Moving beyond the ad hoc responses in flood management to a localization approach in Ghana

Abstract

Flooding has become one form of disaster that has become both a national and global concern. In Ghana, flooding has become a yearly ritual, displacing many community members, destroying farmlands, and cutting off communities. The state institution mandated to coordinate and manage disasters is the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO). However, NADMO is always overwhelmed with the level of humanitarian assistance required by flood victims annually due to limited resources. Floods management in Ghana is largely reactionary and short-term, hence the need for long-term planning. The researchers therefore used both secondary and primary data to investigate the drivers and gaps in the existing flood management approaches. The findings showed that inadequate funding, non-enforcement of settlement and farming laws; unhealthy environmental practices and low investments in flood containment infrastructure were the drivers of the perennial floods in Ghana. The major gap identified was the over reliance on central government and development partners to finance flood preparedness, response and recovery interventions. These funding sources have always been inadequate and irregular. The study concluded with a recommendation to NADMO and other state agencies to adopt a long-term, holistic and locally driven approach to flood management in Ghana.