This assistance is under the Community Development and Knowledge Management for the Satoyama Initiative (COMDEKS) being funded by the Ministry of the Environment of Japan and the Global Environment Facility (GEF). 

This marks the eighth COMDEKS grant cycle since 2012, reinforcing sustained support for community-led action within the Afadzato South socio-ecological production landscape. 

The funded initiatives will promote biodiversity conservation, strengthen traditional governance systems, support micro, small and medium enterprises, and implement integrated landscape restoration actions. 

The projects will further advance renewable energy solutions, waste management, climate adaptation, and the localisation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

Dr Joseph Appiah-Agyapong, the  Chairperson of the National Steering Committee, at the award ceremony, emphasised the importance of pursuing measurable impacts. 

He was confident that these projects would deliver strong, evidence-based results at the community level.  

He said demonstrating tangible impacts would position the initiative for scale-up opportunities in ensuring environmental sustainability. 

Dr Abdul-Razak Saeed, the Head of Environment and Climate Unit at UNDP Ghana, stressed the importance of inclusion. 

He noted that the integration of persons with disabilities, youth, and women was not optional but essential in achieving the initiative’s targeted goals. 

“Their active participation will strengthen resilience, deepen ownership, and ensure that development efforts truly leave no one behind,” he assured. 

On behalf of the beneficiary organisations, Mr Pascal Benson Atislah, the Executive Director of Accelerate Rural Development Organisation, expressed appreciation and commitment, underlining that the grants was going to strengthen beneficiary organisations resolve to deliver practical, community-driven solutions that protected ecosystems, created sustainable livelihoods, and built long-term resilience for the people. 

Through targeted financing and technical assistance, COMDEKS continues to demonstrate that locally led and nature-based solutions are central to protecting biodiversity, strengthening livelihoods, and advancing climate resilience.  

The initiative reaffirms the power of partnerships in translating global environmental commitments into concrete impact on the ground.