2024-11-17-世界银行-加纳_蓝碳准备评估（英）_100页_17mb

2024 A BLUE CARBON READINESS ASSESSMENT GHANA

The report assesses Ghana's progress in leveraging its coastal Blue Carbon ecosystems for climate mitigation and the Blue Economy. Though Ghana has shown commendable efforts in carbon finance and some data collection, significant gaps persist across data, policy, and institutional frameworks, as well as finance. The analysis is structured around three pillars:

1. Data and Analytics: Data on mangroves is relatively robust compared to seagrasses and salt marshes. The National Forest Monitoring System offers potential, but challenges remain in incorporating seagrass and salt marsh data, assessing soil carbon stocks, and tracking socioeconomic values accurately. Enhanced monitoring and integration of the 2013 Wetlands Supplement are crucial.

2. Policy and Institutions: Ghana has notable NDC commitments, including incorporating mangroves into its LULUCF sector and expressing willingness under Article 6. However, its mitigation targets and accounting for broader Blue Carbon ecosystems (seagrasses, salt marshes) remain opaque. Enforcement of regulations is often lax, particularly outside designated protected areas. Weak tenure arrangements (tree ownership) and inadequate community governance/ benefit sharing detract from effective management. Strengthening legal protection, enforcement, and tenure reforms is essential.

3. Finance: Ghana has successfully accessed results-based finance (REDD+, carbon markets) and government funding. However, a dedicated, comprehensive Blue Carbon finance strategy is absent. The country stands to benefit from developing such a strategy, exploring innovative financing like blue bonds, leveraging blended finance (especially via WACA), and fully integrating Blue Carbon into national and international carbon markets (Article 6) to attract consistent private investment.

Key Recommendations:

• Pillar 1 (Data & Inventories): Refine data management, integrate the 2013 Wetlands Supplement, enhance mangrove monitoring within the NFMS, strengthen MRV coordination, and improve research on salt marshes and seagrasses, including socioeconomic valuation.
• Pillar 2 (Policy): Integrate Blue Carbon into the 2025 NDC (using the Wetlands Supplement), develop a supportive implementation plan, strengthen legal protection and enforcement for all BCEs, reform tree tenure, and create targeted funding streams for mangroves under the GFPS.
• Pillar 3 (Finance): Design a Blue Carbon Finance Strategy, leverage donors/grants for preparation and testing, create a blue finance facilitator (e.g., within the Green Fund), promote public-private partnerships, and operationalize carbon markets fully for Blue Carbon.

The assessment identifies a moderate pathway to Blue Carbon readiness, contingent upon addressing significant technical, regulatory, and financial challenges concurrently.