Accra: Professor Daniel Kwabena Twerefou, of the Department of Economics and Director of the Academic Quality Assurance Directorate at the University of Ghana, has emphasized the necessity for improved management of natural resources, cautioning that failure to do so could have severe consequences for future generations.
According to Ghana Web, Professor Twerefou highlighted the significant impacts of environmental degradation, including decreased labor productivity and negative effects on various aspects of human life. He delivered these remarks during an inaugural lecture at the UG Great Hall on July 30, 2026, titled 'Ghana's Stewardship Paradox: Rich in Resources, Poor in Governance.' He underscored the critical need for environmental protection.
The professor pointed out that Ghana incurs an annual loss of US$54 billion due to environmental degradation, as reported by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). He stated that environmental degradation not only diminishes utility through the loss of amenities but also indirectly affects human health, increases household expenditures, reduces labor productivity, and weakens resilience. Additionally, it raises questions about intergenerational justice and sustainability.
Professor Twerefou referenced the theories of Hartwick and Solow, renowned scholars in environmental economics, to emphasize that sustainability does not necessitate each generation leaving behind the exact stock of natural resources it inherited. Instead, it is crucial that future generations have opportunities for welfare and development comparable to those of the current generation.
He also discussed the essential roles of society, institutions, and stakeholders in promoting accountability to prevent environmental harm. Professor Twerefou outlined three key aspects necessary for environmental governance: valuation, institutional fit, and accountability. He urged society to recognize natural resources as forms of capital that provide welfare and productive services, even when markets overlook them. He emphasized the importance of aligning laws, agencies, and incentives with the ecological characteristics of resources and the social realities of users. Moreover, he called for actors causing environmental harm to face incentives reflecting the social costs they impose.
The professor advocated for stricter measures and policies to combat environmental pollution, stressing that national development relies on a country's ability to utilize its natural resources to generate economic benefits for its citizens. He highlighted the need for re-environmentalization, which involves reintegrating traditional institutions into formal policy structures, strengthening natural capital accounting, effectively pricing pollution, rewarding resource-conserving behaviors, supporting local stewardship institutions, building domestic value addition in extractive sectors, and treating ecological integrity as a core dimension of national welfare.
In closing, Professor Twerefou emphasized that the true measure of development lies not in how rapidly a nation converts its natural resources into economic growth, but in its ability to steward these resources to sustain prosperity across generations.