Cape Coast, Ghana
The planned work in Cape Coast is based on natural asset mapping and stakeholder engagements. Key priority natural assets will be mapped and socio-economic assessments undertaken, alongside in-depth consultations with various departments in the City Administration and other stakeholders.
Milestones
- Online capacity building:
- Participated in the facilitated online course on Learn with ICLEI Africa: Planning with Nature for Improved Service Delivery
- Learning Lab 1:
- Introduction to ICLEI and the UNA programme
- Human rights based approach training 1
- Understanding city needs
- Sharing process and methodology to be undertaken in UNA mapping and the socio-economic assessments
- Identification of potential advisory board members
- Identification of city needs and priorities
- In-depth city research:
- Worked with researchers/local consultants from the University of Cape Coast to undertake a socio-economic survey covering over 1000 households that highlighted aspects of ownership, decision making, access and perceptions and behaviours relating to urban natural assets in Ghana
- Spatial mapping of UNA in CCMA, including current threats and future trajectory
- Summary reports and maps produced, signed off by city and ICLEI Africa
- Development of Climate Change Risk models and baseline climate Risk Narratives to enhance climate change adaptation mainstreaming at local level
- Assessment of the human rights landscape, including how rights are articulated both in legislation and in communities
- Worked with researchers/local consultants from the University of Cape Coast to undertake a socio-economic survey covering over 1000 households that highlighted aspects of ownership, decision making, access and perceptions and behaviours relating to urban natural assets in Ghana
- Learning Lab 2:
- Human rights and gender based approach training 2
- Capacity building on integrating nature into urban planning to build resilience
- Participants were involved in exploring institutional mapping & engagement
- Understanding socio-economic mapping and drivers
- Understanding climate risk projections for city and co-developing climate risk narratives for the city in line with city policies and priorities
- A deeper understanding of the steps towards finding sustainable financing solutions
- City officials participated in RISE Africa sessions:
- Learning Lab 3:
- 50% women representation in Learning Labs as well as youth and traditional leadership representation
- Undertook activities through a rights based lens that gave new insight into how cultures, traditions entrench existing power structures that continue to exclude marginalized peoples from decision making fora
- Mapping and Human Rights Based Approach activity undertaken to enable participants spatialize rights in the areas around them
- Explored blue green frameworks as a tool to encourage participatory planning to mainstream nature based solutions
- Development of communications products to help build capacity on urban natural assets and human rights:
- Illustrated map of Urban Natural Assets
- Socioeconomic Snapshot of CCMA
- City to City exchange:
- Participated in virtual city to city exchange with 14 cities represented.
- Learning Lab 4:
- Human rights and gender based approach training 4
- Participated in a Photovoice participatory activity, capturing photographs of urban natural assets
- Youth Day: school children from local schools brought together to draw their imagined futures
- Illustrated maps and communication products handed over to the city and communities including socio-economic report in hardcopy
- Financing for nature:
- Finance survey being conducted to support the local metropolitan assembly to develop concept notes to leverage on funding.
- CCMA becomes CWN signatory and ICLEI Africa member
- Learning Lab 6: Reflection Lab
- Looking back to move forward
- The journey of UNA: Looking back at the learnings and processes undertaken in the city since 2021 to reflect on the emerging themes, successes, and lessons learned from project implementation.
- Stakeholder consultation and validation of the city roadmap, a guideline for mainstreaming NbS in Cape Coast
- Youth Day
- Youth Day event at the Archbishop Amissah Memorial Catholic School ( Okyeso Catholic School) in partnership with The Center for Environment, Natural Resources, and Sustainability (CENS) Africa and the Cape Coast Metropolitan Assembly learning about the natural assets in Cape Coast, making commitments to nature and taking part in a symposium encouraging environmental awareness among high school learners
- Multi-stakeholder dialogue
- Promoting a whole-of-government approach to mainstreaming NBS
- Multi-stakeholder dialogue created an opportunity for Cape Coast officials to interact with national government and NGO stakeholders on issues, barriers and opportunities to improve natural resource management in Cape Coast, Ghana.
- Identifying opportunities to scale UNA lessons and processes to other cities
- City-to-city exchange
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- Participated in a virtual city-to-city exchange with 10 other cities from the previous phases of the UNA programme. Dr Richmond Yeboah, Head, Investments, Public and External Relations, Cape Coast Metropolitan Assembly (CCMA), presented on the positive impact of the UNA Resilience project in Cape Coast, Ghana, highlighting the profound impact of the Human Rights-Based Approach in the city’s sustainability transitions.
- Participated in a virtual city-to-city exchange with 10 other cities from the previous phases of the UNA programme. Dr Richmond Yeboah, Head, Investments, Public and External Relations, Cape Coast Metropolitan Assembly (CCMA), presented on the positive impact of the UNA Resilience project in Cape Coast, Ghana, highlighting the profound impact of the Human Rights-Based Approach in the city’s sustainability transitions.
