AbibiNsroma Foundation Celebrating Earth Day

 

PRESS RELEASE 

                             AbibiNsroma Foundation Celebrating Earth Day

 Earth Day is an opportunity to raise awareness of environmental challenges of climate change and the pandemic. This year, the theme for Earth Day is ' Restore Our Earth'.

 The theme is a call to action for all humans to use natural resources judiciously, take care of wildlife and ensure that we lead a sustainable life.

 Plastic is produced from petroleum, which is a non-renewable resource. The production generates harmful waste to the environment: the drilling process releases numerous harmful gases. At the same time, the incineration of the 12% plastic waste also generates greenhouse gases that lead to global warming.

 Plastic waste management is of great necessity not for our cities and urban areas but for the rural areas as well. We are always concerned with how we can properly and sustainably manage the tons of plastic waste generated every day to help maintain our environment to save our mother earth and help humans to live a good healthy environment. Plastic pollution however can be attributed the phenomenon of overcrowding in our cities which has caused a rapid increase in the plastic wastes generated. Unfortunately, the amount of plastic waste, one of the most important by-products of an urban lifestyle, is growing even faster than the rate of urbanization.

 The adverse effects of climate change are universal but more severe in Africa. Ghana is no exception with drought and flooding affecting citizens. The most affected are farmers: because the change in rainfall patterns is reducing crop yield and in some cases destroying farms, hence loss of livelihoods.

 AbibiNsroma Foundation is calling on Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development to enforce the climate change policy and mandates local assemblies to spearhead climate change action.

 In this light, AbibiNsroma Foundation believes that as the world and Ghana marks Earth Day with the theme ' Restore Our Earth', intensive education is urgently needed to raise Ghanaians’ awareness of the negative impact of irresponsible waste disposal in general and plastic waste in particular. Education must also be used to forge a positive change in our attitude towards the Planet.

 Earth Day provides a suitable platform to raise public awareness around the world pertaining to the challenges and the well-being of the planet. Let’s remind more than ever on this International Mother Earth Day that we need a shift to a more sustainable

 

 

Abibiman Foundation launches SDG Agenda 2030

Abibiman Foundation, a non-profit organisation, has launched the Sustainable Development Goals’ (SDGs) Agenda 2030 to enhance government’s effort in implementing the goals.

It will work with government agencies, development partners, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), among other stakeholders to create a better life for all.

Mr Richard Matey, the Programmes Officer, said the programmes, which implementation start right after the launch would be run in collaboration with the Abibiman, United Kingdom.

The programme would compare practices, what worked best and what lessons to pick to foster sustainable development.

Mr Martey was speaking at the launch of the SDGs Agenda-2030 held in Accra on the theme: “SDGs: keys to the promotions of solutions to national and Grassroots Development Challenges through Sustainable Bilateral co-operations and Partnership.”

Mr Matey stated that research, education, sensitisation, capacity building would be used to localise the goals to help the grassroots people to own it.

All the 260 Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) in the 16 regions across the country would implement the programme.

The implementation process has six phases and each would take at most two years, he said, adding that it would focus on the 17 goals, including low poverty, zero hunger, good health, and quality education.

Others are gender equality, clean water and sanitation, affordable and clean energy, decent work and economic growth, climate action and partnership to achieve the goals.

He said CSOs’ Report on SDGs at a High Level Meeting showed that people’s knowledge about the SDGs were very low and that five out of ten people knew about climate change.

Mr Martey said the Foundation would get to the grassroots to create awareness, educate the people to get them involved in the implementation process.

The Programmes Officer said the Foundation would partner and support all the stakeholders to avoid duplication of functions.

Mr Kenneth Nana Amoateng, Chief Executive Officer said the Abibiman Foundation was formed in 2000 whilst the Abibiman United Kingdom was formed in 2019 with the aim of promoting sustainable livelihood.

The NGO is specialised in promoting environmental, educational and health issues, he noted.

Frank Aggrey, Deputy Chief Director Control Officer of the National Disaster Management (NADMO) advised Ghanaians to desist from littering around to prevent flooding.

‘’Climate change impact and natural occurrences are not the only cause of disaster but human activities such as, choked gutters, and building houses in waterlogged areas’’.

Mr Charles Denkudi Yomekpe, Chief Executive Officer of Dowjays Investment, a partner, said social media would be used to promote the agenda in the digital age to reach more of the youth.

Mr Moses Ackah-Jayne, Head, Marketing and External Relations of the National Insurance Commission, advised the public to cover the risks that were likely to come up as a result of climate change.
https://ghananewsagency.org/social/abibiman-foundation-launches-sdg-agenda-2030-155000

Abibiman Foundation World Environment Day 2018

World Environment Day June 5

Theme: Beat Plastic Pollution 

Slogan: Love your Environment

World Environment Day (WED) is the United Nations’ principal vehicle for encouraging worldwide awareness and action for the environment. Over the years it has grown to be a broad, global platform for public outreach that is widely celebrated by stakeholders in over 100 countries. It also serves as the ‘people’s day’ for doing something positive for the environment, galvanizing individual actions into a collective power that generates an exponential positive impact on the planet.

