Multi-stakeholder forums have been set up to resolve land use conflicts in northern Ghana.

From farmers and bosses to local NGOs to the government, stakeholders of the Western Wildlife Corridor in Ghana raised concerns about self-governance, livelihoods and land and resources at the COLANDS initiative.

Although cooperation in landscaping for nature, development and sustainability (COLANDS) began in 2019, the Covide-19 Epidemiological Control Steps in April 2022 in Ghana was the first opportunity for all participants to meet in person.

Resolving land disputes was a major theme during the workshop.

According to Emmanuel Yaboah, Regional Manager of the Forest Service Division of the Ghana Forest Commission, land use conflicts occur when agricultural, livestock, mining and other productivity processes compete with environmental, social and biodiversity conservation goals. Workshop.

He stressed the need for all stakeholders to be involved in multi-stakeholder forums, adequate financial support and strong human and technical resources to continue the project.

Multi-stakeholder forums – meetings of all parties interested in the landscape – are important for discussions between different groups that do not regularly talk to each other. When they get together, they get to know each other, exchange knowledge and experience, and build each other’s strengths.

“Wherever we find ourselves, it is good to share information so that we do not duplicate the efforts of another person and to ensure the continuity of what others have started,” said one participant. Anonymous.

The key objectives of these forums are natural resource management, administration, discussion and training.

“I want to bring this idea here, to see how much better we can see as a group,” said one who was concerned about the potential land dispute.

Harm is high During the workshop, there were concerns about farmers’ invasion of forests, population growth, and land demand.

Ghana, along with Indonesia and Zambia, is a CIFOR-ICRAF COLANDS initiative run by CIFOR.

Previously, to determine the exact scope of the project in northern Ghana, the mission’s conclusion was that priority areas should prioritize “community-based natural resource management areas,” simply known as CREMA. The CREMA model was established by the Government of Ghana in In the early 2000s, biodiversity was involved in the conservation and sustainable use of natural resources.

Significant Challenges Facing Sustainable Land Use in the Region Forest fires, illegal forests (especially expensive rose wood)Erinaceous pterocarpus), Charcoal production, wildlife hunting, gold frying, agricultural expansion into the forest reserve, and pastoralists, especially Fulani herdsmen, speak of three areas visited by Colombia.

Accordingly, the efforts made by COLANDS in Ghana so far have focused on the basic, bottom-up of individuals living and working on the landscape, said Terry Sunderland, COLANDS team leader and professor at the University of British Columbia.

“This project is based on the involvement of local stakeholders and, more than anyone else, who are taking the theories and implementing them in a practical way,” he said.

He said it is important to increase the knowledge and experience of the area and to understand where and why the changes took place. He gave an example of his fellow Cambodian community members who shared their knowledge of the landscape 200 years ago.

“In their interpretation of history, we have been able to provide a truly detailed chronological analysis of people’s perceptions of the landscape,” Sunderland said.

“COLANDS findings will be put into practice,” he said.

The next steps include agreeing on key indicators on the Ghanaian landscape that could later be used for monitoring to assess whether the forums are achieving the desired results.

Northern Ghana is the country’s largest landlocked country and covers 60 percent of the country. Due to its proximity to the Sahel region, the climate is hot and dry with only one rainy season. The landscape is covered with vast grasslands, and scattered savana woodland is characterized by drought-tolerant trees, such as Shea. (Vitellaria paradoxa) African locust bean (Parkia Biglobosa), Baabab (Adansonia digitata) And Garr.

Participants in the workshop included representatives of the Wildlife Section and Forest Service, the Ghana Forest Commission, the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Water Resources Commission and the Ghana Shea Landscaping Reduction Project. Non-governmental organizations and others represented include Erocha Ghana, Savannah Fruit Company, ORGIIS Ghana, TREE AID Ghana, the Shia Cooperative Union and the Fulani Association of Ghana.

COLANDS is part of the Global Climate Initiative (IKI) and is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Environment and Nuclear Safety (BMU).

The doctoral dissertation, which is part of COLANDS, is hosted by the University of Amsterdam Institute of Social Sciences.

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