seek more land, underground minerals and also vegetation for cattle breeding. These activities encroach on the habitat of hundreds of plant and animal species. Illegal logging and mining for example have become major contributors to the loss of biodiversity in Ghana. Moreover, overfishing, poaching, bushfire, and pollution are destroying animal and plant natural habitats.

Ghana's forest cover is shrinking. According to the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), the forestry sub-sector contributes 6 percent to Ghana’s GDP annually, employs 100,000 people and provides livelihood to 2.5 mhillion people¹⁰. The country has lost Ghana has lost about 30 percent of its forest cover in the last 20 years to agricultural expansion and logging, The forest cover continues to deplete because of mining, land degradation, desertification and drought. According to Forest Watch, from 2002 to 2023, Ghana lost 143 hectares of humid primary forest, making up 8.9 percemt of its total tree cover loss in the same time period. Total area of humid primary forest in Ghana decreased by 13 percent in this time period.

Less forest will mean less carbon sinking potential for the country. The government says that a climate change-health project launched in 2016 with the United Nations will provides mechanisms for adaptation to environmental risks. The goal is to implement measures to reduce the devastations of climate related diseases. The project targets malaria, diarrheal diseases, meningococcal meningitis and other opportune diseases.

Transport

Ghana’s modern transport system is the backbone of the economy. The country’s sea, air, road and rail system also serve its Northern landlocked Burkina Faso. The country has a major regional and international airport in Accra and domestic airports in Tema, Kumasi and Ho in the Volta region. Air transport is particularly exposed to heavy rain, floods and tornadoes which can damage air control systems.

In the field of sea transport, the port of Tema is the nation’s principal and most crucial port, which handles over 70 percent of the country’s international trade. But Ghana has five smaller secondary ports and harbors in the coastal city of Takoradi, and also in Port of Saltpond, Port of Elmina, Old Port of Sekondi and Port of Accra. Rising sea levels, heatwaves and tornadoes tend to damage port infrastructure leading to high cost of repair maintenance. Floods tend to redirect tons of waste and garbage to the sea causing operational disruptions and coastal erosions. In January 2024, the University of Oxford’s Environmental Change Institute published a study, which stated that 86 percent of ports globally are exposed to more than three climate-related and geophysical hazards. These include extreme conditions at sea (e.g. storms), river flooding and earthquakes¹¹.

Ghana’s roads and rail network are not shielded from the risks of extreme climate events. Ghana has a road network of 94,203 km of which 14,948 are tarred. The tarred sections are designated as trunk roads, while those connected to rural areas are called feeder roads. Besides, Ghana has 947 kilometers network, which run from the ports to the hinterland and to the minerals mines of the Western region. The network has branch lines on the Western line, the Central line and the Eastern line. Recent floods events in 2021 and 2023 paralyzed vital sections of highways and of the rail network. Similarly, violent rain have sweept away road sections, rail tracks and bridges.

Major infrastructure that connect both the road and rail networks are bridges. The current data on the Ghana Highway Authority's National Bridge inventory indicate that a total of 350 modern bridges; consisting of 100 steel and 250 bridges made of concrete and composites. The country also has hundreds of secondary bridges is various states of disrepair. Floods and extreme heat represent the most destructive dangers to the transport system.

Tourism

Climate disasters are destroying Ghana’s top tourist attractions. This is the case for waterfalls, historic slave-castles, and wildlife. In coastal areas, rising sea level erodes the relief and disfigures landscapes by swallowing beaches.

In coastal areas, rising sea level erodes the relief and disfigures landscapes by swallowing beaches. Ghana has over 32 forts and ‟slave castles”. Europeans build these castles to serve the slave trade. These fortified trading posts, built between 1482 and 1786, are scattered along the 540 km coastline between Keta in the east and Beyin in the west. The 32 monunements were vital in the transatlantic gold and slave trade for four centuries. Today they stand as controversial testimonies of European violent crimes against Africans and their diaspora.

The picture across the country has become a cause for concern for the authorities. For example, parts of the historic Fort Kongenstein have been swallowed by the sea. Danish traders built this fort with the support of the government of the Kingdom of Denmark in 1783 as a trading post. The remains of Fort Kongenstein can still be seen in Ada Foah, Ghana, Volta Region. Similarly, Fort Prinzenstein, also built by Danish traders in 1784, in Keta, Volta region, suffered the same fate. The sea has attacked a major part of this monument but its protection has been enhanced by the construction of a sea defence wall, and efforts are being made to stabilise the remaining parts. The construction of sea defence walls has stabilised the remaining parts of these structures. However, according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), ‟ the sites overall remains vulnerable to environmental pressures, development pressure including localized quarrying, and lack of adequate funding for the regular maintenance and conservation of the sites”¹².

The situation of forts and castles illustrates the perils of climate change on tourist sites. Tne Northern and middle belt part of Ghana host natural parks and reserves, waterfalls, lakes and game parks. Over centuries, the populations of these regions have developed a thriving cultural heritage. Unfortunately, drought is causing massive displacement of people from their homeland. They are forced to abandon their cultural heritage and sites. The Switzerland-based Internal Displacement Monitoring Center (IDMC) estimates that between 2008 and 2021, 277,591 people in Ghana were internally displaced because of the devastating effects of extreme weather such as drought and floods (IDMC). Internal displace people tend to move southwards towards the coast in search for better and safer living conditions.

International cooperation

The government of Ghana acknowledges that climate change alone requires concerted cross-border and international efforts. In addtional its own domestic climate change strategy against climate change, the country is a signatory to international, multilateral and bilateral treaties. At the domestic level, climate change is an integral part of every government policy. Each ministry has an internal climate change strategy, which address issues related to their area of activity ¹³.

National policies contain adaptation and mitigation strategies, which align with international conventions and treaties. Ministries have developed regulations applicable to their respective sectors of activities. But the key institution is the Ministry of Environment which directs policies and regulations. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Forestry Commission oversee implementation and compliance. Ghana’s 2021 national action plan (NAP) provides a framework for the participation of the private sector, civil society organizations (CSOs), gender groups, the youth, and faith organizations.

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