Climate and Development
ISSN: (Print) (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tcld20
Mainstreaming climate change adaptation into
pro-poor development initiatives: evidence from
local economic development programmes in
Ghana
Albert Ahenkan, David Nawiene Chutab & Emmanuel Kwesi Boon
To cite this article: Albert Ahenkan, David Nawiene Chutab & Emmanuel Kwesi Boon (2021)
Mainstreaming climate change adaptation into pro-poor development initiatives: evidence from local
economic development programmes in Ghana, Climate and Development, 13:7, 603-615, DOI:
10.1080/17565529.2020.1844611
To link to this article:  https://doi.org/10.1080/17565529.2020.1844611
Published online: 25 Dec 2020.
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CLIMATE AND DEVELOPMENT
2021, VOL. 13, NO. 7, 603–615
https://doi.org/10.1080/17565529.2020.1844611
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Mainstreaming climate change adaptation into pro-poor development initiatives:
evidence from local economic development programmes in Ghana
Albert Ahenkan a, David Nawiene Chutab a and Emmanuel Kwesi Boon b
aDepartment of Public Administration and Health Services Management, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana; bInternational Centre for Enterprise and
Sustainable Development (ICED), Airport-Accra, Ghana
ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY
Climate change remains a serious threat to climate sensitive pro-poor development interventions in the Received 9 March 2020
Pru District of Ghana. This study examined how climate change impacts on Local Economic Development Accepted 25 October 2020
(LED) interventions, the extent to which climate change adaptation (CCA) initiatives are integrated into
LED and the challenges associated with the mainstreaming process. Qualitative research design and KEYWORDSLocal economic
purposive sampling was used to collect data from 28 respondents at the Pru District Assembly with an development; climate
interview guide. The results show that climate change adversely affects the following LED change adaptation; pro-poor
programmes; beekeeping, micro-credit for agricultural development programme, and fishing net and development resilience
outboard motor programmes. The findings further indicate that climate-smart Agriculture, aquaculture
(Fish Cage Culture) and Sustainable natural resource utilization and management the CCA initiatives
mainstreamed into pro-poor LED in the Pru District to reduce the inevitable impacts of climate
change. The study identified multifaceted challenges militating against CCA mainstreaming in the
District to include inadequate resources for CCA, inactive stakeholder and institutional collaboration,
and lack of continuity of CCA programmes. This paper recommends strong government support for
CCA programmes, commitment of adequate resources and effective stakeholder and institutional
collaboration. The paper concludes that effective integration of CCA into pro-poor LED is a panacea to
achieving sustainable local development.
1. Introduction competitiveness, strengthening local institutions, better man-
agement of the development process and internalizing local
Over the past twenty years, Local Economic Development resources. It is worth mentioning that LED strategies have
(LED) programmes in Ghana have been progressively pre- been persistently deployed in the battle against the conditions
scribed by development actors as a supplement to the conven- of being poor, to promote social inclusion and improve eco-
tional top-down development approach Mensah et al. (2013a). logical well-being. These conditions reposition social and
Worldwide, LED has been accorded credence and rec- economic strategies along bottom-up development approaches
ommended as one of the surest strategies for accelerating the (Khan, 2015). LED ‘offers a means to counteract or take advan-
efforts to tackle local development deficits at the local level tage of the forces of globalisation by maximising local poten-
(Rogerson, 2018). It is also recognized that climate change is tials’ (Lawrence, 2013).
affecting LED in developing countries. There is therefore an Current studies on LED in Africa have mostly concentrated
urgent need for local authorities to explore climate change on appraising the implementation of LED, its challenges, sta-
adaptation (CCA) options and mainstream adaptation to keholder involvement and the role of national governments
reduce possible vulnerabilities and improve local development (Rogerson, 2010; Rogerson, 2011). The principal policy debate
(Musah-Surugu et al., 2019). Mensah et al. (2013b, 2b) postu- and research on LED in Ghana have mainly centred on policy
lated that ‘Governments of Africa have identified LED as a key implementation, legislative and institutional perspectives,
priority to enhance development and governance at the local challenges of LED, multiple actors and stakeholders’ involve-
level’. Khan (2015) has also emphasized the rising importance ment, the role of local government and so on (Akudugu,
of LED across Africa indicates that the practice has become an 2013b; Akudugu, 2018; Mensah et al., 2013a; Mensah et al.,
extremely fashionable subject within the quarters of inter- 2013b; Oduro-Ofori, 2011). Notwithstanding these investi-
national development cooperation programmes prescribed gations, climate change, which is one of the major problems
for African states. According to Oduro-Ofori (2011), the over- confronting LED in Ghana and Africa, has not been ade-
all rationale for pursuing LED is to mobilize the local econ- quately researched. Climate change certainly affects LED,
omic potential by bringing innovation to all its growth especially in climate sensitive sectors. The agricultural, forestry
dimensions which range from infrastructure to local small and fisheries sectors in Ghana are critical areas that are used to
and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) and the capacity to propel LED programmes. These sectors are sensitive and
attract foreign direct investment, fostering territorial responsive to climate change threats like floods, drought,
CONTACT David Nawiene Chutab dchutab@gmail.com Department of Public Administration and Health Services Management, University of Ghana, P. O. Box
LG 78, Legon, Accra, Ghana
© 2020 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group
604 A. AHENKAN ET AL.
rising temperature, wildfire, and erratic rainfall (Asiedu et al., of stakeholder helps to ensure that activities are informed by
2019). For example, Asante and Amuakwa-Mensah (2015) practical knowledge and experience from the grass root. In
observed that rising water temperature has increased fish order to use stakeholders effectively to ensure success of adap-
stock losses and fish mortality, reduced fish yield, damaged tation mainstreaming, a coordinated action of local depart-
ponds, and increased operating costs. Asiedu et al. (2019) indi- ments and agencies are required. The absence of inter-
cated that events such as flooding carry fish stocks trapped in coordinated efforts hinders efforts to minimize the risk associ-
fishing nets away and also damage the harvesting systems ate with climate change threats (Parry & Taylor, 2012; UNDP-
thereby rendering fisherfolk jobless and worsening their pov- UNEP Poverty-Environment Facility, 2011). Rayner and
erty situation. Again, recent studies show that climate change Berkhout (2012) also added that when climate change adap-
is affecting the yield of cassava with production losses up to 3% tation is integrated into existing decision making and pro-
in 2020 and projected to increase to 13.5% in 2050, and 53% in grammes then mainstreaming has been carried out.
