Kumasi is the second largest and the fastest growing city of Ghana (5.47% per year) as well as an economic hub for the entire area. The Kumasi’s region is one of the most agriculturally productive areas in the country. Together with agriculture, industrial and commercial activities are key sectors in this region.
It receives influx of migrants from different parts of Ghana and west Africa, resulting in rapid urbanisation and informal settlements. As the metropolis is situated in the transitional forest zone, this is threatened by climatic factors and land consumption due to urbanisation.
Regarding weather and climate-change-related challenges, this area suffers from floods, especially flash floods that cause settlement flooding, particularly affecting marginalised groups living in these settlements, and flooding of agricultural fields.
As part of the ALBATROSS project, a novel digital tool—the Citizen Science Toolkit —has been developed for use across all seven project hubs. It is designed to support community-based environmental monitoring and climate adaptation, with each hub tailoring its use to local priorities. In Kumasi, the toolkit is planned to be piloted to address specific urban challenges related to flooding, wetland degradation, and green space loss.
In collaboration with the Ghana Meteorological Agency (GMET), the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), the Ghana Hydrological Authority, and the Land Use and Spatial Planning Authority, the Kumasi Hub plans to use the toolkit to support the protection of existing nature-based solutions, such as urban wetlands and riparian buffer zones.
The toolkit will enable citizens to report blocked drains, as well as encroachment and illegal or unapproved use of wetlands, with geotagged alerts. Similarly, illicit tree felling or destruction of green areas can also be reported by communities. Verified alerts will guide authorities in taking timely action and support sitespecific decision-making.
The intervention by ALBATROSS also includes training for both planning authorities and citizens on the toolkit functionalities and application. This will also increase climate literacy and stakeholder participation in planning decisions.
Interventions to date:
- Development of the Citizen Science Toolkit functionalities.
- Stakeholder engagement ongoing.
- Training for authorities to be completed as a next phase.
Expected benefits
- Reduced flood risk through the protection of urban wetlands and riparian buffer zones, enhancing natural water retention and supporting urban food security in areas used for vegetable farming.
- Increased climate literacy, stronger stakeholder engagement and stewardship of urban NbS, and enhanced local capacity and inter-agency coordination for climate-resilient city landscape planning.
Hub coordinator and main implementer of interventions:
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi
Kumasi Hub, Ghana
Kumasi, Ghana
- Region: Western Africa
- Climate: Tropical wet-dry or Savanna (Aw)
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Main meteorological hazards: Urban flood
- Nature-based solutions supported: Protection of urban wetlands and riparian zones.
- Intervention: Implementation of a toolkit to promote citizens’ report of encroachment and illegal use of wetlands, to support decision-making.
Kumasi Hub, Ghana
- Region: Western Africa
- Climate: Tropical wet-dry or Savanna (Aw)
-
Main meteorological hazards: Urban flood
- Nature-based solutions supported: Protection of urban wetlands and riparian zones.
- Intervention: Implementation of a toolkit to promote citizens’ report of encroachment and illegal use of wetlands, to support decision-making.