Department of Forest Ecology, Tropical Sirviculture Unit, University of Helsinki, Finland

2001

This paper, published in the Environment, Development and Sustainability journal in 2001, presents findings of an evaluation of the Joint Forest Management Project initiated by two timber companies in collaboration with local authorities and farmers in Gwira-Banso, Ghana. The goal was to develop a sustainable forest management system in the region that supports both economic development and environmental quality. This 1998 study found that communication, financial support, tree planting, multiple land use, and benefit sharing are essential for co-partnership in forest management. The project enjoyed a great deal of support from the local community, but a number of factors made the continued support of local people a challenging task, including questions of immediate livelihood sources and tenure arrangements.

The participatory communication strategy employed involved: (1) meetings with chiefs, elders, and farmers to discuss their experience in forest management; (2) educational workshops to improve conditions of land exploitation; and (3) the incorporation of local representatives to the project steering committee.

Evaluation/Research Methodologies:

This study evaluated the impact of a forest co-management system through a multi-method approach employing analysis of archival documents, surveys of farmers, and interviews with key stakeholders (industry personnel, tribal authorities, and representatives of the District Assembly and Joint Forest Management Project). The analysis of archival data included relevant literature such as the project progress report, conference documents, and federal and industry policy documents.

Survey data were collected from two different populations: farmers and key informants. The first sample encompassed the heads of 100 farming households randomly selected from existing settlements within the concession. The questionnaire inquired the socioeconomic background of the people, attitudes towards the project as whole, their role and level of participation, and perceived opportunities, successes and constraints of the project.

The second sample consisted of 15 key informants. They were identified as people with particular insights or opinions about the project. The key informants included staff members of the project, the Chief of the Traditional Council, the Head of the District Assembly, two regional heads of the Forestry Department, the Chief Conservator of Forest, and representatives of a land administration research centre and a university. Information was solicited in: (i) characteristics of the farming operations, (ii) project initiatives, (iii) level of participation in the project activities, (iv) views on how such a partnership could be sustained, (v) opinions on other issues such as land tenure, achievements of the project, and obstacles facing the joint implementation of the project.

Key Findings/Impact:

This evaluation suggests that the application of participatory strategies was effective in the implementation of a sustainable forest co-management system. The study found evidence of positive impacts on environmental conditions as well as on the local economy.

Survey responses revealed that three years after the project was established, about 50% of all farms planted trees supporting local reforestation efforts and the timber economy. Economic reasons were widely cited as main factors behind these changes. Farmers learned that planting new trees could prevent the risk of excessive dependency on cocoa crops, potentially opening new markets and increasing income in the long run. Another reason cited by farmers as motivation for planting trees was the economic incentives offered by the Community Development Fund. Survey responses also suggested that agricultural practices had changed over the period of the project intervention, replacing slash-and-burn field activities with more environmentally sensible methods.

Based on these findings, the author offers the following recommendations on forest management strategies:

1. Designing co-management systems that are broadly based on mainstream local cultural traditions, thereby building trust with participants.
2. Balancing varying stakeholders' interests to prioritise activities by employing participatory methods, and to build consensus with the variety of user groups involved.
3. Designing a well-functioning economic incentives system (e.g., food aid, subsidised agricultural inputs, provision of early-maturing crops) that supports the activity of farmers involved in the project.
4. Formulating co-management agreements that clearly establish systems of rights and obligations.
5. Incorporating traditional knowledge and attitudes in using traditional crops.
6. Providing a national legal framework that protects tenant farmers and their co-tenants from the loss of their land rights.

Appiah, M. (2001). Co-partnership in forest management: The Gwira-Banso joint forest management project in Ghana. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 3 (4), 343-360; and email from Dr. Mark Appiah to The Communication Initiative on August 5 2006.