2080 (Sagoe, 2006; Van Oort & Zwart, 2018). Maize yield is Adaptation should be facilitated in consistency with develop-
estimated to decline by about 15% by 2050 in all regions in ment objectives and aligned with existing governance struc-
Ghana. It is in this regard that this paper examines climate tures. Monitoring and evaluating the processes of CCA
change impacts on LED interventions in the Pru District as mainstreaming helps policy makers to determine if the desired
well as the mainstreaming of CCA into LED initiatives and outcomes are being achieved. Evaluation of the process also
how best to fix the associated challenges. enables the timely adjustment of policies, when circumstances
require so. In this way, the integration policies can be adaptive
in themselves (CARE, 2009).
2. Theoretical literature According to the Local Governance Act, 2016 (Act, 936),
the District Assemblies are responsible for promoting Local
2.1. Mainstreaming climate change adaptation into
Economic Development (LED) in Ghana. This implies that
local economic development (LED)
District Assemblies act as the lead agencies in coordinating
As has already been mentioned, major sectors of Ghana’s LED activities in the Districts (Akudugu, 2013b). For each Dis-
economy are considered climate sensitive because they are pre- trict Assembly, the design and implementation of LED activi-
dominantly natural resource based and extremely exposed to ties is mainly the responsibility of the District Planning and
climate change risks (Owusu &Waylen, 2013). The fundamen- Coordinating Unit (DPCU) and the Business Advisory Centre.
tal stressors of climate change such as floods, drought, and sea However, LED programmes can also be designed by other
erosion are indicative of the prevalence of climate change decentralized agencies like the District Department of Agricul-
hazards in Ghana. The success of LED in Ghana is dependent ture with the District Assembly’s support (Mensah et al.,
on the mobilization of climate sensitive sectors such as agricul- 2013a). The formulation and implementation of LED activities
ture, water resources, fish farming and infrastructure. In order is expected to be participatory with broad stakeholder and
to effectively management climate change impacts through institutional involvement (Akudugu & Laube, 2013a). Unfor-
prevention, mitigation and adaptation measures in the tunately, broad engagement is usually ineffective, and this
country, it is important that climate change is integrated in tends to expose local development programmes to climate
the design of LED policies and programmes (Dumenu & change threats. Alhassan and Hadwen (2017) posited that
Obeng, 2016). To illustrate the importance of this view, the the vulnerability of local development programmes in Ghana
paper discusses agriculture, fisheries and aquaculture which to climate change threats can be attributed to the non-con-
are principal sectors of rural economies in Ghana attracting sideration of CCA elements in the programme formulation
significant LED initiatives. and implementation processes. Asiedu et al. (2019) revealed
Climate change mainstreaming adaptation into develop- that even though local actors are privy to the impact of climate
ment is generally implies integrating climate change concerns change threats to LED activities, they tend to ignore these
into existing programmes and decision making choices (Klein threats in the design and implementation of CAA pro-
et al., 2007). In the view of Oates et al. (2011), it is the incor- grammes, thereby making them vulnerable and unsuccessful.
poration of critical climate change issues into structures of Asante and Amuakwa-Mensah (2015) and Asiedu et al.
decision making that influence nationwide and sectoral growth (2019) added that the recent calls by scholars and international
strategies, policies, investments, and activities. According to development organizations for integration of climate change
Rayner and Berkhout (2012) mainstreaming Climate Change into LED programmes is gaining grounds although the results
Adaptation(CCA) into development activities is taking are mixed with a number of successes and failures (Table 1).
decision on the basis of the best available information regard- Different structures and approaches have been put in place
ing data on climate and potential implication of climate change in Ghana over the years to manage LED initiatives at the
for different sectors, as well as the potential adaptation options. grassroots level. But despite the strategic importance of main-
The integration of CCA into local climate sensitive streaming climate change into LED, the obstacles constraining
resources has proven to be capable of strengthening liveli- the processes are several. According to Alhassan and Hadwen
hoods and creating employment for local people (Alhassan (2017), the mainstreaming of climate change into local
& Hadwen, 2017). To integrate CCA in national development decision making is affected by (a) ineffective coordination
planning requires a wide range stakeholder involvement and and collaboration between the District Assemblies and the
coordination from national government ministries to sector decentralized departments such as Department of Agriculture,
agencies, local governments and civil society. The involvement Department of Fisheries; (b) inadequate information on the
CLIMATE AND DEVELOPMENT 605
Table 1. Typical examples of local economic development programmes.
Local economic development programmes Source
Provision of Micro-credit facilities Nel et al. (2002), Tarozzi et al. (2015)
Support to Small and Medium Scale Enterprises Akudugu (2013b)
Provision of infrastructure to enhance trade Mensah et al. (2013a), Cahill (2005)
Upgrading skills of Artisans Rogerson and Rogerson (2010)
Agricultural development Banchirigah and Hilson (2010), Mensah et al. (2013a)
Agro- processing Offei-Aboagye (2009)
Subsidising agriculture & fishing inputs Helmsing (2003), Cahill (2005), Kline and Moretti (2014)
Alternative livelihood schemes (bee keeping, Snail rearing, Grass cutter rearing) Wilson (2008), Jeil et al. (2019),
Local tourism Development Rogerson (2006), Rogerson (2012)
vulnerability of districts to climate change; (c) inadequate early Organisation (NGO) – Mercy Project Initiative. These partici-
warning systems; and (d) the trivializing of climate change pants were selected because of their respective roles in local
issues. As a result, most interventions instituted to reduce development and the implementation of Local Economic Devel-
the impact of climate change on LED are often poorly planned, opment (LED) policies and strategies and the need to obtain
implemented or communicated to stakeholders and sectors comprehensive data for analysis and generating objective results
(Yeeles, 2018). There is often a lack of data on climate change and conclusions. For example, the Yapra Rural Bank financed a
related issues and interventions, especially the cost effective- LED programme in the study location while the NGO Mercy
ness of the various adaptation strategies (Dumenu & Obeng, Project Initiative was involved in the study because it had in-
2016). Munck af Rosenschöld et al. (2014) also identified a depth experience on rising water temperature on the livelihoods
number of obstacles that are likely to impede mainstreaming of fisher folks. The complexity and multidisciplinary nature of
of CCA to include the difficulty to create the needed awareness climate change require the involvement and these interviewees
and building knowledge. Organization of Economic Coorpera- in order to obtain a comprehensive understanding and their
tion and Development (2009) and United Nations Develop- actual experiences on local climate change impacts. In addition,
ment Programme (2011) also observed that climate change is sixteen (16) local citizens who are beneficiaries of LED interven-
a multifaceted subject heavily linked to development concerns, tions were purposively sampled. They included fishermen,
thus requiring huge resources to handle. fishmongers and smallholder farmers who have been experien-
cing the daily adverse impacts of climate change on their econ-
omic activities and livelihoods. In total, a sample size of twenty-
3. Methodology and study location eight (28) respondents provided information for the preparation
A qualitative research approach underpinned this study. Purpo- of the paper. This number is considered appropriate for a quali-
sive sampling strategy was adopted to select respondents from tative case study design (Neuman, 2014). This number is also
the decentralized departments/agencies of the Pru District suitable because it involved the staff of all the appropriate
Assembly, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and the departments as well as representatives of both public and private
local media in the District. This approach is appropriate for the agencies in the Pru District.
