Invest in greener cities –  ex-Maldives President urges

By Prince ASUMAH

Former President of the Maldives and current Secretary-General of the Climate Vulnerable Forum and Vulnerable Twenty (V20) Secretariat, Mohamed Nasheed, has urged Ghana to scale up investments in financing greener cities to address climate and urbanisation challenges.

Speaking at the opening of the 13th Ghana Garden and Flower Show (GGFS) in Accra, Mr. Nasheed highlighted his organisation’s Climate Prosperity Plans for member countries, noting that Ghana’s strategy proposes green corridors in Accra, climate-smart housing and community reforestation projects.

“We cannot green our cities without finance,” he said. “Too often, SMEs, women entrepreneurs and youth innovators have great ideas, but they stall for lack of funding. We must fix this. We need finance pipelines that let communities scale their innovations.”

Registrar-General, Grace Ama Issahaque, reaffirmed the importance of green spaces for sustainable urban living. She stressed that green environments are not luxuries but necessities, offering aesthetic, therapeutic and economic value.

She urged florists and entrepreneurs to leverage intellectual property (IP) to support innovation. “We must breed new plant varieties, grow them, green our urban spaces, scale up together and win together,” she said.

Launched in 2013 by Strategic Communications Africa Ltd. (Stratcomm Africa), the GGFS has become a platform for promoting sustainable living, environmental consciousness, job creation and citizen engagement. This year’s edition, themed ‘Urban Places, Green Spaces’, calls for transforming Ghana’s cities into climate-resilient and economically vibrant environments through nature-based solutions.

Beyond improving liveability, stakeholders stressed that green urbanisation could strengthen Ghana’s export earnings. The East African floral market was cited as an example, with Kenya’s Naivasha region creating jobs, enhancing infrastructure and supporting community projects through flower cultivation.

Roses, which account for 66 percent of Kenya’s cut-flower exports, helped drive the country’s floral export earnings to US$835million in 2024, according to rose breeder and agronomist Robert Okayo.

“Ghana must find adequate means to tap into this industry to help alleviate its economic challenges,” Ms. Issahaque said, noting the country’s potential to replicate Kenya’s success if it invests strategically in green urbanisation and floriculture.

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