In a move that is seen as an effort to address environmental issues following the Durban Climate Change talks late last year, Ghana has taken its commitment towards environmental management and sustainability further.

The launch of a national cleaner production centre of excellence in the industrial city Tema is expected to become the first in the West Africa sub-region to train sister countries to improve on their environment.

With support from the United Nations Industrial Organisation, the centre aims to effectively reduce industry's impact on the environment. This done through a lowering cost of production, minimisation of waste, re-use and recycling, enhancing competitiveness in the wider market place, improve satisfaction and increasing environmentally conscious customers, insurers and bankers.

Ghana's Environment Science and Technology Minister Sherry Ayittey  announced at the launch recently that the government had developed and completed a roadmap for sustainable development of which resource efficiency and sustainable consumption and production were at the centre of growth for Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

The roadmap is to ensure sustainability of the operation of the new centre in its coordinating role in Ghana and the sub-region to contribute to the attainment of New Partnership for Africa's Development's (NEPAD) environmental imitative.

Socio-economic development in Ghana like many other African countries have led to continued environmental degradation including, widespread land degradation, loss of biodiversity, deforestation and loss of arable and grazing land.

Whilst agriculture plays a vital role on the African continent, large swathes of land have been at risk of deforestation or degradation largely in humid and sub-humid West Africa, according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).

Aside from industrial pollution, experts say the cause of environmental degradation include to a high extent deforestation, which has seen the clearing of lands, not only for agriculture but also uncontrolled logging, gathering for fuelwood, fire and overgrazing.

Daniel Amlalo from the country's environment authority notes the centre would facilitate sustaining cleaner production adoption and uptake through providing capacity building to the private sector.

It will also improve technical and management competence of local consultants, financing institutions and industry players with interest in cleaner production.