study because it draws together people’s knowledge, experiences, Face-to-face interviews were conducted with the respon-
priorities and contemporary understanding of a particular dents to collect relevant information on Climate Change
phenomenon (Yin, 2013). For assurance of reliability and validity Adaptation mainstreaming into LED for analysis. The inter-
of findings, this approach to investigation facilitated exploration views were conducted in English and in the local languages
of a phenomenon within its natural context using a variety of of the study location (Nchumuru, Bono, Ewe, Konkomba).
data sources. This study adopted purposively sampling tech- The interviews were audio-taped, translated and transcribed
niques because its permitted the researchers to select respondents for analysis, interpretation and integration of the results in
who possessed the requisite practical acknowledge, understand- the findings of the desk research. The audiotapes were also
ing, and experience on integrating climate change adaptation supplemented by information gathered through physical
into local economic development in Pru district. observation. Verbatim accounts from the respondents were
Nine (9) respondents were selected from decentralized public utilized to buttress the arguments generated by the partici-
agencies in the district, including; District Coordinating Direc- pants. To enable clarity from the analysis of the collected infor-
tor(DCD), District Planning Officer(DPO), District Finance mation, the participants were coded as BENE 1, BENE 2,
Officer(DFO), District Agriculture Officer (DAO), Business BENE 3, BENE 4 till the last respondent. The transcribed
Advisory Center (BAC) Officer, District National Disaster Man- data was organized and reviewed thematically to respond to
agement Organisation (DNADMO), District Health Service the research questions. Each objective of the paper was thema-
Directorate (DHSD), District Fisheries Director (DFD) and an tically presented in tables. Each table was sub-divided into five
officer from the National Resources and Conservation Depart- columns; (a) informant; (b) informants’ responses; (c) agree-
ment (NRCD). The staff from the various department and ment; (d) disagreement; and (e) emerging themes from the
agencies participate in critical LED decision-making and have respondents’ reactions. The individual themes were then
in-depth understanding on the issues of climate change main- examined and analysed qualitatively to determine which
streaming in the district. Other participants of the field study themes appeared most frequently, in what settings and their
included three (3) respondents from a local radio station inter-relations. The tables allowed the deduction of responses
(Alive FM), Yapra Rural Bank and one Non-Governmental for each emerging principal theme and pattern and which are
606 A. AHENKAN ET AL.
Figure 1. Location of Pru District in national and regional contexts.
Source: Pru District Assembly (2017).
then compared with those that emerged from the literature 4.1. The effect of climate change on local economic
review. development
The study was conducted in Pru District in Brong Ahafo
This objective of the paper focused on analysing the impact of
Region of Ghana. It is located in the Transitional Ecological
climate change on bee keeping, micro-credit for agriculture
Zone (TEZ) of the country (see Figure 1). Although the Guinea
development programme, and fishing net and out board
Savannah Ecological Zone is known to be highly vulnerable to
motor programme implemented in the Pru District. The mag-
climate change threats, current studies indicate that TEZ is
nitude of local climate change threats on pro-poor develop-
experiencing devastating climate change threats such as
ment interventions informed the mainstreaming of CCA
extreme heat waves, high winds, floods, drought, extreme
strategies to safeguard the LED programmes. The results of
variability of the rainfall pattern which has resulted poor agri-
how climate change affects the pro-poor development inter-
cultural performance and declining biodiversity (Codjoe et al.,
ventions in the Pru District are summarized in Table 2.
2014). With the majority of the population’s livelihoods and
employment being dependent on climate change sensitive sec-
4.1.1. Bee keeping
tors like agriculture and fisheries, the efforts of local authorities
The field study revealed that beekeeping was adopted as a pro-
and other stakeholders to stimulate LED have been seriously
poor LED intervention to improve unemployment and income
undermined. A total of 65.9% of the employed population is
generation in local communities in Pru District Assembly. The
engaged in agricultural, forestry, and fishery. Generally, all
beneficiaries of the intervention were drawn from the follow-
the economic activities in the study location are vulnerable
ing local communities; Yeji, Abease, Kobre, Prang, and Para-
to climate change impacts (GSS, 2010). To manage these
mbo. The data analysis demonstrates that climate change
impacts, a number of CCA interventions (Adaptation of
threats such as rising temperature, bushfire, drought, and rain-
Agro-Ecosystems to Climate Change (AAESCC) and
storms affected the level of honey production in the Pru Dis-
Improved Fish Smoking and Mangrove Restoration in Action)
trict and the bee-keeping LED programme. The results of
have been implemented in the district.
the analysis indicate that climate change is thwarting the
efforts of the Pru District Assembly to provide sustainable
4. Results employment for the local people and reduce poverty.
Currently, the Pru District is experiencing an annual temp-
The main objective of this study was to examine mainstream- erature rise between 0.1–0.3 degrees (Ghana Meteorological
ing Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) into pro-poor develop- Agency, 2015). The District Agricultural Director indicated
ment initiatives using LED programmes in Ghana and Pru that severe drought and excessive temperature increase are
District as the study setting. The analysis is centred on the being experienced in the district and this is resulting in the
impacts of climate change on LED programmes, mainstream- late flowering of plants. Bees largely depend on flower nectar
ing CCA into LED and the associated challenges. as raw material for producing quality honey; the delay in the
CLIMATE AND DEVELOPMENT 607
Table 2. Effects of climate change on bee keeping.
