A Review of Reforestation Approaches in Ghana: Sustainability and Genuine Local Participation Lessons for Implementing REDD+ Activities

2015

English

The sustainable management of reforestation activities is increasingly dependent upon local communities' cooperation and participation. However, their involvement in project activities has been challenging because of conflicting interests in forest utilization on the one hand, and conservation on the other. In Ghana, for instance, this challenge is compounded by unclear government land use policies. However, while these challenges remain, there are some steps that can still be taken in order to secure the long-term commitment of local people to the governance and management of reforestation projects. This article reviews research findings on reforestation projects focusing on four cases in Ghana with high levels of achievement of sustainability indicators. The review provides an overview of the key sustainable approaches utilized that could become a model for sustainable management of “Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation plus” (REDD+) activities involving reforestation and livelihood development elsewhere. While seeking improved forest policy, a pressing need is to build the capacity of local people and institutions to manage integrated tree-crop systems independently and also to include all social groups in management and decision-making. The projects’ initiators took steps to ensure land tenure confidence, as opposed to outright ownership (which is difficult to achieve), and suggest that it has been one of the main drivers in achieving successful local commitments.

Appiah, M.; Fagg, M.; Pappinen, A.