The Untapped Helper in Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation in Ghana – Waste Management (2)

"Waste equals food."— William McDonough

The introductory quote appears simple, however embedded in this statement by William McDonough is a wealth of knowledge and deep understanding. We work hard as humans to put food on our tables. We enjoy our meals and gain vital nutrients to live on. We then convert the unused parts and excess to ‘waste’. The waste if properly managed can provide more food in terms of providing work for persons who manage the waste to produce energy (for the use of society as a whole) or income which will in turn be used to purchase food. The cycle can be beneficial if waste is exploited adequately. There is an even more exciting twist to this – the waste can be managed to ameliorate the likely impact of climate change.

Waste management is a broad subject and a specialized area that requires expert advice. So this piece is by no means meant to be exhaustive but it does raise awareness that waste can be put to good use and should not be left to engulf our beautiful nation and create problems such as ground and surface water pollution, flooding, air pollution and the introduction of disease causing agents that affect the human health of a country’s populace. These impacts have tremendous socio - cultural, economic and environmental implications.

I grew up hearing that cleanliness is next to Godliness and Ghana is one religious country! If we practiced what we preached as the singer Barry White (May his soul rest in peace) asked his loved one to do in his song titled Practice What You Preach, our nation would have been one clean country. It is pathetic to see people sweep and clean their rooms only to dump the rubbish in drains with the hope that the rains will carry it away; oh or that Zoomlion will come and continue. Well, for those of us who do that I am sorry to say that Zoomlion is not a non – profit organization and resides not in our mosquito infested communities in person.

With Ghana’s increasing population and the rising trend in consumerism more waste will be generated inevitably. Mechanisms of using the waste generated for profit is therefore paramount. There are different forms of waste – electronic waste, municipal solid waste, industrial waste, residential waste, commercial waste, biodegradable waste etc and each type will require a special approach in management.
Ghana should move away from looking for dumping sites and landfills (which lumps up everything and deposits it at one place till the site can take no more) and begin to build waste management plants. It would save the authorities involved ,the headache of where to go next when a dump site is full and they would not have to worry about NIMBY (not in my backyard).

Most interestingly, waste management could play a critical role in climate change adaptation and mitigation. What is the big issue and the role of Waste in Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation?

Climate change is generally defined as a change in the statistical properties of the climate system when considered over long periods of time, regardless of cause. In recent times however, the term has been used to refer more specifically to climate change caused by human activity, as opposed to changes in climate that may have resulted as part of Earth's natural processes. To put the potential role of waste into perspective, permit me to delve into the terms global warming, greenhouse effect and define what exactly a greenhouse gas is.

Global warming is the rise in the average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans since the late 19th century, and its projected continuation. The process may not have been a problem if there was no evidence that the process is being altered by anthropogenic factors such as deforestation and the burning of fossil fuels. These and other human activities are increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases and trapping the gases in the atmosphere. So what are greenhouse gases and their effects?

Greenhouse gases (GHG) are gases in an atmosphere that absorb and emit radiation within the thermal infrared range. The primary greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere are water vapour, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone. The greenhouse gases absorb thermal radiation from planetary surfaces and re-radiate in all directions. Why is this bad? This process means that when there is an increase in greenhouse gases, more thermal radiation is absorbed for re-radiation increasing the temperature of the earth’s atmosphere and oceans and hastens the process of climate change.

Where does waste management come in?
Well, this is where and how; during decomposition of biodegradable waste, green house gases are emitted. When oxygen is available the main landfill gas produced is carbon dioxide, but in anaerobic conditions around half the emissions are methane. Methane is known to be the second of the ‘basket’ of greenhouse gases and is much more potent than carbon dioxide per unit. Biodegradable waste needs therefore to be better managed. This is where the opportunity comes in. Ghana produces a lot of bio - degradable waste. Burning our waste as is done in most part of the country will not help as it also increases the emission of GHG’s. Waste prevention and recycling (including composting) divert organic wastes from landfills and reduces the amount of methane released when decomposition takes place.

What can be done?
It will be prudent to develop or to learn from engineering examples that have worked to imposes strict engineering requirements on landfill sites to capture these gases. Waste can be turned into wealth by increasing recycling, composting and recovery of energy from waste.

•Ghana should develop policies and strategies for sustainable waste management.
The waste policies should focus on sustainable resource management, including the need to reduce the quantity of waste produced and to move from waste disposal to waste processing.

•Re-cycling, composting and waste separation should be given due attention and consideration.
Recycling saves energy. Manufacturing goods from recycled materials typically requires less energy than producing goods from virgin materials.

Waste prevention is more effective.
When people reuse things or when products are made with less material, less energy is needed to extract, transport, and process raw materials and to manufacture products. The payoff? When energy demand decreases, fewer fossil fuels are burned and less carbon dioxide is emitted to the atmosphere.

The one most important factor that will determine the success of this quest is the need for people to change. Behavioral change and a shift in the paradigm of Ghanaians is important because it is only when we realize that it is in our own interest to properly manage waste that we will take the needed measures to curb this menace. Education and sensitization should be intensified to get all stakeholders involved in this quest.

Conclusion
We may not receive financial rewards for this mitigation program as we do for other mechanisms such as in carbon trading for example; but as a country you and I would have contributed our quota to reducing the release of greenhouse gases to make the future change in climate less severe. You and I would have helped in adapting to the change and we would have earned the right to be called our own captain planets!