Local economic
development Local climate
programme change threats Nature of climate change impacts on bee keeping Beneficiaries / Officers responses
Bee Keeping . High . Excessive temperature rise cause bees to flee The National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) staff
Temperature the bee hive boxes resulting in low honey disclosed:
. Bushfire production. During the latter part of the year, normally early December, we
. Drought . Destruction of bee hive boxes by wildfire. record unprecedented numbers of bushfire disasters on farms
. Rainstorms . Low quality of flower nectar for bees as a across the district and a lot of bee farms have been burnt… The
results of late flowering due to poor district has also been experiencing rising temperatures due to
precipitation. prolong drought and this has caused plants to undergo delay
. Bee hive boxes placed under tree cover are flowering and flower abortion. This means bees won’t have
destroyed by falling tree branches during enough nectar to produce honey for bee keepers to harvest.
rainstorms. One respondent opined thus:
. Reduction in the quantity of annual harvested I have lost a lot of beehive boxes from my bee farm which was
honey between 23% and 45% in the district mainly caused by bush fires during excessive drought. Delay in
(Pru District Assembly, 2017). flowering, rainstorms, excessive temperatures are also factors
. Bee farmer’s income levels decrease mainly affecting honey production. I am sometimes discouraged to
because of these climate hazards. continue the Bee-keeping business. (BENE 12)
rainy season results in late plant flowering and this negatively improve their livelihoods. The results of the field data analysis
affected honey production. In addition, because of the pro- show that climate change threats have severely impacted on
longed drought in the district, bushfires have become preva- the provision of micro-credit for poverty reduction in the
lent and an annual ritual and is thwarting efforts to improve Pru District (see Table 3). The micro-credit programme cov-
the local economy. A lot of beekeepers have lost their beehive ered 124 and 112 rice and maize farmers respectively.
boxes because of bush fires and severe rainstorms. Conse- The findings of the field data analysis indicate that several
quently, honey production in the district and the income of hectares of farmlands were flooded, and farmers lost a signifi-
beekeepers have significantly dwindled. Most bee-keepers are cant part of their crop. Most of the farms were located close to
unable to properly feed their families and send their kids to waterlogged areas around the Pru River and the Volta Lake.
school. The lessons of the impact of climate change on LED The decision to site the farms closer to the water body was
activities in Pru District can inform and guide similar actions informed by the droughts the district experienced over the
in other districts in Ghana. years. But this led to the flooding of the rice farms of the
micro-credit scheme beneficiaries and their inability to repay
4.1.2. Micro-credit for agriculture development their loans. The farmers would have been in a better position
programme to repay their loans if they had enjoyed bountiful yields. The
Micro-credit programme for agricultural development was a beneficiaries attributed their indebtedness to drought, floods
collaborative pro-poor intervention implemented by Pru Dis- and bushfires sparked by worsening climate conditions. The
trict and Yapra Rural Bank Limited to provide micro credit to beneficiary farmers indicated that the interest on the loan
rice and maize farmers. The objective of the programme was to was minimal with a flexible payment period, hence they
boost local youth employment, increase farmer’s income and could have repaid their loans with ease but for the yield losses
Table 3. Effects of climate change on micro-credit for poverty reduction programme.
Local economic
development Local climate Nature of climate change effects on micro-credit for
programme change threats poverty reduction Responses of beneficiaries / Participants
Micro-credit for poverty . Floods . Fifteen (15) hectares of rice farms have been flooded A Yapra Rural Bank official explained the situation in these
reduction . Bushfire by the Pru River and the Volta Lake leading to loss of words:
programme rice fields at Prang, Kobre Nsuano, Accra town, We took a decision to support some farmers to go into rice
Brekente, and Yeji Kwayase. cultivation as the Bank’s policy to support rural farmers in
. Farmers lost the entire credit facility invested in the the Pru District.W have been doing business with them for
rice farms. many years now. But I think the vagaries of the weather
. Farmers are unable to repay their loans. didn’t permit the farmers to harvest any substantial crops
. Yapra Rural Bank and Pru District Assembly have as most of the farms were either swept away by floods or
suspended the intervention. crops didn’t do well because of drought. They are finding it
. ushfires raged over 480 acres out of the over 600 acres hard to pay back their loans.
of maize farms cultivated by beneficiaries of the micro- A micro-credit beneficiary confirmed thus;
credit scheme. I am a farmer and the bushfires are just too much. This
year, I cultivated seven hectares of rice and what I
harvested was not be even up to one bag; floods normally
have been a challenge. This is why a lot of people don’t
want to go into farming, you will invest a lot of money and
at the end of the year you will be in debt and you won’t get
anything. (BENE 1)
608 A. AHENKAN ET AL.
Table 4. Effects of climate change on fishing nets and outboard motor programme.
Local economic
development Local climate Nature of climate change effects on fishing nets and
programme change threats outboard motor programme Responses of beneficiaries and participants
Fishing Net and . Floods . Rise in temperature of the Pru River and Volta Lake A fisherman explained his anxiety in thus:
Outboard Motor . Drought results in the decline in fish production due to the Fishing activity is becoming a bad business. We hardly
Programme movement of fish to deep cooler part of the lake where catch any fish to sell to meet our daily needs. And making
nets are unable to reach. matters worse, we owe the government for the fishing nets
. Heavy rains caused Pru River and Volta Lake to flood and the outboard motors supplied us at reduced prices. It
their banks into large grass fields causing fishes to seems there is no fish in the lake. (BENE 8)
move to these grassy areas thereby reducing the The Department of Fisheries corroborated this by
assemblage of fish in the main lake resulting in low fish explaining that:
catch. When there are regular floods, it becomes very difficult to
. The low fish catch reduces income of farmers and catch fish since most of the fish in the lake feed on grasses,
affects their capacity to pay for the subsidized fishing they move to grassy areas and this mostly accounts for the
nets and outboard motors. low fish catch fishermen experience. This has affected the
. Farmers fail to repay the subsidized loans. ability of the fisher folk to repay the subsidized fishing nets
. The programme was suspended because beneficiary and outboard motors we supplied them.
fishermen were unable to repay their loans.
they experienced because of the climate change impacts. The resources. This approach aims to ensure the long-term sustain-
climate change impacts and the farmers’ inability to repay ability of the investment in LED programmes in the Pru Dis-
their loans encouraged the Bank to withdraw its credit scheme trict whiles increasing the responsiveness of LED activities to
for farmers in the district. current and future climate threats. The district wide perform-
ance appraisal conducted on climate change provided signifi-
4.1.3. Fishing nets and outboard motor programme cant leads on climate risks on LED, climate change risks as
The objective for initiating the fishing nets and outboard well as adaptation and mitigation measures. The objective of
motor pro-poor LED intervention programme by the Pru Dis- the adaptation initiatives aim to reduce the susceptibility of
trict Assembly and Department of Fisheries was to boost the LED activities to rising temperature, floods, erratic rainfall,
local fishing industry through increased fish production, pov- rainstorms, and wildfires which are worsening in the district.
erty reduction, improved incomes and job creation. A total of Clearly, climate smart agriculture, aquaculture and sustainable
654 fishermen were supplied with subsidized outboard motors natural resource management are appropriate CCA initiatives
and fishing nets. Table 4 provides the results of climate change that should be mainstreamed into Pru District to guarantee the
impacts on the fishing net and outboard motor programme. sustainability of LED results and outcomes.
