Environmental Protection Agency (Ghana)

The Environmental Protection Council (EPC) was established by the National Redemption Council government[3] led by Ignatius Kutu Acheampong.[4] On 23 May 1973, the Government of the National Redemption Council announced the establishment of an Environmental Protection Council under Chairmanship of Professor E.A Boateng, first vice-chancellor of the University of Cape Coast.[5] On 23 January 1974 the head of state[6] signed NRC Decree 239, establishing the Environmental Protection Council. On 4 June, the Environmental Protection Council was established by attorney general; Edward Nathaniel Moore on behalf of the Commissioner of Economic Planning.

EPA Ghana head office

After the 1992 constitution and national election, the National Democratic Congress government of Jerry John Rawlings created the Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology the following year. A national environmental policy was produced, and the council was moved into the ministry to implement it. In June 1993 a five-year Ghana Environmental Resource Management project, sponsored by the World Bank, was begun to ensure staff infrastructure. The agency expanded, and by December 1993 six regional offices were in operation: Western, Volta, Eastern, Ashanti, Northern and Upper West. The following year, three additional regional offices opened: Central, Greater Accra and Brong Ahafo.

On 30 December 1994, the Environmental Protection Council became the Environmental Protection Agency in Act 490.[23] The act empowered the agency to legally prosecute environmental offences and sue for breaches of the law. A 13-member management board, headed by Arnold Quainoo, was established.[24]

Peter Acquah

Former executive director Peter Acquah

Peter Claver Acquah was appointed acting executive director of EPA Ghana in 1994, and the agency completed its integrated coastal-zone management strategy[25] for Ghana 1997. In September 1997, the United Nations Environment Programme gave an "outstanding national ozone unit award" to EPA Ghana in recognition of its efforts in implementing the Montreal Protocol. The Tarkwa Office was opened as part of the Western Regional Office to oversee mining problems in 1999, with Michael Sandow Ali its first head.

That year, a strategic plan was produced[26] to guide the agency's activities. In November 2000, the Capacity Development and Linkages for Environmental Impact Assessment in Africa (CLEIAA) project began.[27] Acquah opened the Tema office, headed by Yaw Safo Afriyie and later by Lambert Faabeloun, in 2001 before his resignation that year.

Daniel Amlalo

Daniel S. Amlalo, current executive director

Daniel Amlalo was appointed the agency's acting executive director on 1 December 2010, renovating EPA Ghana's offices and creating more offices at the Millennium Block. In 2011, the second five-year strategic plan was produced for 2011 to 2015.

Ghana’s second national communication under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change was issued. In 2011, EPA Ghana produced guidelines for the environmental assessment and management of offshore oil and gas development. The government renamed the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation in January 2012 to promote innovation in science. The Cleaner Production Centre[36] was dedicated in Tema by Minister Sherry Ayittey on 20 January 2012.

A capacity development mechanism project, aiming to improve internal communication within the agency to increase efficiency, began in 2012.[37] With financial support from the Canadian International Development Agency, communications between the agency's head office and regional offices have been improved with broadband Internet access.

Ghana celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Montreal Protocol[38] in Ho on 14 September 2012, with its theme "protecting the atmospheres for generations to come". Winners of school competitions received prizes. Climate change issues were tackled, with the national climate-change adaptation strategy document produced that year.

Amlalo was appointed EPA Ghana executive director on 3 January 2013, and began the agency's modernization. Three new offices were opened in Nkwanta (Volta), Damongo (NR) and Wulensi (NR) in August 2013. The 2013 Man and Biosphere Programme in Africa elected him its chair.[39]

EPA Ghana leadership

Year	Name	Position
1974-81	E. A. Boateng	Executive chairman
1981-85	B. W. Garbrah	Acting executive chairman
1985-90	Christine Debrah	Executive chairperson
1990-93	Franciska Issaka	Acting executive chairperson
1993-94	Farouk Braimah	Acting executive chair
1994-2001	Peter Acquah	Executive director
2001-10	Jonathan Allotey	Executive director
2010-2020	Daniel Amlalo	Executive director
2020-now	Hon Henry Kwabena Kokofu	Executive Director

EPA training school in Amasaman, opened in 2001

• Environmental education
• Environmental impact assessment
• Strategic environmental assessment
• Environmental governance
• Monitoring of industry and mines
• Natural-resource management
• Legal compliance and enforcement
• Environmental performance rating and public disclosure
• Reporting on the state of the environment
• Research on environmental sustainability

Introduction of waste-segregation project in Accra

The Ghana Environmental Resource Management Programme began in 1992 to protect the environment at international standards, and staff were sent overseas to study for master's degrees. New departments and a library were opened, and books and videos acquired. In 1994, a historical database of the environment was published with 2,145 records and environmental impact assessment guidelines and procedures were produced. An environmental-education strategy for Ghana was introduced on 22 November 1994.

An urban air-quality project by EPA Ghana and the United States Environmental Protection Agency to monitor air pollution in Accra began in 2004. Results showed that at six locations, roadside dust and vehicular emissions were the main contributors of airborne particulates.

