Ghana—Western Region Coastal Foundation (WRCF)

The discovery of oil and gas off the coast of Ghana’s Western Region in 2007 greatly changed the country’s development trajectory. Production began in 2010 and rapidly accelerated to reach 100,000 barrels per day in just four years. While investments and operations in the oil and gas sector bring new resources and create opportunities for the local economy, they also bring new challenges. Oil-driven growth around cities has raised the cost of living, affecting primarily the urban poor. Meanwhile, new employment opportunities have attracted migrants from other parts of Ghana who often compete with local residents for jobs, further raising tensions and the risk of conflict.

To address these strains and promote collaborative solutions, the former U.K. Department for International Development (now called Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office) supported the creation of the Western Region Coastal Foundation (WRCF). The foundation works to improve relationships between oil and gas companies, government agencies, and coastal communities by providing a multi-stakeholder dialogue platform, as well as promotes economic development by building up local value chains related to the oil and gas industry.

Learn how the foundation works by watching this video:

Select Activities

• Provide technical and vocational training to communities in order to improve prospects of employment in oil and gas-related industries.
• Conduct multi-stakeholder dialogues with communities, local authorities, traditional leaders, and oil and gas companies to prioritise local issues and hold duty bearers accountable.
• Collaborate with Ghana’s state agency for natural gas resources to create local employment opportunities and ensure security along gas pipeline’s right of way.
• Support communities in identifying climate risks and developing mitigation techniques.

Select Results

• Conducted multi-stakeholder dialogues that engaged 64,000 people in 181 communities and effectively garnered support from government and oil companies to address local needs, such as repairing health and sanitation infrastructure.
• Provided valuable data and feedback from community conversations to stakeholder groups to help guide plans for inclusive development and corporate social investment in the Western Region.
• Worked with four fish farmer associations to strengthen linkages among catfish value chain actors.
• Trained fish farmers to protect against loss of fish during flooding by adopting climate-smart practices, such as installing concrete water outlets and retention netting. To learn more about the Western Region Coastal Foundation, visit www.wrcfghana.org or follow @WRCFGhana on Twitter.