The Fisheries Department of the Pru District indicated that
prolonged droughts often reduce the level of the Volta Lake 4.2.1. Climate-smart agriculture (CSA)
and cause an increase in water temperature. This situation is The Pru District Assembly introduced climate-smart agricul-
responsible for fish moving to deeper cooler parts of the lake ture (CSA) as an intervention for minimizing the impacts of
and out of the reach of fishermen. Data form the Department climate change on agricultural activities and the livelihoods
of Fisheries also show that during heavy downpours, the Volta of farmers. The Pru District Assembly, the Department of
Lake and the Pru River overflow their banks and flood large Agriculture and other stakeholders with financial assistance
grass fields that serve as feeding grounds for the fishes but from the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusamme-
are unsuitable for fish harvesting. The movement of fish to narbeit (GIZ) jointly implemented a number of CSA interven-
grassy feeding grounds reduce the available stock in the tions within the framework of Adaptation of Agro-Ecosystems
main lake as well as fishermen’s harvest and incomes. The pro- to Climate Change (AAESCC). The objective is to reduce cli-
gramme was halted because of poor performance. mate-related yield losses experienced by farmers in the district.
The key factors that influenced this situation in Pru District
included early onset of rains or delays in rainfall. To mitigate
4.2. Mainstreaming climate change adaptation into
this challenge, farmers were introduced to improved maize
local economic development
varieties that are drought resistant and enjoy short maturity
Mainstreaming CCA into LED refers to the process of integrat- periods. This enabled the farmers to harvest their crops before
ing climate change in development planning, budgeting as well the flooding period (July to September) and the intensive
as implementation and monitoring processes (UNEP, 2011). bushfires period between October and January every year.
This paper examined the incorporation of climate change This has significantly reduced the incidence of flooding of
threats like rising temperature, floods, erratic rainfall, rain- farms and the destruction of crops by bushfires in the district.
storms, and wildfires into LED. The paper focused on the inte- The implementation of agroforestry was also introduced as a
gration of agriculture, fisheries and aquaculture activities in strategy to control erosion during periods of heavy rains
the design and implementation of CCA strategies. Important especially in communities like Kwayase, Kadue and Ajentru-
elements considered included climate smart agriculture, fish waa. This intervention particularly aimed at equipping small-
cage culture and sustainable utilization of environmental holder farmers threatened by adverse climate change
CLIMATE AND DEVELOPMENT 609
Table 5. Climate smart agriculture and its impact on farmer’s livelihood.
Climate change
adaptation Outcome of the Climate-Smart
programme Climate-smart agriculture activities Agriculture (CSA) Responses of beneficiaries and participants
Climate-Smart Mobile Weather Alert Messaging; . Farmers at Kofi Basari and The District Agriculture Office explained thus:
Agriculture (CSA) Kwayase plant the right crop The farmers were trained on the types of crops and
. Farmers at Kofi Basari and Kwayase were varieties and at the right time. varieties of crops that they can plant to resist drought
trained and equipped on how to access . Farmers recorded high yields of and provide good yields. Early and short duration crops
weather information via their mobile maize. like maize wang-gata and sanzal-sima were supplied
phones. . Inter-cropping helped to create to farmers. Our local farmers who were not getting
permanent soil cover to protect anything because of drought are now growing maize
Agroforestry; against erosion during heavy rains. varieties which take less than three months or 75–80
. Farmers’ capacity has been days to mature. The farmers are now getting high
. Farmers plant trees and crops on the strengthened to withstand local yields and are assured of increasing incomes which is a
same land (e.g. Obaartampa maize inter- climatic conditions. positive step to making the local economy better.
cropped with Crotalaria) . Increase in farmer’s income and Another farmer disclosed the following:
livelihoods. My colleagues and I have experienced tremendous
Improved Maize Varieties improvement in crop yields because of the new
technologies we are using on our farms. We are able to
. Farmers planted high yielding, short minimize the effects of climate change on our farming
duration, drought resistant varieties of activities compared to when we weren’t introduced to
maize like Sanzal-sima, Wang-gata and these improved crop varieties and technologies. We
Bihilifa harvest a lot and I have seen improvement in my
. New drought and pest resistant maize income levels. (BENE 5)
varieties supplied to farmers
Table 6. Aquaculture and increased in fish stock.
Climate change
adaptation Outcome of the aquaculture (fish cage
programme Aquaculture (fish cage culture) activities culture) Responses of beneficiaries and participants
Aquaculture (Fish Number of cages deployed; . This intervention has increased fish According to the Department of fisheries:
Cage Culture) production in Pru District. The main focus of the initiative over the medium-
. Eighteen (18) fish cages were set up at . Fisher folks’ income levels have term is to shore up and accelerate fish production in
Kajai, Jaklai and Brekente. increased significantly. the wake of climate change threats and to make the
. Each of the cages housed 90,000 . The adaptive capacity of local fisher livelihoods of the local people sustainable.
fingerlings. folk to climate change threats has A respondent disclosed the following:
. High temperature resistant and prolific fish improved. I have four (4) fish cages on the Volta Lake and I can
species were introduced (Tilapiines, . The economic activities of the confidently state that my family is living well. My
Chrysicthys, Cluipeidae, and Labeo) were people have been sustained. finances have improved. Even during the period of
stocked in the cages. . The total fresh fish production harvesting and processing of the fish for sale, I
stood at 72.33 mt which is an employ an additional twenty people and I pay them
increase of 9.0% over the 2017 well. The introduction of the fish cage system has
figure of 65.64 mt. improved our lives. (BENE 13)
impacts. The adoption of CSA activities is sustaining the liveli- takes shorter period to mature. The farmers confirmed that
hoods and income of farmers because it allows them to plant the CSA activities assure them of entry into the next farming
and harvest their crops on time. Table 5 provides a snapshot season with adequate finance to invest in their farming
of the benefits of CSA activities in the Pru District. activities.
A training on Mobile Weather Alert Messaging organized
in the district equipped farmers to use their mobile phones 4.2.2. Aquaculture (fish cage culture)
to access daily weather information and when to expect Climate change occurrences such as flood, rising water temp-
rains. The training programme has enabled farmers to deter- erature have also affected the local fishing industry. It has
mine the right time to plant their crops and this has resulted resulted in a sharp decline in fish stock in the Pru River and
in high crop yields. Prior to the implementation of climate- Volta Lake and the crippling of local economic activities in
smart agriculture (CSA), farmers were relying solely on seeds the district. The frequent flooding of these two water bodies
that were not resistant to climate change extreme events like prevents fisher folks from harvesting more fish. The Depart-
drought, pest, and diseases. According to the Department of ment of Fisheries, the Pru District Assembly and the Business
Agriculture, local crops varieties were low-yielding and were Advisory Centre introduced proactive measures to respond to
also more vulnerable to climate change threats. Farmers the dying local fishing industry. Fish cage farming was one of
were introduced to novel varieties of crops like Sanzal-sima, the interventions undertaken to augment fish production, to
Wang-gata and Bihilifa, which even in the midst of drought create employment opportunities and improve the living con-
produce substantial yields to boost farmers’ incomes. These ditions in local communities in the district. The results are
crop varieties are resistant to drought, high yielding and summarized in Table 6.
