DUBAI: The United Arab Emirates and the Republic of Ghana today announced a US$30 million partnership for nature-based community development and climate solutions, outlining initial investment areas.

Dr. Amna bint Abdullah Al Dahak Al Shamsi, Minister of Climate Change and the Environment, and Samuel A. Jinapor, Ghana’s Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, signed a letter of intent in the presence of Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak, UN Climate Change High-Level Champion for COP28 and President of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), who led the COP’s nature workstream, and Abdulla Balalaa, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for Energy and Sustainability.

The framework document sets out six investment areas – from biodiversity corridors to reforestation and agroecology – that deliver simultaneous climate, biodiversity, and community development benefits, with a cross-cutting focus on gender equality and youth. Falling under Ghana’s Resilient Ghana nature-climate strategy, the document also outlines metrics for measurement, reporting, and verification, utilising Ghana’s pioneering REDD+ process.

Commenting on the partnership, Dr. Amna Al Dahak Al Shamsi said, “Our partnership with Ghana is a testament to the UAE’s focus on global biodiversity, climate, and development goals. It underscores our commitment to the UAE Consensus which calls for the ending and reversal of deforestation by 2030 and highlights the importance of the protection and preservation of biodiversity. Our investment in Ghana will not only bolster the country's afforestation efforts but will also create a broader positive impact on local communities. By backing a comprehensive set of initiatives aimed at forest protection and enhancement, we aim to strengthen local livelihoods and foster greater community engagement.”

“Any effort to solve deforestation is both human and capital intensive. Even though Ghana is receiving carbon payments, there exist critical implementation gaps that need to be filled with other financial instruments to generate more emission reductions,” said Samuel A. Jinapor. “This is what our partnership with the UAE represents; particularly, it will deliver critical support for livelihoods enhancement and ecosystem protection. We are grateful to the UAE government for walking the talk, and we also assure them that these resources will be used to generate the best value for forests, climate, and people, towards a 1.5 degrees Celsius world.”

The framework document sets out six investment areas – from biodiversity corridors to reforestation and agroecology – that deliver simultaneous climate, biodiversity, and community development benefits, with a cross-cutting focus on gender equality and youth. Falling under Ghana’s Resilient Ghana nature-climate strategy, the document also outlines metrics for measurement, reporting, and verification, utilising Ghana’s pioneering REDD+ process.

“COP28 set a new precedent for coordinating action on nature and climate, as well as for anchoring investment in plans developed by nature-rich countries themselves,” said Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak. “The UAE-Ghana partnership is a great example of the approach that will help to keep the target of 1.5 degrees within reach, while delivering on the SDGs and protecting biodiversity.”

As part of the UAE Consensus signed at COP28, governments universally adopted a goal to halt and reverse deforestation by 2030, as well as align their climate strategies with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. The UAE and partners mobilised over $2 billion of finance for nature-climate projects and programmes, including a broader investment package for Ghana's Resilient Ghana strategy. Both Ghana and the UAE are also members of the Forest and Climate Leaders Partnership, a public-private investment coordination mechanism.

The UAE and Ghana will detail some of the initial projects under their bilateral partnership at COP29 in Baku in November and subsequently at COP30 next year.