With 1 million plastic drinking bottles purchased every minute and up to 5 trillion disposable plastic bags used every year, plastic pollution is threatening our ecosystems, biodiversity because Plastic waste when left in soils have an impact on soil fertility.

Abibiman Foundation urges government, business, local communities, and indigenous people to come together explore sustainable alternatives and urgently reduce the production and excessive of plastic polluting that damaging marine life and threatening human health.

Abibiman Foundation believe young people have the key to end plastic pollution because plastic pollution is a lifestyles and have a direct effect on young people. We have a greater responsibility as people to ensure that the environment is improved and maintaining the environmental integrity is the responsibility of every individual within the society

Let use innovative means to turn the overwhelming rubbish and filth around them into life enhancing resources and use innovative means to turn the overwhelming rubbish and filth around into life enhancing resources.

Abibiman Foundation has contributed tremendously in creating awareness about our Planet and Human health in Ghana and we have been at the forefront of environment advocacy campaigns.

What behavioral changes are you making to reduce plastic pollutants? Let’s all play our part to turn trash into treasure. World Environment Day is the opportunity for everyone to realize the responsibility to take action for planet and Human health

PRESS STATEMENT ON WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY 2018

PRESS STATEMENT ON WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY

Plastic waste management is of great necessity not for our cities and urban areas but for the rural areas as well. We are always concerned with how we can properly and sustainably manage the tons of plastic waste generated every day to help maintain our environment to save our mother earth and help humans to live a good healthy environment. Plastic pollution however can be attributed the phenomenon of overcrowding in our cities which has caused a rapid increase in the plastic wastes generated. Unfortunately, the amount of plastic waste, one of the most important by-products of an urban lifestyle, is growing even faster than the rate of urbanization.

We have had serveral methods as a nation in trying to dispose off or properly manage this plastic waste mostly through combustion which is not environmentally friendly since it releases carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. This carbon dioxide is a major contributor to climate change. Also plastic wastes are also used for landfilling and because they are not bio-degradable, they do not decompose.

Some of these plastic waste are dumped into the ocean which become marine debris. Marine debris is a problem that affects these coastal areas and the sea floor at all depths, and its impact is of global significance.  It has been recognized as a serious pollutant for over a long time but unfortunately has only gained widespread recognition in the recent decade. This cause habitat destruction by affecting water quality and causing physical damage to sensitive ecosystems.

     

If the situation is not given the attention it deserves major changes in environmental conditions or interdependent relationships can cause the marine ecosystem to fail and hence affect the coast‘s ability to adequately provide for the plants, animals and humans that depend on it and each other to survive.

In this light, Abibiman Foundation believes that as the world and Ghana marks World Environment Day with the theme ‘’Beat Plastic Pollution’’, intensive education is urgently needed to raise Ghanaians’ awareness of the negative impact of irresponsible waste disposal in general and plastic waste in particular. Education must also be used to forge a positive change in our attitude to plastic waste management mostly among young people.

We believe that a plastic waste management fund should be created to support recycling and upgrading of plastic waste infrastructure to promote private-public partnerships in the development and sustainable management of plastic waste infrastructure in the country. We believe that the fund should be resourced with voluntary contributions from industry and industry players, Government and other donors; and these contributions should be tax exempt.

While there are laws regulating the dumping of trash at sea and on shore, the global nature of marine debris, the inability to confine debris within territorial boundaries and the complexity of identifying debris sources have made effective laws difficult to develop and even harder to enforce. Abibiman Foundation is of the view that, the key to controlling marine litter is to tackle it at source and this is not only consistent with the precautionary principle, but would appear to be the only management option that is economically sustainable in the longer term.

In due course, collaboration and harmonization by the government of Ghana with other riparian countries along the Gulf of Guinea should take the obligatory actions and measures including cleaning campaigns that can help keep the coastline free from marine debris in the long term.

Abibiman Foundation is therefore making a passionate appeal to government, all civil society organizations and the general public to join the campaign to end plastic pollution in our ocean.

Abibiman Foundation is calling for independent committee to assess impact of oil spillage in Tema

PRESS RELEASE

June 4, 2018

INVESTIGATE & ASSESS IMPACT OF OIL SPILLAGE IN TEMA

Abibiman Foundation is calling on Government of Ghana to immediately set up a independent committee to conduct an immediate investigations and environmental assessments on the impacts of the oil spillage at Tema port and its environs on Saturday, May 26, 2018 at 9:42pm, the vessel which was carrying 1,200 metric tons of light crude oil. 

Articles 10 and 11 of Abidjan Convention require Parties to take all appropriate measures to prevent, reduce, combat and control coastal

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs 14) Target 14.1: By 2025, prevent and significantly reduce marine pollution of all kinds, in particular from land-based activities, including marine debris and nutrient pollution

The impact of this spillage must be monitored to ensure that both the environment and livelihoods of the fishermen and other local dependents within the catchment area are adequately compensated and protected.