610 A. AHENKAN ET AL.
Table 7. Natural resource utilization and management.
Outcome of sustainable natural
Climate change Sustainable natural resource utilization resource utilization and
adaptation programme and management activities management programme Responses of the beneficiaries and participants
Sustainable Natural . Introduction of Morrison stove. . It reduces fuelwood use by 39% According to Natural Resources and Conservation
Resource Utilization . Afforestation project during the process of fish Department:
and Management . Residents are encouraged to prone smoking. Compared to the Chorkor stove, the Morrison stove is
tree branches for firewood and . 250 hectares’ mango environmentally friendly and is more fuel efficient.
charcoal burning instead of felling the afforestation project in 11 One of the measures to mitigate and adjust to
whole tree. communities. climate change is the establishment of Mango
. 182 hectares of exotic trees plantations in some of the communities. We
cultivated under the national established 250 hectares of mango plantations in
forestry plantation development. eleven communities in the district. We think that
programme. these strategies will help us manage the threats of
. Reduction in the number of trees changing climate. A respondent explained:
cut for charcoal production and The introduction of the new fish smoking technology
domestic use. has been very helpful. We use less firewood in
smoking fish which means we will not be cutting
trees from the bush. We have started planting a lot of
trees too. (BENE 7)
It is clear that fish farming is an important employment and Pru District depend largely on firewood which is causing the
income generation intervention in the Pru District. It is a key degradation of the natural vegetation. The mango plantations
driver of LED in the district and has shored up and accelerated serve as a CCA and income generation strategy. The Pru Dis-
fish production in the wake of climate change threats. to make trict Assembly has planted 250 hectares of afforestation pro-
the livelihood of the local people sustainable. The substantial jects in 11 communities; Komfourkrom, Zambrama,
improvement in the livelihoods of the fisher folks serve as use- Yawpare, Ajaraja-Bepopso, Abease, Bosomfour, Ankrakuka,
ful lessons for increasing investment in aquaculture in the Krobo, Bomoden, Daman Nkwata, and Kamapa. To ensure
district. sustainable utilization of natural resources in the district, farm-
ers are encouraged to prune natural trees and use the residue
4.2.3. Sustainable natural resource utilisation and as fuelwood instead of felling whole trees.
management
The severe climate change impacts in the Pru District make it 4.3. Challenges of mainstreaming climate change
imperative to formulate and implement development plans adaptation
that promote efficient utilization of climate-sensitive natural
4.3.1. Inadequate resources for climate change
resources. This is particularly vital because employment and
adaptation
livelihoods at the grass root level depend solely on the avail-
The review of major CCA programmes such as the Adaptation
ability of natural resources. The Pru District is well endowed
of Agro-Ecosystems to Climate Change (AAESCC) and
with natural resources such as water bodies (Volta Lake and
Improved Fish Smoking and Mangrove Restoration in Action
Pru River), forest and wildlife and fertile land. To ensure
indicated efficient disbursement of donor funds provided for
efficient utilization of these natural resources, the Pru District
implementing them. On the contrary, smaller programmes
Assembly, with financial support from the Netherlands Devel-
like routine climate awareness and sensitization programmes
opment Organisation (SNV) implemented the project
financed by the Pru District Assembly Common Fund were
‘’Improved Fish Smoking and Mangrove Restoration in
plagued with insufficient funds and disbursement delays. Fur-
Action’’ which aimed to assist fishmongers to reduce defores-
thermore, several agencies such as the Pru District Assembly,
tation associated with their activities. The project focused on
Department of Agriculture and National Disaster Manage-
two activities – introduction of efficient fish smoking stoves
ment Organisation which played different roles in the
and agro-forestry. Women involved in fish smoking in the dis-
implementation of the various climate change adaptation pro-
trict were assisted to use efficient fish smoking stoves known as
grammes failed to collaborate effectively. This resulted in fre-
the Morrison Stove to reduce pollution and improve the qual-
quent delays in the disbursement of funds and inefficient
ity of their fish products. The new stoves were constructed for
implementation of the programmes. The District Finance
demonstration and adoption in six communities in the district;
Officer explained the predicament as follows:
Fanti Akura, Konkonba, Brekente, Kajai, Hutideke, Jaklai
Number.1. The agro-forestry intervention facilitated the plant- There are a lot of development programmes in the Medium-Term
ing of mango trees on about 250 hectares of land in eleven Development Plan to be rolled out by the district but financial
communities and this helped to reduce the sporadic felling resources are limited. Although we try to find money to support
programmes that will fight climate change, the district is cash
of trees for (Table 7). trapped. It continues to remain the biggest challenge we face in
According to the Natural Resources and Conservation carrying adaptation programmes.
Department and the District Fisheries Commission, the Mor-
rison Stove is environmentally friendly and is more fuel This problem was corroborated by the District Planning Unit:
efficient and reduces the consumption of fuelwood by 39% The timely release of allocated funds for tackling climate change
during fish smoking. The over 80 fishing communities in the issues is a major challenge. Although there are a lot of projects
CLIMATE AND DEVELOPMENT 611
on the board for execution, the limited financial resources of the This is a critical challenge after inadequate financial resources. We
district often account for the late disbursement of funds to the var- often have to struggle with the officers at the District Assembly
ious departments responsible for running these climate change who are in charge of disbursing funds for most of the adaptation
programmes. programmes before it is done. The District Assembly feels superior
over other partner agencies in the fight against climate change so
Analysis of the field data also revealed that CCA programmes other agencies feel marginalised in the process and this affects
that required counterpart funding from the District Assembly the partnership between the various stakeholders.
suffered from the Assembly’s failure to provide its share of the
The Department of Fisheries echoed this view:
funds timely. Financing CCA programme in the district has
been difficult because the Assembly did not prioritize the Funding may be available but because of the multidisciplinary
implementation of climate change issues even though they nature of climate change, it’s more prudent to bring stakeholders
have been captured in the District’s Medium Term Develop- in the value chain to ensure the objectives of the CCA programmes
are achieved. I think this challenge will rank next to insufficient
ment Plans (MTDPs). The interest of the District Chief Execu- resources.
