Ghana has secured a $4.5 million initiative from the Korean Government to strengthen the country’s capacity to protect its forts and castles from the growing impacts of climate change.

The five-year Korea-Ghana Heritage Project on Climate Change Impact on Forts and Castles of Ghana World Heritage Property will run from 2026 to 2030.

Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Abla Dzifa Gomashie, announced the initiative on Monday, August 10, when she took her turn at the Government Accountability Series.

She said the project had become necessary as Ghana’s coastal heritage sites face increasing threats from climate change, including coastal erosion, flooding, salt-induced deterioration, structural instability and extreme weather conditions.

The initiative will initially focus on six heritage sites in the Greater Accra Region: Ussher Fort and James Fort in Jamestown, Christiansborg Castle in Osu, Fort Augustaborg in Teshie, Fort Vernon in Prampram, and Fort Fredensborg at Old Ningo.

According to the Minister, the project aligns with the UNESCO World Heritage Climate Action Policy, the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDGs 11 and 13, as well as recommendations of the World Heritage Committee.

She said the initiative would establish a scientific climate-risk assessment and monitoring system for the selected heritage sites while developing national and site-level policies to guide climate-responsive heritage conservation.

It will also seek to strengthen the institutional and technical capacity of agencies responsible for heritage management, develop integrated data systems and climate-risk mapping, and promote greater participation by local communities and other stakeholders.

The project is expected to involve government institutions, technical agencies, local communities, academia and international partners.

Ms Gomashie said Ghana had already begun benefiting from capacity-building opportunities under the initiative.

“Six experts drawn from various stakeholder organisations have received two weeks intensive training in climate change response policy for forts and castles in South Korea,” she said.

She added that six site managers would undergo two months of training in site management in South Korea between October and November 2026, with additional training and skills development opportunities expected throughout the five-year project.

The Minister said the initiative would also strengthen Ghana’s contribution to regional and international discussions on climate and heritage conservation.

The project will officially be launched on August 26, 2026, at the forecourt of the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture.

The launch will be attended by Ghanaian officials and counterparts from the Korean Commission for UNESCO and the Ghana Commission for UNESCO.