By: Franklin ASARE-DONKOH
Ghana’s low-lying shoreline loses an average of two to three metres of land annually to the encroaching Atlantic Ocean.
This environmental crisis is threatening historical landmarks built between 1482 and 1786, which served as prominent trading posts during the transatlantic slave trade:
Roughly 90% of this historical structure has already been reclaimed by the sea, leaving the remainder in immediate jeopardy.
Rising regional sea levels, advancing at 3.89 mm per year, now directly threaten this major national landmark.
To address this crisis, the Government of South Korea, according to the Minister for Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, Madam Abla Dzifa Gomashie, has committed $4.5 million in funding to help Ghana protect its vulnerable UNESCO World Heritage forts and castles from severe coastal erosion and climate change impacts.
The bilateral grant, funneled through the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), is directed toward sustainable, nature-backed structural interventions. Unlike traditional concrete seawalls that often inadvertently accelerate erosion down-drift, this joint initiative prioritizes hybrid ecosystem protection and technical restoration.
The funding covers advanced scientific coastal monitoring systems, physical fortification of remaining foundations, and environmental recovery projects for neighboring fishing communities whose local economies rely on these heritage tourism hubs.
The project, which runs from 2026 to 2030, will address growing threats to Ghana’s coastal heritage sites, including coastal erosion, flooding, salt-induced deterioration and structural instability.
The Minister made this known when she took her turn at the Government Accountability Series organised by the Government Communication ministry on Monday, August 10, 2026.
According to her, the initiative would help Ghana develop stronger systems for monitoring and responding to climate risks affecting the country’s World Heritage properties.
“The Korean government is supporting the ministry with a $4.5 million initiative aimed at strengthening Ghana’s capacity to respond to the impacts of climate change on the forts and castles of Ghana World Heritage Property,” Gomashie said.
The project, she explained, will initially focus on selected heritage sites in the Greater Accra and Volta regions and will involve government institutions, technical agencies, local communities, academia and international partners.
Madam Gomashie said that the initiative would establish scientific climate-risk assessment and monitoring systems while strengthening institutional capacity for heritage conservation and climate response.
The project will also support the development of national and site-level climate response policies for heritage conservation.
As part of the initiative, six experts from stakeholder organisations have already received two weeks of intensive training in climate-change response policy in South Korea.
Six site managers are also scheduled to undergo two months of training in site management between October and November 2026, with further training and skills development planned throughout the five-year programme.
The Tourism Minister said the project aligned with the UNESCO World Heritage Climate Action Policy 2023 and the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly those focused on sustainable communities and climate action.
She said the government would continue working with international partners to strengthen the protection and management of Ghana’s heritage sites against the growing impact of climate change.