A. Prempeh

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The Untapped Helper in Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation in Ghana – Waste Management (1)

"The ultimate test of man's conscience may be his willingness to sacrifice something today for future generations whose words of thanks will not be heard."— Gaylord Nelson

Climate change will impact future spatial patterns, growth and development worldwide. To reduce Ghana’s vulnerability and increase our adaptive capacity as a country, Ghana has taken various steps such as preparing the National Climate Change Adaptation Strategy (NCCAS). It was developed on the basis that unless mechanisms are put in place to ensure resilience and reduce vulnerability to climate change, national development will be hampered. The country is also addressing the socio-economic challenges climate change may present as it threatens secure livelihoods and social and economic development in Ghana.

As a tropical country with considerable forest reserves, it has been recognized that significant contribution that will improve policies and actions to reduce deforestation and degradation can play within both mitigation and adaptation. The Government of Ghana through the Forestry Commission (FC) is working to engage with both national and international actors in preparing Ghana’s national strategy for REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation) and REDD+.

These steps are laudable! However, a ‘sleeping giant’ whose power if properly harnessed can bring untold benefits has been left to sleep. This sleeping ‘giant’ is WASTE and its management or is it mismanagement in Ghana.

As Economist, E.W. Zimmerman said in the 1930’s, “Resources are not, they become”. His assertion was that resources are not fixed things; instead their meaning and value come to light only as we appraise their worth and develop the technical and scientific knowledge to transform them into useful commodities. The importance of resources depends therefore upon "cultural appraisals," and the value of their distribution and use changes.
Waste is wealth!

If properly valued and appropriate mechanisms are devised to manage it, Ghana can reap bountifully from the waste which as of now threatens to engulf the nation. Not only will the health of the populace improve and Ghana look better; we could be our own Captain Planets! We could save our world and help reduce the likely impacts of climate change on generations yet unborn.

"Trash is cash"

To be continued….

NB:
The author, Afua S. Prempeh, is an environmentalist and writer. She studied Natural Resources Management at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology and went on to pursue a post graduate degree in Environmental Policy and Management at the University of Gloucestershire, UK. She currently works at the Environmental Protection Agency, Ghana.

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INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE AND ADAPTATION TO CLIMATE CHANGE

"Upon the whole I am inclined to think that the far greater part, if not all of those difficulties, which have hitherto amused philosophers, and blocked up the way to knowledge, are entirely owing to our selves. That we have raised a dust, and then complain that we cannot see" -- George Berkeley

After the December 2004 tsunami off the coast of Indonesia, calls multiplied for high-technology solutions (installation of early warning systems using cutting-edge satellite and ocean buoy technologies) to prevent similar disastrous occurrences. Then news began to circulate about how indigenous communities had escaped the tsunami’s wrath by using their traditional knowledge. This drew attention to the importance of traditional knowledge to natural disaster preparedness and response. Unfortunately, this knowledge system is still not being utilized very much in adapting to climate change.

Traditional knowledge (TK), indigenous knowledge (IK), traditional environmental knowledge (TEK) and local knowledge generally refer to the long-standing traditions and practices of certain regional, indigenous, or local communities. It is "a cumulative body of knowledge, know-how, practices and representations maintained and developed by peoples with extended histories of interaction with the natural environment. Indigenous people that live close to natural resources often observe the activities around them and are the first to identify and adapt to any changes. The appearance of certain birds, mating of certain animals and flowering of certain plants are all important signals of changes in time and seasons that are well understood in traditional knowledge systems. Why are we not tapping this useful knowledge?

Whilst encouraging efforts at ensuring efficient and effective early warning systems, in data and resource poor areas with low technology and infrastructure for early warning systems, the role of traditional knowledge in building the adaptive capacity of vulnerable groups is crucial. Societies are governed by norms, values and belief which, to a large extent, determine the kind of adjustments made in natural and or human systems in response to actual or expected climate stimuli. Various studies (check http://www.fao.org/docrep/011/i0670e/i0670e14.htm) reveal that in the absence of modern scientific knowledge, traditional communities, with their substantial understanding of what goes on in their environment, have always made adjustments to ensure sustenance of their livelihoods using local indicators for predicting weather such as flowering of plants, animal sounds and movement, birds and insects.

A recent study I was involved in in Ghana showed that indigenous knowledge plays significant role in coping/adaptation strategies of the local people. Despite a wider awareness of scientific weather forecasts by the Ghana Meteorological Agency (GMet), most farmers did not plan their activities based on the weather forecast; the major reason being that they found the GMet forecasts to be less reliable and also too general, rather than being tailored to their specific communities. Rather, they relied on their own knowledge for predicting the weather. This underscores the usefulness of traditional knowledge in weather prediction and preparation for any unfavourable condition.

I must admit that some of the indigenous knowledge seems weird on first hearing but it works for the people! Trying to understand the science behind some of the indigenous knowledge will be a great step towards unraveling some of the mysteries surrounding them. I suggest that to build the adaptive capacity of such rural indigenous vulnerable communities to climate change will need long term studies to validate the traditional knowledge and incorporate them into scientific knowledge systems for effective adaptation strategies. The traditional knowledge systems are widely accepted by the people and it offers readily available and significant opportunities for integration into climate change adaptation programmes. Could the weather forecasts from the Ghana Meteorological Agency which some indigenous rural farmers consider too general and as such unreliable be downscaled using the validated indigenous knowledge? This is surely a step in the right direction.

"To know that we know what we know, and that we do not know what we do not know, that is true knowledge" -- Henry David Thoreau

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