1. General introduction Florence Agyei-Martey

2. National Land Use  There is weak linkage at all levels between land use planning and socio- economic development in the planning and management of cities, towns and communities in the country.  There is haphazard sale of land as a result of land tenure system or land ownership, which poses a major challenge to land use in the country.  Problems associated with this include the general indiscipline on the land market; a complicated land tenure system and cumbersome land title registration procedures all of which impede the access to, and the efficient use of land for development purposes.  the absence of a human settlements policy in our development planning; inefficient spatial/land use plans; poor plan implementation and weak enforcement of planning and building regulations; lack of integration of climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction into land use planning ; ( Shared Growth and Accelerated Development for a Better Ghana: 2010 to 2016)

3. Environmental Degradations (land, forest,)  Ghana’s forest remains an important asset for ensuring sustainable development especially in poor communities where farming and other activities that require intensive use of land dominate.  Available estimates indicate that Ghana’s forest cover declined from 32.7% to 24.2% between1990 and 2005. In 1990, the forest cover was estimated at 7,448,000 hectares; the forest cover declined at an average rate of 1.8% per annum to 5,517,000 hectares in 2005.  Several factors, including livelihood activities explain why the country’s forest is being depleted at such an alarming rate.  Population pressures, poor sanitation and solid waste management, low level of investment in water and sanitation delivery, air and water pollution, forest depletion, land degradation, climate change and unplanned expansion of cities pose major health, water, sanitation, and environmental concerns. ( Shared Growth and Accelerated Development for a Better Ghana: 2010 to 2016)

4. Environmental Degradations (land, forest,)  Economic activities such as logging, fuel production (charcoal production) and farming have become the main causes of forest loss.  Farming methods in Ghana have not seen any significant transformation for a long time. Most farmers still practice slash and burn methods while the use of obsolete farming implements remains.  These activities eventually contribute to climate change and other environmental effects.  Bad farming practices expose the top layer of the soil, the slash and burn release environmental gases besides the pollution of rivers and the destruction of other water bodies. ( Shared Growth and Accelerated Development for a Better Ghana: 2010 to 2016)

5. Environmental Degradations (land, forest,)  A great deal of the small scale mining activities in Ghana takes place in forest areas thereby affecting the environment significantly.  In many cases, the land and water resources are never recovered as a result of severe pollution from chemicals used in mining.  The rate at which the nation is losing its natural resources owing to human activities raises concern about the sustainable exploitation of these resources.  The total economic cost of poor environmental management and sanitation is estimated at 10% of GDP.  The main challenges facing the sector are the weak institutional capacity for environmental management, and the limited resources, both human and financial, to implement reforestation and other environmental management programmes. ( Shared Growth and Accelerated Development for a Better Ghana: 2010 to 2016)

6. Environmental Degradations (land, forest,)  Until recently, wetlands were virtually considered as waste lands. Since the coming into force of the Convention on Wetlands in 1971, wetlands have been internationally recognised as ecosystems of considerable importance, comparable to forests, rangelands and marine ecosystems.  Wetlands ecosystems in Ghana constitute about ten percent of the country’s total land surface. Climate Variability and Change  The impacts of increased global emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) are already being felt with evidence that further change will occur.  Climate change is a development issue. Vulnerability and adaptation assessments have demonstrated that the economy will be adversely affected by climate change since it depends on sectors that are predominantly susceptible to the impacts of climate change. ( Shared Growth and Accelerated Development for a Better Ghana: 2010 to 2016)