Ghana and three other West African countries are to benefit from a 70 million-Euro grant from Spain, to manage projects pertaining to the environment. The other beneficiary countries are Senegal, Cameroon and Ivory Coast. Mrs Julia Olmo, Spanish Ambassador, made this known in Accra on Wednesday, when she called on Ms Sherry Ayittey, Minister of Environment, Science and Technology (MEST) in Accra on Wednesday. Mrs Olmo said under the grant, Spain was going to lend support in renewable energy, adding that the money would be presented to Heads of State, at a meeting to be held in Abuja on June 27, this year. According to her, Spain was the second in global solar energy and third in windmill energy, stressing that her country was ready to offer immense support to Ghana to develop wind and solar energies in rural areas as well as water resource management. She said her country was also concerned about the effects of climate change, hence the need to lend more support to other developing countries. Mrs Olmo expressed the need for concerted efforts, to protect coastal and marine pollution, emphasising that about 50 per cent of her country’s population depended on fishing. She said her country was also offering help to Ghana in order to develop a new breed of tilapia in the Volta Basin, which could grow faster, would be bigger and more nutritious. She briefed the Minister on Spain’s development of the private sector saying, 70 per cent of its exports come from the sector. The Ambassador urged Ghana to invest in research and development, especially the protection of intellectual property rights in order to protect the private sector. Ms Ayittey recounted the numerous pollutions in the country’s marine and coastal areas, as well as the waste management issues facing metropolitan and district assemblies. The Minister urged Spain to assist Ghana to curtail the pollution to improve the stock of fish. “We want to create programmes that would provide more food for people in a healthy and clean environment.” She said government was concerned about the need to protect intellectual property, which was key to the development of scientific innovation. She was grateful to the government of Spain for offering Ghana assistance to develop wind and solar energies saying this would go a long way to help health facilities in the rural areas. Source: GNA TMA/JA 03 June 09