Member of Parliament Sene East, Dominic Napare, has called for stronger climate disaster preparedness in Ghana and across West Africa, urging ECOWAS member states to improve early warning systems and ensure critical weather information reaches vulnerable communities in time.
Mr Napare made the call during an interview on the sidelines of the second extraordinary session of the ECOWAS Parliament and the second parliamentary seminar held in Accra, Ghana.
The seminar focused on the theme: “Climate change as a driver of environmental degradation, population displacement, and worsening insecurity in the ECOWAS region.”
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According to the Ghanaian MP, climate-related risks can no longer be treated as isolated environmental concerns because of their growing impact on food security, poverty, health, agriculture and human mobility.
Governments across the ECOWAS region, he said, need a more coordinated approach to climate emergencies, flooding and disaster preparedness.
Early warning systems
Mr Dominic Napare said recent flooding incidents across parts of West Africa had highlighted the urgent need to strengthen early warning systems for extreme weather events.
“If we truly had effective warning systems in place, we should have alerted the population so they could be on their guard,” he said.
The MP noted that unusual rainfall patterns in June affected Ghana, Nigeria, Togo and Côte d’Ivoire, arguing that the scale of the resulting floods required authorities to respond differently from the way they would handle normal seasonal weather events.
He suggested that governments should consider stronger emergency measures, including evacuation where necessary, when weather forecasts indicate an exceptional threat to lives and property.
“These are floods of a kind never before seen in the country,” Mr Napare stated.
According to him, governments and disaster management authorities must take deliberate measures to protect lives, including resorting to evacuation when conditions warrant such action.
Mr Napare stressed that the availability of climate and weather data alone is not enough to protect communities from disasters.
He said early warning information must be communicated effectively to governments, local authorities and residents in vulnerable areas so they can take preventive action.
The MP called for improved access to reliable and up-to-date climate information to help countries prepare communities for floods, extreme rainfall and other climate-related hazards.
He also urged authorities to avoid presenting extreme weather events as routine forecasts because doing so could cause affected populations to underestimate the potential risks.
The call comes as countries across West Africa continue to face concerns over flooding, environmental degradation, food insecurity and population displacement linked to climate pressures.
Climate financing
On climate financing, Mr Dominic Napare urged ECOWAS member states to develop clear programmes and strategies to access available funding for climate change adaptation.
He said discussions during the parliamentary seminar demonstrated the importance of countries preparing precise proposals and clearly justifying their financing requirements.
“The funds are available. If they are allocated to you but you do not apply for them, they will be awarded to another country,” he said.
Mr Napare urged governments to develop climate programmes based on their specific vulnerabilities and seek support from ECOWAS institutions where necessary.
He said access to climate finance would be critical to strengthening disaster preparedness, improving resilience and protecting communities exposed to climate-related hazards.
Security risks
The Hon Dominic Napare further cautioned against treating climate change as an issue that should be handled only by environment ministries and specialised agencies.
He said climate pressures affect several areas of national development, including agriculture, poverty, education, health, food security and human mobility.
According to Mr Dominic Napare, failure to address these interconnected challenges could increase social tensions and contribute to wider security concerns across the region.
He called for stronger cooperation among government institutions and ECOWAS member states to address the interconnected effects of climate change, environmental degradation, population displacement, food insecurity and insecurity.
The ECOWAS parliamentary seminar provided a platform for lawmakers and stakeholders to examine how climate change is affecting communities across West Africa and how stronger regional cooperation, early warning systems and climate financing could improve preparedness for future disasters.