tive (DCE), who is the political head and the representative of
the President of Ghana, put his political interests ahead of the
real development priorities of the district. This is one of the 4.3.3. Lack of continuity of climate change adaptation
reasons for the non-commitment of Internally Generated programmes
Funds (IGF) for the implementation of CCA programmes in The results of this paper indicate that CCA projects under-
the district. The Assembly is more interested in the implemen- taken in the Pru District were funded by international donor
tation of physical and infrastructural projects mainly because agencies such as Netherlands Development Organisation
they provide political advantage during periods of campaign (SNV) and the World Bank during implementation periods
for re-election to office. Political leaders prefer to spend huge of four (4) years. Funding for the programmes were withdrawn
financial resources to provide relief items to farmers than at the end of the programme period irrespective of the level of
channelling these funds into CCA activities. This often under- impact on the beneficiary communities. In other words, no
mined the smooth execution of CCA programmes and served matter the implementation stage, the programme was trun-
as a discouragement to partner organizations involved in the cated and thus suffered from lack of continuity and sustain-
implementation of CCA interventions. ability. A Pru District Assembly Staff lamented the situation
in these words;
The major climate change adaptation programmes in the Pru Dis-
4.3.2. Inactive stakeholder and institutional trict are donor sponsored and the funding only lasts for the dur-
collaboration ation of the programme implementation. Currently, few of the
Mainstreaming CCA into local development process is an adaptation programmes are running; the rest have ended which
official conduit for local government entities to adjust their automatically means the funding has ceased and so are the adjust-
plans to local climate variability threats. Interestingly, this ment programmes.
paper has established a direct relationship between CCA pro- In addition, most of the CCA programmes were implemented
gramme partners and stakeholders of other development in a few selected communities in the district. This implies that
interventions in the Pru District. With regard to CCA main- only a limited number of communities from the 450 fishing
streaming, obstruction of coordinated efforts by stakeholders and farming communities benefited from the interventions
was exceptionally prevalent. This paper has established that introduced to strengthen and sustain the livelihoods of the
institutional engagement in climate change related actions local people. The seemingly low coverage of the adaptation
and the day-to-day decision-making system in the Pru District interventions in the district has birthed another challenge;
are rather weak. These weaknesses are evident from the poor how fast does it take for CCA knowledge to be transferred to
manner in which reports on CCA interventions are shared other fishing and farming communities in the district? A
and monitored. The District Assembly tended to use its auth- farmer echoed this challenge thus:
ority as the lead development agency to undermine decentra-
lized agencies like the Department of Agriculture, National The Pru District is very large, especially that some island commu-nities are scattered on the Volta Lake and are difficult to reach and
Disaster Management Organisation, and Department of Fish- are therefore denied the interventions. A community like Yaw Pari
eries and other stakeholders. Stakeholders’ inputs and expert is distant from the district capital Yeji so knowledge transfer has
advice are often not incorporated in final decisions and con- become a major problem. (BENE 11)
clusions on CCA programmes, their implementation and
monitoring. Some stakeholders and officers from these 5. Discussion
agencies often felt marginalized, unwanted and therefore
reduced their level of participation in CCA activities in the dis- Safeguarding livelihoods and employment from climate
trict. It was also discovered that allowances due the stake- change threats has been a daunting challenge in the Pru Dis-
holders and officials from the decentralized agencies are trict. A principal premise of this paper is that effective CCA
often not paid. This situation discouraged them from partici- integration in development planning has the capacity to create
pating fully in the activities which are largely meant to safe- jobs, reduce poverty and improve rural livelihoods. The analy-
guard the livelihoods of the people of the district. sis of the field data provided convincing evidence to indicate
A representative of the Department of Agriculture affirmed that climate change significantly affected climate sensitive
this challenge thus: LED programmes such as bee-keeping in the district. For
612 A. AHENKAN ET AL.
example, increasing atmospheric temperature, bushfires, and Waylen (2013), stressed that the failure of agriculturists
drought and rainstorms had enormous impacts on the viability to envisage current planting season could influence crop yields
of bee-keeping. The destruction of the bee hive boxes by these and farmers’ revenue.
climate related events deprived bee-keepers of their income Among the plethora of challenges inhibiting mainstream-
and livelihoods. Bee keeping provides jobs for people in the ing CCA into pro-poor development interventions in the
Pru District. However, the District Assembly (2017) confirmed Pru District, inadequate finance was identified to be the
that honey production in the district has experienced a drastic major problem. Yeeles (2018) similarly identified financial
decline between 23% to 45% depending on the level devas- constraints as one the biggest challenges of the international
tation of bee hives. An important consequence of the decline community experiences in assisting CCA in developing
in honey production and bee-keepers’ incomes is a loss of countries. The multifaceted nature of climate change
tax revenue in the District Assembly. Pirk et al. (2017) argued requires effective stakeholder and institutional collaboration
that increased temperature may defer plant flowering time and to effectively reduce the vulnerabilities of rural communities
harm honey bees, their habitats and the quantity of honey pro- to climate change impacts. Analysis of the field data
duced. Farmers who benefited from the micro-credit scheme revealed that cooperation among departments and agencies
implemented by Yapra Rural Bank have not been able to pay in the Pru District was extremely weak. As is recommended
back their loans. This programme was designed to boost agri- by Cuevas (2016), in order to stimulate diverse opinions for
cultural productivity and improve LED but due to loss of crops improving the integration process, it is extremely vital to
caused by climate change threats such as drought, bushfire and include key partners in the design and implementation of
floods, the intervention has been suspended. Faleiro et al. CCA programmes. Dumenu and Obeng (2016) also
(2018) confirmed that these climate change threats affect the observed that the pursuit of effective ecological manage-
operations of micro credit institutions (MCIs) via their sup- ment interventions may be accomplished when institutional
port for agricultural activities. Anecdotal evidence suggests structures are all involved. In other words, all relevant local
that the repayment rate of MCIs is highly correlated with stakeholders within the Pru District should be included in
crop production. Most of the customers of these institutions the CCA mainstreaming process. Knowledge transfer is
are farmers, and any change in their income affects the also essential for mainstreaming CCA into the LED process
MCIs. The lessons learnt from the impact climate change (Mikova et al., 2015). The lack of continuity of CCA pro-
have on LED programmes in Ghana may be useful for devel- grammes in the Pru District did not permit knowledge
opment decision-making in other Sub-Saharan African and innovation transfer and the sustainability of the
countries where LED programmes are highly responsive to cli- programmes.
