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Overview

RESILIENT–Ghana is a youth-led climate justice and peacebuilding initiative developed by Empower for Development Ghana (E4D Ghana). The project addresses the intersection of climate change and community conflict, targeting the climate-driven tensions between farmers and Fulbe herders in selected districts across Northern Ghana.

By training Climate Justice Ambassadors and mobilising communities through intergenerational dialogues, restorative healing circles, and community sports, RESILIENT–Ghana promotes climate literacy, sustainable natural resource use, and peaceful coexistence — while building communities' collective capacity to adapt to climate change.

"Climate change does not just change weather — it changes relationships, tensions, and livelihoods. RESILIENT–Ghana addresses conflict and climate as the intertwined crises they are."

The Challenge

Northern Ghana is experiencing increasingly severe climate impacts: erratic rainfall, prolonged droughts, and rapid land degradation are shrinking the natural resources that both farming and herding communities depend on. This intensifying scarcity is a primary driver of conflict, as competition for land, water, and pasture grows between communities.

Yet most peacebuilding interventions in the region treat conflict as a social problem alone, ignoring its environmental and climate dimensions. And most climate adaptation programmes ignore the conflict context that makes communities vulnerable. RESILIENT–Ghana is designed to bridge this gap — addressing both simultaneously through a youth-centred, community-driven approach.

Three Integrated Pillars

01
Climate Justice & Education Building climate literacy among youth, farmers, and herders, with a focus on how climate change drives resource competition and community tensions — and what communities can do about it.
02
Peacebuilding & Reconciliation Using restorative dialogues, healing circles, and community sports to reduce tensions, rebuild trust, and create shared spaces for conflict prevention and resolution.
03
Sustainable Resource Management Supporting communities to jointly develop and adopt sustainable practices for managing shared natural resources — reducing the competition that underlies conflict.
04
Youth Leadership Training and deploying Climate Justice Ambassadors — young people from farming and herding backgrounds — as the primary agents of change in their own communities.

Key Activities

Climate Justice Ambassador Training Intensive training for youth on climate science, justice advocacy, facilitation, and sustainable resource management.
Intergenerational Dialogues Structured dialogues across generations and communities to explore the climate–conflict nexus and develop shared solutions.
Restorative Healing Circles Facilitated circles to address harm, grief, and trauma from climate and conflict impacts, and to rebuild relationships between communities.
Community Sports for Peace Cross-community tournaments designed to foster friendships, reduce prejudice, and build a sense of shared identity across farmer–herder divides.
Resource Management Workshops Practical workshops with farmers and herders on climate-smart land and water management, co-developed with community input.
Civil Society Partnerships Collaboration with local civil society organisations, traditional authorities, and district assemblies to anchor and sustain the project's impact.

Expected Outcomes

  • Trained Climate Justice Ambassadors active in target communities across Northern Ghana
  • Reduced climate-driven farmer–herder conflicts in project communities
  • Improved climate literacy and adaptive capacity among target communities
  • Stronger social cohesion and trust across farming and herding communities
  • Joint community agreements on sustainable management of shared natural resources
  • Greater youth and women leadership in both climate action and peacebuilding
  • A documented, evidence-based model for addressing the climate–conflict nexus in Northern Ghana

Why RESILIENT–Ghana Matters

The climate–conflict nexus is one of the most pressing and least addressed challenges in Northern Ghana. Communities that once managed their differences are finding it harder to do so as climate change shrinks the resources they depend on. Young people — who make up the majority of the population — are disproportionately affected and yet hold the greatest potential to drive change.

RESILIENT–Ghana places youth at the intersection of two of the region's most urgent challenges: climate change and conflict. By addressing them together — not separately — the project works toward a future where communities are not just less violent, but genuinely more resilient.

Partner with Us to Fund RESILIENT–Ghana

We are actively seeking funding partners, institutional donors, and strategic collaborators to bring this initiative to communities across Northern Ghana.

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