A release from the World Bank, copied to the Ghana News Agency on Monday, said the 5.5 million grant of the Ghana Dedicated Grant Mechanism for Local Communities project (G-DGM) from Climate Investment Fund (CIF) partnership, is to strengthen the knowledge and practices of the communities towards reducing deforestation and improving the sustainable management of their activities.

It said the grant would contribute towards helping the communities to better understand REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from deforestation and Forest degradation plus conservation of Forest, Sustainable Forest management and Enhancement of Forest Carbon Stocks).

The G-DGM will also enable targeted communities to share their knowledge and farm level practices and lessons learned with others at community, national and international levels, thus making them more resilient to man-made pressures and climate change, the release said.

It added that the grant would also finance capacity building and demand-driven grants to local communities, and community-based organisations of the targeted communities which would assist Ghana to sustain economic growth, accelerate poverty reduction and enhance shared prosperity in a sustainable manner.

Synergies would also be fostered with two other ongoing projects; the Forest Investment Program, which also operates in these two regions and is linked to the project, and the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility project, the release said.

“This project contributes to the World Bank Group Country Partnership Strategy  for Ghana and addresses climate change issues through support for REDD+ and other programs related to water management and land degradation,” it quoted World Bank Country Director for Ghana, Henry Kerali, as saying.

It said the World Bank was pleased to partner with Solidaridad West Africa on an initiative that was community centered to improve livelihoods.The G-DGM is a key piece in the implementation of the World Bank’s Integrated Forests and Landscape Portfolio, a diverse portfolio comprising several operations with different sources of financing, including IDA and trust funds, the release said.