mate change threats. However, the adoption of the lessons
learnt from this paper by other countries should be 6. Conclusion and recommendations
accompanied by rigorous assessment of the local climate
situation. The concept of climate change adaptation (CCA) main-
Providing subsidized fishing nets and outboard motors to streaming on local economic development (LED) agenda
fishermen was a LED intervention to improve the ailing has become a popular development strategy in most devel-
fishing industry in the Pru District. However, climate change oping countries in recent years. In Ghana, various med-
threats such as flood and rising water temperature have dimin- ium-term development policy documents have
ished the effectiveness of this intervention. Several other acknowledged the relevance of mainstreaming climate
studies also confirmed that physical changes in the seas, change into development plans across spatial and time
lakes, and rivers are associated with global climate change scales. This paper examined the impacts of CCA on LED,
which cause diverse destructive impacts on fish, their ecology, the process of mainstreaming CCA into LED, the associated
the occupations of fisher folks and local economies (Savo et al., challenges and appropriate mitigation measures. Although
2017). Jones and Cheung (2015) indicated that the adverse there is a growing number of studies on CCA, most of
effects of changing climate and water temperature directly them barely examined how climate risks are mainstreamed
influence fish stock availability. These events have affected into pro-poor programmes. The present paper sought to
the income levels of fisher folk and rendered them unable to fill this gap and contribute to the body of knowledge on
meet their financial obligations. However, the results of the the subject. The life experiences of the participants of the
field data analysis also revealed that climate change adaptation field study conducted in the Pru District provided clear evi-
programmes that were integrated into pro-poor development dence of systematic change in the climate system in the Pru
interventions in the Pru District have succeeded in building District and the impacts on local economic activities such as
the resilience of farmers and local communities against climate farming, bee-keeping and fishing. The paper found that sig-
threats. Climate smart agriculture interventions introduced in nificant efforts and resources have been channelled to imple-
local communities enabled farmers to read weather messages menting LED initiatives in the study location but climate
on their mobile phones and to determine the rainfall pattern change extreme events such as heat waves, floods, storms,
and specific planting seasons. Farmers’ knowledge of the drought, and bushfires have seriously undermined the
right time to plant their crops leads to higher crop yields expected outcome of these initiatives. In order to mininmise
and farmer’s incomes at the end of the planting season. the effects of the cycles of extreme climatic events in the dis-
Bawayelaazaa Nyuor et al. (2016) also found that timely plant- trict, development actors in recent years decided to integrate
ing and selection of crops impacts agrarian’s income. Owusu CCA in the design and implementation of local development
CLIMATE AND DEVELOPMENT 613
interventions. An important observation by the authors of Disclosure statement
this paper is that sustainable LED can be achieved in the No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Pru District if the existing decentralized agencies and rel-
evant stakeholders are adequately incentivized to effectively
cooperate and incorporate CCA actions into LED pro- Notes on contributors
grammes and activities. Albert Ahenkan is sustainable development and climate change expert
The mainstreaming of CCA into LED programmes in the and Associate Professor in the University of Ghana Business School. He
Pru District could be more successful if measures are intro- obtained his PhD in Human Ecology from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel
duced to mitigate the identified multifaceted challenges. First (VUB), Belgium in 2011. His areas of expertise include sustainable devel-
of all, it is recommended that a climate change desk should opment, climate change financing, environmental management, and
Green economy. He has consulted for many organizations including
be established at the District Planning and Coordinating the World Bank, UNEP, UNDP, GIZ, NEPAD, IFAD, etc. on sustainable
Unit of the District Assembly to screen all development pro- development, climate change and disaster risks reduction.
grammes to ensure that climate change elements are fully inte- Mr. David Nawiene Chutab is an early career researcher with a strong
grated. Secondly, in order to incentivize the officers of research interest in the areas of climate change, climate change adap-
decentralized agencies that participate in mainstreaming tation, climate finance, public policy, local economic development, sus-
CCA into LED programmes, the District Assembly should tainable development, poverty reduction, environmental management,
pay the o cers allowances. Thirdly, ensuring a level playing green financing, renewable energy policy. He obtained a BA in Integratedffi
Development Studies with specialization in Social and Development
field is essential for motivating development stakeholders to Administration from the University for Development Studies, Wa Cam-
actively participate in mainstreaming CCA into LED pus in 2012, a Master’s of Philosophy in degree in Public Administration
decision-making process without feeling marginalized. In from University of Ghana Business School in 2018. He is a beneficiary of
addition, their views should be captured in the reports of the prestigious Trans-Disciplinary Training for Resource Efficiency and
each deliberation. Fourthly, the current district wide perform- Climate Change Adaptation for Africa(TRECCAFRICA) scholarship pro-
gram of the European Commission in 2017. He served as Graduate
ance appraisal system that considered climate change as Research Assistant at the Department of Public Administration and
indicative metric should be strictly adhered to and effectively Health Services Management of the University of Ghana Business School.
implemented to motivate local actors to continue lending Prof. Emmanuel Kwesi Boon is the founder of International Centre for
their support for mainstreaming climate related risks into Enterprise and Sustainable Development (ICED), an NGO dedicated to
LED interventions. It is highly recommended that CCA main- promoting sustainable development in Sub-Saharan Africa. He obtained
streaming into LED programmes should be allocated at least a BA Honours in Economics and Geography from University of Ghana
ve percent (5%) of the annual district budget. Furthermore, in 1979, a Master’s in Industrial Location and Development from Vrijefi
Universiteit Brussel (VUB) in Belgium, an MBA from University of
in order to avoid the hijacking of climate change budget by Antwerp in 1983, a PhD in Economic Sciences from VUB in 1986 and
powerful politicians and administrators, the exact amount of an Honorary Doctorate Degree from Sumy State University in 1998. He
money allocated to climate change associated programmes lectured at University of Ghana of Ghana Business School and VUB till
should be made known to all stakeholders. 2017. He is a Visiting Professor to several universities and has published
Furthermore, sophisticated, pro-active and interactive insti- extensively. He was the President of UNESCO’s International Commis-
sion for developing ‘Theme 6.150 – Wildlife Conservation and Manage-
tutional collaboration is quintessential for effective integration ment in Africa’. He is crowned as the Development Chief of the
of CCA into LED initiatives. Offices responsible for main- Lambussie Traditional Area in the Upper West Region and a Develop-
streaming CCA into LED programmes should be provided ment Linguist of Wli Community in the Volta Region in Ghana.
qualified officers, clear mandates, and sufficient resources for
achieving the expected results and outcomes. To promote
the transfer of knowledge and innovation on mainstreaming ORCID
CCA into LED activities in other communities in the district Albert Ahenkan http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2672-0498
and facilitate the replication of best practices learnt from pre- David Nawiene Chutab http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6714-9908
vious LED programmes, the District Assembly, Department of Emmanuel Kwesi Boon http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1046-7822
Agriculture and Department of Fisheries should build the
capacity of the leaders of farmer cooperatives and members References
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