At a time when Ghana’s forests, wetlands, and grasslands are buckling under pressure from human activity and climate change, the 2nd Biennial Media Forum on Natural Resources, Environment, Climate Change and Science (BiM-NECS 2) served as a clarion call for integrated action.
With the theme “Ecosystem Restoration: The Politics, the Science, the Human, and the Economy,” the Forum gathered journalists, public officials, scientists, researchers, development workers, civil society actors and gender advocates in Kumasi on Tuesday, June 3, 2025, to reimagine the future of ecosystem restoration, through the lens of both policy and people.
Actualising Ghana’s vested interest in ecosystem restoration
In her keynote address, the Director, Quality Assurance and Academic Planning Directorate of the University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR), Sunyani, Professor Mercy Adutwumwaa Derkyi acknowledged Ghana’s vested interest in ecosystem restoration as seen in major initiatives such as the Bonn Challenge, the National Reforestation Programme, Green Ghana and Tree for Life, involving state and non-state actors.
However, she specified that the success and sustainability of such efforts are undermined by “the politics of power dynamics, social issues, governance lapses, corruption, and weak enforcement.”
Prof. Derkyi called for a strong political will and genuine grassroots involvement as critical to overcoming these structural challenges. “We must ask ourselves,” she said, “how do we move from declaratory commitments to concrete actions? Who decides which ecosystems matter most? And how do we meaningfully empower local communities in this process?
In answering these questions, the keynote speaker outlined several guiding principles for effective ecosystem restoration, including: a clear definition of restoration goals, assessment of ecosystem recoverability, making a choice between natural regeneration and assisted restoration, conservation prioritization for areas deemed beyond recovery and balancing scientific knowledge with traditional ecological knowledge (TEK).
Prof. Derkyi underscored the importance of leveraging innovations in ecological science such as remote sensing, drone technology, geographic information systems (GIS) and emerging AI tools, to monitor ecosystem health and inform evidence-based interventions. She emphasised that “balancing scientific knowledge with traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) is vital for crafting sustainable and inclusive restoration strategies.”
Among the scientific and institutional initiatives, she highlighted were: the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research-Forestry Research Institute of Ghana’s (CSIR-FORIG) work in high-quality forest tree seedling production and the promotion of lesser known species; and UENR’s Earth Observation Research and Innovation Centre (EORIC), which provides real-time satellite and GIS solutions in areas such as climate, disasters, biodiversity, water, energy, agriculture, ecosystems and health. This includes the Carbon Tower Project under the Carbon Flux Monitoring Project in Bia Tano, which measures forest-level carbon dioxide flux and supports Ghana’s mitigation and adaptation efforts.
Prof. Derkyi cited another key project, the “EU-supported Landscapes and Environmental Agility across the Nation (LEAN)” initiative, which she commended for combining scientific research with traditional knowledge. Implemented by Tropenbos Ghana and EcoCare Ghana and their local partners, the LEAN project ensures community involvement and provides research grants to university students including those from UENR.
Prof. Derkyi further called for the establishment of a national Data Centre to track progress on Ghana’s ecological restoration targets, especially those under the UN Decade of Ecosystem Restoration, and to support transparency and accountability. She advocated for the active involvement of key institutions like the Forestry Commission, academia, and the media to ensure inclusive partnerships that enhance communication and collaboration among researchers and journalists.
“Restoration is not just about nature – it is also about livelihoods,” Prof. Derkyi concluded, stating that “Healthy ecosystems can drive green jobs, eco-tourism, and sustainable local enterprises.” However, she cautioned that restoration must not rely solely on external donor funding, which is often unsustainable. She proposed long-term national commitment and investment in nature-based developments.
The human dimension of restoration
The Principal Project Manager at Proforest African Regional Office in Accra, Afua Serwaa Akoto Prempeh, who chaired the event, urged the media to translate the statistics of environmental degradation and climate change into stories that resonate with the realities of everyday Ghanaians.
To strengthen her point, she used the example of 17-year-old Aisha from Kundugu, in the Wa East District of Ghana’s Upper West Region, who having migrated down south, now works as a porter in the Madina market. Ms. Prempeh spotlighted the economic toll of climate change on rural livelihoods, warning that without urgent climate action, an additional one million people could fall into poverty, with household incomes projected to fall by as much as 40% by 2050.
“These are not just numbers,” she stressed. “They are lived experiences of countless young people like Aisha, whose families can no longer survive on farming due to climate variability.” Ms. Prempeh cited Aisha’s story to ascertain some fundamental issues.
First, it lends credence to research by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) proving that in northern Ghana, a high climate vulnerability hotspot, youth migration (both rural-urban and rural-rural), is a popular phenomenon, with nearly one in five Ghanaian youth born in the north residing in the south. Secondly, Aisha’s story turns the politics, facts, numbers, science, the abstract into reality, and “brings to light the intersectionality of people, nature and climate.”
The Chairperson noted that Ghana will need an estimated $2 billion annually to effectively respond to climate impacts. She explained that this daunting figure underscores the critical role of the media in making climate data more accessible and actionable for the public and policymakers alike.
Ms. Prempeh applauded the Forum’s founding vision, which recognizes that how the media communicates environmental issues is just as vital as what is communicated. “Media has a powerful role in disseminating public interest information such as those relating to natural resources, environment, climate change and science through relatable and actionable knowledge products.”
She also highlighted the importance of inclusivity, urging the media to ensure that marginalised voices are not left out of the conversation.
EPA’s new environmental face
The Ashanti Regional Director of the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA), Dr. Jackson Nyantakyi, presented highlights of the newly enacted Environmental Protection Act, 2025 (Act 1124). It replaces the outdated Environmental Protection Act 1994 (Act 490) that established the Environmental Protection Agency. Act 1124 addresses gaps such as weak sanctions and poor inter-agency coordination on environmentally related matters as well as inadequate coverage of climate change issues.
Notably, Act 1124 empowers the Authority to block rezoning if it poses environmental risks and establishes a National Environment Fund to finance long-term sustainability initiatives.
Looking Ahead: The Media’s Pivotal Role
Instituted in 2023 by the Media Platform on Environment and Climate Change (MPEC) in partnership with the Afro-Sino Centre of International Relations (ASCIR) and The Steminist Foundation Ghana, BiM-NECS continues to affirm that the media is a force in environmental governance.
Touching on the importance of the BiM NECS Forum, the Chairperson stated: “This Forum exists because we believe informed conversations can drive change when they connect knowledge, practice, and policy in meaningful ways.”
This year’s Forum, organised with support from Proforest and Tropenbos Ghana, ended with the presentation of the BiM NECS 2 Kumasi Declaration. It outlined 12 action points including a resolve to elevate ecosystem restoration as a national and regional media priority through an annual media campaign aligned with the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.
As Ghana gears up to meet her 2030 ecosystem restoration targets, BiM-NECS 2 was a reminder that restoring nature means restoring connections: between science and society, politics and people, and economics and ecosystems.
By Ama Kudom-Agyemang