About 60 sensors have been situated at some selected communities in the Greater Accra Region to detect contaminations in the air and also produce real-time data for decision-making.
Categories of contaminants to be detected by the sensors include noxious gases, pollutants, and particulates.
Results from the initiative will also be used in decision-making processes.
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The project is being carried out by the Ghana Urban Air Project to complement the efforts of the Environmental Protection Agency in monitoring air quality in the country.
The Country lead of the Fund, Mr. Desmond Appiah disclosed that according to global standards, cities ought to have air quality sensors installed within a 5 to 10 miles radius.
According to him, besides the installation of these sensors, technocrats need capacity-building measures to enable them to make deductions from the data collected by the sensors.
He explained further that good progress would be made should the air quality data be used as a basis for creating awareness among the public.
“Beyond having sensors to collect data, the capacity of technocrats needs to be built to understand and interpret the data and make use of it.
“When air quality data is aligned to economic and health impact, and used as basis to build awareness among the public, we would be making good progress.
“For now, we are developing a sense of what is happening in Accra but we need more localized data to engage with policymakers on the next steps,” he said.
Furthermore, Mr. Appiah noted that as cities develop rapidly, they turn to struggle with maintaining good air quality, using Accra as an example.
He has therefore warned about a possible worsening socio-economic situation should issues of health and environmental protection not be the focus of developing cities.
“We have well-crafted environmental laws and structures for delivery, but there is a huge gap in enforcement. This has occasioned some of these problems. The law must work,” he added.
The Country lead of the Fund also stated that Ghana needs to be deliberate in solving environmental problems and undertake impact-yielding initiatives to mitigate the air quality challenges. This, he said can be done by introducing more public transport systems and the promotion of non-motorised transport, while also adding rail as a significant mobility infrastructure development.
Source: Dehotpress
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