A REDD Solution to a Green Problem: Using REDD plus to Address Deforestation in Ghana through Benefit Sharing and Community Self-empowerment
| DOI | 10.3366/ajicl.2014.0081 |
| Pages | 80-102 |
| Published date | 01 February 2014 |
| Date | 01 February 2014 |
| Author | William Daniel Nartey |
When you enter a grove peopled with ancient trees, higher than the ordinary and shutting out the sky with their thickly intertwined branches, do not the stately shadows of the wood, the stillness of the place, and the awful gloom of this doomed cavern then strike you with the presence of a deity?
As the ancient Roman philosopher correctly observed, a reverent presence is felt when one enters the forest. Its composition of still beauty and the feel of protection it generates confirm that it is indeed God's gift to humanity. Then should humans not be thankful for this gift bestowed upon them, accord it with respect, and treat it with the utmost care? Unfortunately, man's desire for economic wealth and a need for survival have led to a reckless and negligible attitude toward the use and care of the world's forests.
The process of converting forests into non-forests deforestation claims 17 million hectares of the world's tropical forests each year.
M. K. Hoyt, Note, ‘Breaking the Trade Barrier: Common Property Solutions to Tropical Deforestation’, 5
R. S. Abate and T. A. Wright, ‘A Green Solution to Climate Change: The Hybrid Approach to Crediting Reductions in Tropical Deforestation’, 20
B. Chase, ‘Tropical Forests and Trade Policy: The Legality of Unilateral Attempts to Promote Sustainable Development under the GATT’, 17
Ghana is located on the West Africa's Gulf of Guinea, in a tropical climate, a few degrees north of the equator. It has a total land area of 238,540 square kilometres of which the land area constitutes 230,020 square kilometres.
J. K. Teye, ‘Deforestation in Ghana’,
Ghana is no stranger to the problem of deforestation. The developing country's rainforest has been decreasing rapidly and significantly over time. The condition of Ghana's forests has been in decline for many years, particularly since the 1970s.
Forestry Commission of Ghana,
E. Abotsi, ‘Ghana's Environmental Framework Law and the Balancing of Interests’, in M. Faure and W. du Plessis (eds),
The immediate drivers of deforestation are: (1) policy and market failures in the timber sector; (2) growing population in rural and urban areas, which increases local demand for agricultural and wood products; (3) high demand for wood and forest products on the international market; (4) heavy dependence on charcoal and wood fuel for rural and urban energy; and (5) slash and burn agricultural practices destroying the fertility of lands.
Forestry Commission of Ghana,
Forestry Commission of Ghana,
TED Case Studies,
The Ghanaian government is vested with management and commercial rights of natural resources on all public lands, including customary lands in the national interest, even though ownership rights to these lands may be retained by stools or communities.
Constitution of the Republic of Ghana 1992, article 257(6).
These vested designations include many forest lands upon which these communities dwell. In addition, the laws direct all benefits and revenue from minerals on these lands exclusively to the governmentThe government holds the exclusive right to grant logging and mining licences as it deems proper and which typically provide minimal financial and economic benefit to the affected communities and stakeholders. The licensees, including commercial timber companies upon completion of timber logging activities, often fail to regenerate the forest area felled thereby leaving forest land bare. These companies also regularly exceed the scope of their licence by logging beyond their designated areas. These activities are conducted without the fear of serious reprimands because of lack of adequate oversight by the Forestry Commission.
The lack of oversight is due to a lack of resources to monitor the vast amounts of land for which logging licences are granted.
Interview with Mr Richard Dornu Nartey, Former Minister of Lands and Forestry, Fourth Republic of Ghana (25 September 2012).
Another reason for this defiant attitude of the commercial timber logging companies is due to corruption among forestry officers designated to monitor the forest, who may be paid off. Observed in other parts of the world as a common phenomenon, corruption thrives especially well in the forestry sector.M. L. Brown, ‘Limiting Corrupt Incentives in a Global REDD Regime’, 37(1)
For the forest-dwelling communities, deforestation is an essential part of their income, as agricultural expansion and logging activities contribute to their economic stability. Due to the absolute power in the State in the appropriation of financial benefits from the minerals and other natural resources on forest lands, actively combating deforestation is not a primary agenda for forest-dwelling communities because it threatens their very economic existence. A balance between government and local community economic interests is a necessary goal that must be achieved to effectively address the country's deforestation problem.
The government, through adoption of a policy, should recognise carbon rights as a natural resource and some of its management and benefit rights must be focused toward the forest communities who directly impact its production. Like other countries with tropical high forests, Ghana is in the early stages of grappling with the opportunities and challenges posed by carbon finance and REDD.
Katoomba XV,
REDD refers to efforts and strategies to reduce GHG emissions from deforestation in developing countries. The idea of REDD was conceived in 2005 by developing countries, as their important way of contributing to solving the problem of climate change, and also supporting their economies. REDD plus is an extension of REDD that delineates specific conservation activities, and is the most developed method of forest conservation. It allows governments and private companies to offset their own carbon emissions by paying to keep forests standing, and, in effect, purchasing the carbon that is stored inside.
J. Vidal, ‘Q&A: Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD)’,
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