Speaker
Description
Mangroves are very effective in capturing, transforming, and storing CO2 in the atmosphere
into coastal sediments for long-term carbon storage and thus plays significant role in
controlling greenhouse gas emissions and reducing atmospheric CO2 levels. Whereas studies on mangrove forests have focused on cover losses, this study delves into the carbon losses associated with mangrove losses. This knowledge is important for Ghana to effectively monitor carbon dynamics in response to changes in mangrove forest cover. This study covers the period from 2015 to 2024 with the objectives to determine the changes in mangrove cover along the Coastline of Ghana and to estimate carbon stocks associated with mangrove cover along the coastline of Ghana from 2015 to 2024. Using remote sensing and GIS approaches, change detection analysis was performed to determine the changes in mangrove forest cover along the coastline from 2015 to 2024. Total carbon stocks along the coastline of Ghana between 2015 and 2024 were estimated using the InVEST carbon model. Results from this study revealed a drastic decline in mangrove forest cover and total carbon stocks along the coasts of Ghana from 2015 to 2024. The Eastern coast of Ghana lost 2,674.05ha between 2015 and 2024, representing a 46.18% loss. The Central cost lost 35.07% of its cover, and the Western coast lost 18.84% between 2015 and 2024. These losses translate to a total loss of 1,436,170.71 Megagrams of Carbon from mangrove loss between 2015 and 2024. This development is alarming and a major challenge to Ghana’s climate change mitigation efforts. It is important that there is continuous monitoring of Ghana’s mangroves for effective climate change mitigation.
Keywords: Environmental monitoring; Carbon sequestration; climate mitigation; blue carbon