Abibiman is worried about the current lack of capacity in oil spillage response and the failure to ensure compliance and enforcement of quality standards to prevent avoidable accidents from occurring.

These failings, once again, has culminated into huge environmental destruction of coastal and inland biodiversity which rural community livelihoods depend on. 

We urge the Ministry of Transport, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA), Ghana Navy, Ghana Maritime Authority and Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development through its regulatory agencies to recognize the urgent need for a new independent mechanism that would conform to international best practice to prevent, identify, and respond to such oil spills in Ghana and clean up contaminated sites for the benefit of local communities and people living in the affected area.  

Abibiman urge agencies responsible to ensure immediate clean up and restoration of the damaged environment in the affected areas since it plays a critical role in the livelihoods of residents within the Tema metropolis and the country at large.

Government must put all necessary measures in place to avoid reoccurrences of similar oil spillage in the future.

                        

Signed: Kenneth Nana Amoateng-http://www.abibimmanfoundation.org/info@abibimanfoundation.org

Abibiman Foundation welcomes into force legally binding of the Minamata Convention on Mercury. A turning point for the Planet & Human health and together the journey has just begun

Abibiman Foundation welcomes into force legally binding of the Minamata Convention on Mercury. A turning point for the Planet & Human health and together the journey has just begun

Today, 16 August 2017 is a historic day; the Minamata Convention on Mercury, which aims to protect human health and the environment, becomes legally binding and enter into force today. Adopted in October 2013 and in accordance with Article 31, the Minamata Convention enters into force, ninety days after the date of deposit of the fiftieth instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession, which happened on May 18th, 2017. So far, there are 128 Signatories and 74 Parties to the Convention. The Government of the Republic of Ghana signed the Convention on 24 September 2014 and ratified it this year on 23 March 2017.

From today, we have the opportunity to chart a new course; a course that is expected to control the anthropogenic releases of mercury throughout its lifecycle in order to protect people and the environment from the harmful effects of mercury and its related compounds. 

Exposure to mercury have debilitating effects on the brain and nervous system, digestive system and the kidney, among others. Memory loss and language impairment as well as harmful effects on unborn children and infants are also known to be products of exposure to mercury and environmental damage estimated at $22 billion," according to a UNEP.

From 2020, the Convention will ban the production, import and export of products that contain mercury, including blood pressure monitors, clinical thermometers, high-pressure mercury lamps, and topical antiseptic agents. Until 2020, the Convention will encourage signatory countries to gradually reduce their use of mercury. In the case of small-scale gold mining, for which mercury is being used indiscriminately, the Convention has stipulated reduction in usage of mercury. The treaty also states that for constructing coal-powered thermal power plants, the countries which are signatories will be required to include equipment to help minimize mercury emissions.

Environmental Protection Agency of Ghana (EPA), which is the main regulatory body for ensuring the enforcement of the provisions of the Convention, has put together national planning committee.

Notwithstanding, Abibiman Foundation believes that knowledge of this Convention and government’s approach is limited among several stakeholders, we call on the EPA to adopt a bottom-up’ rather than a ‘top-down’ approach and ensure all relevant stakeholders are actively involved in the process.

Further, Abibiman Foundation believes the following areas also require pressing attention:

1.     Researching sources of illegal mercury imports, including the existing or likely mercury entry points into Ghana, and the distribution networks within the country.

2.      Coordination with our neighboring countries 

3.      Involving Stakeholders in the Implementation and Continuing Development of the National Action Plan

Ensuring transparency, monitor and implementation of the Minamata Convention on Mercury, however, will definitely fail if the monitoring, evaluation and accountability structure is weak

Government of Ghana must go beyond verbal and written statements, and make available resource allocation for the National Action Plan to address challenges relating to the reduction and elimination of Mercury  

Abibimman Foundation wish to congratulations all the 74 countries who have ratified the Convention and call on other countries to make history today by ratify the Minamata Convention on Mercury #MakeMercuryHistory #mercurypollution

By Abibiman Foundation www.abibimanfoundation.org, Email:info@abibimanfoundation.org

World Climate Simulation Training in Ghana

Climate Interactive and Abibiman Foundation, have organized a World Climate Simulation and Training Event at the United Nations Information Centre in Accra on July 11 to 12, 2016.

Young people from civil society and Ghana’s universities participated in the event. There were climate and environment activists and students.

World Climate Event, WCE, basically, is a simulation of the World Climate Negotiations that takes place at the annual COP events. The goal is to help young people understand the full picture on how to address climate change and other critical challenges. The event was to equip the delegates to join others from other parts of the world in running the World Climate Simulation and engaging others on climate change.

Delegates played the World Climate game and worked with the C-ROADS software to model global temperature changes. The exercise raised the level of engagement of participants when they were faced with the reality of how much work needed to be done to keep global temperature rise below 2°C by the year 2100.

The Accra World Climate Simulation Event was facilitated by Juliette Bohland from Climate Interactive World Climate Africa Project and Travis Franck from Boston.

With the COP22 climate negotiations happening in Morocco later this year, Climate Interactive and its partners around the world want to make sure everyone has a chance to better understand the climate challenge.