A Capacity Building Needs Assessment Report for the Environmental Governance Study of the Management of the Oil and

Gas sector in Ghana has been launched in Accra. The initiative is collaboration between the Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology (MEST) and Kosmos Energy. It will provide the Ministry and other agencies with a needs-based foundation from which they can justify and utilise the share of $58 million fund available to promote improved environmental regulation and governance of the oil and gas industry. Speaking at the ceremony, the Sector Minister, Ms Sherry Ayittey, noted that the discovery of oil has brought great hope expectations, given Ghanas high development needs and aspirations. It is therefore expected that the oil revenue will be applied to priority areas of infrastructure, agriculture, food processing, ICT, education, health, rural development, housing, water and sanitation. She noted the increasing concerns over the unsustainable development paths being pursued by many developing and developed countries. She said due to the disregard for the environment in the oil and gas industry, there is the need to put in place adequate mechanisms for environmental management. She added that key policy objectives are to ensure that the practices of the oil and gas industry are consistent with international standards of environmental sustainability. Ms Ayittey stressed Governments efforts in ensuring that human and institutional capacity for sound and environmental governance of the oil and gas resources are adequate to cover all the specialised areas in the industry. In view of this, Ghanas National Environmental Policy is under review and is expected to provide a clear direction for managing the environment and ensuring that a preventive approach is adopted in the pursuit of sound environmental management. According to the minister, an Environmental Action Plan has been drawn up to identify specific actions to be carried out to protect the environment. The regulations require that all development activities likely to impact adversely on the environment must be subject to environmental assessment. The Vice President of Kosmos Energy, Mr Mike Murphy, in his address noted that the initiative by MEST has the objective of taking a fresh look at the capacity building needs of the Ministry based on relevant global oil and gas industry benchmarks. He said the study puts forward a development plan that supports the careful application of existing initiatives with the aim of improving regulatory capacity while strengthening local expertise and technical skills in Ghanas emerging oil and gas industry. He commended the MEST for putting together a comprehensive capacity needs initiative that cover the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Ghana Maritime Authority (GMA), and six other coastal districts in the Western Region. The Chairman for the occasion, Nana Ansah Sasraku III, Chief of Mamfe and Kyidomhene of Akuapem Traditional Area, expressed excitement about the Ministrys initiative, saying oil and gas play a vital role in the development of most countries. He urged Government to deal positively with the impact of the oil find on the shores of the country by ensuring that the development plan in the report is efficiently executed

Objective:

Building- The Institute engages in various capacity building programmes as a way of enhancing the professional competence of individuals and industry

. Some of these programmes include:

Textbook definition: The systematic collection of descriptive and judgmental information necessary to make effective training decisions related to the selection, adoption, value, and modification of various instructional activities

Descriptive and judgmental information needed Objective and subjective data Information gathered according to a plan and in a desired format Gathered to provide decision making informatio