In 1988, the World Bank launched a clean-air initiative for Sub-Saharan African cities. After EPA Ghana officers found elevated blood-lead levels in schoolchildren and those working near roads, such as the police and young salespeople, leaded gasoline was phased out in December 2003. EPA Ghana, the UNEP and the Ghana Health Service monitored blood-lead levels in Accra and Kumasi in 2006 to assess changes in blood-lead levels after the phaseout of leaded gasoline. Blood samples were taken from the Ghana Police Service and Tema Oil Refinery personnel, tanker drivers and workers and tollbooth operators, and the populations were all within the World Health Organization limit of 20 µg/dl.

A National Programme of Action (NPA) seeks to protect Ghana's marine environment. Land-based activities had increased marine pollution from industrial effluent and poorly-managed waste, with resource degradation and increased coastal erosion. The impacts of these activities compromised the capacity of the coast to support sustainable socioeconomic and ecosystem services, such as tourism. With support from the Guinea Current marine-ecosystem project, the NPA is prepared to solve domestic sanitation, fisheries degradation, wetland and mangrove degradation, industrial pollution and coastal erosion with institutional capacity-building, educational and awareness programmes and regulatory activities.

EPA Ghana is a focus of the Man and Biosphere programmes. In 2004 the National MAB Committee was chartered, and it began in 2005. Ghana joined the International Coordinating Council (ICC) of the MAB. Each year, entries are received for the MAB Young Scientist Award Competition. After review, and the best are submitted to UNESCO for the competition; in 2010, four were submitted. A delegation from the National MAB Committee visited the Bia Biosphere Reserve.

A strategic environmental assessment (SEA) began in May 2003.[40] The assessment was incorporated into the Ghana Poverty-Reduction Strategy, and 52 district assemblies produced development plans based on the SEA.[40] An SEA manual was produced, and assessments were conducted for transport and water.

Integrated management of invasive aquatic weeds, with financial support from the African Development Bank from 2006 to 2011, produced a manual for mechanical and biological weed control. Total weed coverage in the Tano and Volta Rivers was 6,066 hectares (14,990 acres), and 20 community water-weed committees cleared and maintained 500 hectares (1,200 acres) of weedy areas by 2011.[41] At the end of the project, two weed harvesters were purchased to clear all weeds in the Volta and were commissioned in 2012 by the Minister of Environment, Science and Technology.[42]

The 1992–93 drought, which caused bush fires, prompted the EPC to solicit international aid for a lasting solution to the problem. The United Nations General Assembly passed resolution 39/68B, accepting Ghana's application. In 1984 the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) added Ghana to their lists of countries receiving assistance to combat desertification, and in 2002 a national action programme to combat drought and desertification was begun.[43] A project for developing drylands began in May 2006, with northern afforestation and increased production of guineafowl for income.

Noise pollution was widespread in Ghana's urban areas, with the chief culprits religious organizations, bar and restaurant operators who played loud music at night and music-cassette vendors. After complaints from the public, in September 2006 the agency purchased fifteen sound level meters for distribution to its regional offices.[44] With accurate measurements, noise pollution could be prosecuted. EPA Ghana has designated April 16 as National Noise Awareness Day[45] to alert the public to environmental and health implications of excess noise. A legal database project was begun in 2008 to group environmental laws in Ghana.

EPA Ghana has an ozone unit, tasked with phasing out ozone-depleting substances (ODS) after Ghana signed the Montreal Protocol, and information on ODS uss was collated for the multilateral fund and ozone secretariats. Refrigeration shops were monitored to ensure good practice and identify refrigerant brands on the market. Few shops had CFC12 and R134a, and shops with a mixture of refrigerants had them seized. R-406A, a new refrigerant compatible with CFC12 and HFC134a systems, was found in use. Seminars, with more than 1,420 participants, were held on good refrigeration practice, hydrocarbon as an alternative refrigerant and hydrocarbon technology transfer.[46] The import of equipment using chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) was banned in 2010, and customs officers were trained in their detection. Applications for financial incentives from three cold-storage facilities were approved, and the facilities were inspected. EPA officers visited the three major foam-producing factories in Accra and Nsawam to ensure worker safety and environmental compliance.[47]

A waste-segregation project was introduced by the Minister of Environment Science and Technology.[48] With support from Jakora Ventures, a private waste management company, 6,000 litter containers were obtained and distributed to 48 institutions in the ministries area. Each institution has three containers on each floor, and paper, plastic and food waste is placed in separate containers which are emptied daily. The paper and plastic will be recycled, and the food waste will be composted. If the project is successful, it will be extended to homes and markets.

World Environment Day is celebrated annually to increase awareness of national environmental problems. The EPC began the celebration in June 1975 with an exhibit entitled "Man and his Environment". Each year a different theme is chosen, and the celebration is rotated among Ghana's ten regions. In 2006 it was celebrated in Duase Ashanti Region with the theme "Your planet needs you; unite to combat climate change", and in 2010 it was celebrated at Osino in the Eastern Region with the theme "Many species, one planet, one future".

40th-anniversary forum banner

Green City Project sign in Danfa, near Accra

The agency celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2014. Begun on 29 January, the celebration included tree-planting, lectures, a school competition, awards and a dinner. A Green City Project, a new head office, began the year and with a groundbreaking ceremony and the agency is seeking accreditation for a university to train environmental experts. UNEP executive director Achim Steiner planned to visit the agency, and individuals and companies who contributed to making Ghana an environmentally-friendly country were scheduled to receive awards.