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The policy discussion papers will be published in national newspapers, and widely distributed, in the coming semester together with other media events or field actions that
are in direct relation to the specific paper.
1.1.3 Policy Brief for Marine Protected Areas and Support to the MPA Committee
During this reporting period, the draft report on scenarios for establishing marine protected areas completed by the MPA Working Group was reviewed by the Inter-
Ministerial Committee and several recommendations were made relative to refinement and completion of the report. The Committee decided that it would be wise to engage a
consultant to make the various sections of the report more coherent and to provide more clear recommendations for moving forward. A consultant has been identified. In the
coming reporting period, the report will be completed and reviewed again by the Committee. It is expected to be approved. Subsequently, the Committee will convene a
meeting of the relevant Ministers to seek approval for the preferred scenario. Given that 2012 is an election year, it is highly doubtful that action will be taken on a preferred
scenario until there is a new government in place. CRC will continue to build the foundations in the meantime so that in early to mid-2013, a process can be started for
establishing a MPA Authority in one form or another at the national level. The MPA Inter-Ministerial Committee has also agreed, as well as the Directors of the Fisheries
Commission and the Wildlife Division, that MPA development processes can also start at the local level using the community based natural resources management legislation
CREMA or Community Resource Management Areas as MPAs in Ghana will have a high degree of co-management with local communities.
1.1.4 Piloting a Regional Coastal Commission
The Hen Mpoano Advisory Council continues to advise the Initiative on how to move the ICFG Program forward. The focus of the two quarterly meetings during Year 3 has been
their support for and orientations on the necessary processes for the establishment of a coastal working group or a committee which will address issues of development along
the coast in the Western Region and nationally. This will be seen as a possible legacy of the advisory council. The Council also provided useful ideas to refine the development
of the proposed structure for Coastal and Marine Governance system for the country.
In July of 2011, the Norwegian Agency for Development NORAD began funding of the “Oil for Development Program Agreement” with the Government of Ghana. The main
thrust of the investment was to assist with the Western Region Spatial Development
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Framework WRSDF, a spatial plan for the Region, as well as a platform for the integration of social, economic, and environmental policies and plans for the Region. A
National Technical Committee was set up under the Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology MEST and a Regional Oversight Committee was inaugurated for the
project under the chairmanship of the Deputy Regional Minister.
In October of 2011, CRC was formally invited to assist with the Regional Oversight Committee and the Hen Mpoano program has subsequently made important
contributions relative to “areas of special concern” in the coastal district that merit particular management and planning strategies, notably for the critical wetlands and
vulnerable shorelines. CRC works in close concert with the NORAD funded consultancy team and the Town and Country Planning Department whom are responsible
for developing the regional spatial plan in order to integrate the spatial planning and analysis already completed for the districts. The NORAD program was slated to end in
May of 2012 but a ten-month extension has been granted to allow for follow-up up work on the plan and transiting to an implementation program that could see the Oversight
Committee, together with elements of the Hen Mpoano Advisory Committee, morph or evolve into both a Regional Marine and Coastal Commission and some form of a
Regional Development Authority. DFID is set to support this move with a focus on the coastal commissionfoundation see the section on the Coastal Fund 1.1.8 below.
1.1.5 Study Tour to the Philippines
