1.10 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND Krachi East Municipality which is in the Oti Region of the Republic of Ghana was carved out of the former Krachi District with its administrative capital at Dambai. The Municipality was established by Legislative Instrument (L.I. 1755). The Assembly was inaugurated on the 19th of August, 2004 at Dambai. Subsequently, it was elevated to the status of a Municipality by Legislative Instrument (L.I. 2281) on 14th November, 2017. 1.11 GEOPHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS 1.11.1 Location and size The Municipality is located at Oti Region of Ghana and lies between latitudes 7º 40’N and 8º 15’N and longitudes 0º 6’E and 0º20’E. It is bounded to the South West by Krachi West District, North West by Krachi Nchumuru District, Biakoye to the South East, Kadjebi District to the East, and Nkwanta South to the North. It has a total surface area of 2759.4 sq. km with water covering about 15%.This location places the Municipality at a strategic position – the central point between the Northern and Southern parts of the Eastern corridor of Ghana.The Municipality can therefore take advantage of its strategic location to invest in gateway programmes to both the Southern and Northern Ghana. Similarly, strategic facilities of national importance aimed at wider coverage for both the southern and northern Ghana can be conveniently located in the Municipality to achieve the desired results. Being strategically located in the transitional zone, the Municipality has the advantage of experiencing mixed climatic conditions that has both positive and adverse implications for the Municipality’s development. Maps 1, 2 and 3 show the Municipality in the National context, in the Regional context and the Municipality context respectively. Figure 1: Map of Krachi East in the National Context Figure 2: Map of Krachi East in the Regional Context Figure 3: Map of Krachi East Municipality 1.11.2 Relief and Drainage The Municipality lies between the Northern parts of the central uplands with hills ranging between 850m to 1000m above sea level around Asukawkaw and Katanga areas. The Northern part of the Municipality is part of the North Western Savanna Zone of the Oti region which is characterized by almost flat relief with slopes ranging between 85m and 300m above sea level. The Municipality is drained by the Volta Lake which forms the boundary between the Municipality and the Krachi Nchumuru and Krachi West Districts. The Asukawkaw River is another major river that drains the Municipality and also marks the end of the Municipality to Biakoye District. Other water bodies found in the Municipality include numerous intermittent streams located in most parts of the Municipality. These water bodies constitute important resources for the people as most of them depend on them for household use, fishing and transportation. Similarly, the major hills present great potentials for the development of Tourism in the area. However, the topography does not allow for easy road development and most of the communities in the area are accessible only by foot paths through the high terrains. Generally, the area is well drained except that few portions located close to the major rivers and streams become waterlog and pose problems for human and vehicular movement in the rainy seasons. The water bodies also create large expanse of river banks that offer enviable advantage for rice cultivation. 1.11.3 Climate The mean maximum temperature is 300C usually recorded in March while mean minimum temperature is 25.50C usually recorded in August. The Municipality experiences an alternating wet and dry seasons each year. The rainfall pattern is single maxima towards the northern part of the Municipality with the rains occurring in April to October and double maxima at the south eastern tip. August is usually the peak of the rains. Mean annual rainfall is 1,300mm.The dry season starts from November to March. Relative humidity is high in the rainy season, about 85% and very low in the dry season (25%) especially during the harmattan period which hits the Municipality from November to January. This climatic pattern is good for food crop production and to a lower extent, forest development. However, the concentration of the rains in six (6) months affect farming since most parts of the year when rains are off is usually declared as “off farming” and the people spend most of this period idling. Similarly, the pattern also affect accessibility as most of the community access roads become flooded with water hence making transportation almost impossible during rainy seasons. 1.11.4 Vegetation The Municipality is located in the transitional zone between the Northern Savannah and the Moist Semi Deciduous forest. About 75% of the Municipality is covered with savannah grass land characterized by short drought resistant trees notable among them are shea, dawadawa, etc. This type of open vegetation is predominant at the northern parts of the Municipality. Significant portion of forest vegetation could be found in the Municipality especially at the southern part characterized by forest tree species such as Odum, Wawa, Mahogany etc. Fringing vegetation can also be found along the major rivers that drain the Municipality. 1.11.5 Soils The major soils found in the Municipality include the Techiman Association, mainly sandy soil found in the north, Kplesawgu Association (sandy clay soil) in the mid portions and southern tip, and the Dormabin-Dentesso Association (silty sand) found around Dormabin. It was discovered that no soil management practice is being practised in the Municipality. This coupled with continuous cultivation resulted to wide spread loss of soil fertility in most parts of the Municipality. These soil types described above is good for the cultivation of both cash and food crops such as maize, millet, groundnut, as well as roots and tubers such as cassava and yam. The soils along the river banks support large scale rice farming and those at south eastern tip support cocoa cultivation. Few patches of clay soil were also discovered around Asukawkaw area and that could be very useful for development of the pottery industry that could serve as an alternative source of livelihood to farmers especially during the dry seasons. 1.12 BIODIVERSITY, CLIMATE CHANGE, GREEN ECONOMY AND THE ENVIRONMENT The Municipality is vulnerable to the effects of climate change because of the dependence of much of its population on agriculture, particularly rain-fed agriculture. Climate variability and change is a threat to the Municipality’s natural resources including water, vegetation, fisheries and biodiversity in general. Climate change in the Municipality is manifested through: (i) rising temperatures, (ii) declining rainfall totals and increased variability, (iii) high incidence of weather extremes and disasters. 1.12.1 Climate Change Impacts in the Municipality Agriculture: Agriculture which is the largest employer within the Municipality suffers the most from climate change. Inadequate rainfall amounts have impacted negatively on crop production causing fluctuations in total production thereby affecting livelihoods of many in rural areas. The rising temperatures and frequent droughts that experienced every year increase the incidences of bushfires yearly and other environmental problems. The Fall Army Worm infestation that hit the Municipality in 2017 affected 145.8 hectares of farmland with 144 male farmers and 20 female farmers affected. Impacts on the Social Sectors: Increases in temperature has caused a proliferation of the malaria-carrying mosquitoes leading to 44,783 reported cases of malaria in 2017. (Source: Health Directorate, 2017). Impacts on Infrastructure: Climate change continues to impact negatively on infrastructure such as residential accommodation and educational structures across the Municipality. The flooding that hit the Municipality in the year 2017 affected forty nine (49) buildings. 1.12.2 Natural and Built Environment The quality of both the natural and built environment is vital for the sustainable growth and development of the Municipality. Developmental initiatives can only be meaningful and sustainable when it is founded on a well-managed and healthy built environment. To this end the protection of natural environment to prevent deforestation, land degradation and loss of ecosystem is paramount. The Municipality’s Natural and Built Environment are therefore examined in this section. 1.12.2.1 Natural Environment The Municipality’s Natural environment is characterized by numerous problems emanating from the rainfall pattern, nature of soils, use of energy resources, farming and household activities. The pattern of rainfall experienced in the Municipality to a large extent contributes to the environmental degradation of the Municipality. From November to March when the rains are off, the area becomes dry and the vegetation is destroyed by bush fires leaving the land bare. This serves as avenue for extensive soil erosion when the rains set-in in April. This phenomenon has led to extensive land degradation in most parts of the Municipality. Significant portions of the Municipality abound with clay soils and this poses serious problems for human and vehicular movement due to the floods that are normally associated with clay with the onset of the rains. According to the 2010 Population and Housing Census, about 94.1 percent households depend on wood and charcoal as the main source of energy. The collection of wood and the burning of charcoal lead to environmental degradation