Plan to protect marine, coastal resources in the offing

A Sustainable Ocean Plan (SOP) has been prepared as part of ongoing efforts to protect the country’s marine and coastal resources. 

To be launched in November this year, the SOP aims at safeguarding the country’s marine and coastal environment while promoting capacity building, research, awareness and knowledge sharing within the maritime sector.

The SOP will also focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and ocean pollution, as well as ensuring the safety and security of the maritime domain.

In preparation for the plan's rollout, a two-day national consultation has begun to discuss its implementation and gather input from key sectors.

Ghana’s ocean resources

With a coastline of approximately 550 kilometres, extending to about 200 nautical miles seaward and forming an exclusive economic zone of over 218,000 square kilometres, Ghana is well positioned to benefit from global ocean resources if managed sustainably.

Participants 

Currently, the fisheries sector alone supports the livelihoods of about 2.5 million Ghanaians and contributes about four per cent to the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP).

However, the ocean, which houses many complex ecosystems, faces significant threats, including marine and nutrient pollution, resource depletion and climate change — largely driven by human activities.

These challenges put immense pressure on biodiversity and natural infrastructure leading to broader socio-economic problems such as health risks, safety issues and financial uncertainties.

Implementation

During the opening of the national consultation in Accra last Tuesday, the SOP Technical Advisor, Professor Kwasi Appeaning-Addo, said funding for the SOP had already been secured while a technical working group had also been constituted and was working effectively on the implementation plan.

Additionally, he said regional or sub-national consultations had been done while training on migrants special planning had also been completed.

He was confident that there was a well-set-up structure to help us deliver the SOP successfully.

Prof. Appeaning-Addo emphasised that the effective implementation of the plan could help protect critical marine ecosystems, foster economic and social development, provide regulatory and investment certainty and reduce the potential for conflict within the maritime domain.

He said the SOP would always be reviewed, evaluated and made appropriate concerning decisions and the time.

“The SOP is a foundation for achieving the transformation towards a sustainable ocean economy and we want to develop a document that is liveable and can help us to manage the resources within the ocean to move forward the blue economy agenda.

“I am very certain that the blue economy can be the game-changer for our country because it has the potential to employ thousands of people. If we manage the resources well, the resources will be of benefit to us and the next generation,” Prof. Appeaning-Addo said.

A co-chair of a civil society organisation’s platform on the Sustainable Development Goals, Beauty Emefa Nartey, said it was important to safeguard the country’s oceans for the present and the future.

“We are responsible for putting our house and ocean in order. This meeting should not end in one of the many documents that place Ghana as one of the most compliant nations that abide by every international commitment by developing policies and documents, signing on to them and leaving them on the shelves for the future to come and implement,” she said.