Characterisation and typology of urban wetlands in Ghana: Implications for the governance of urban commons in secondary cities in Africa

Abstract

Urban wetlands continue to provide essential ecosystem services to the urban populace and are largely seen as urban commons that need to be managed properly for continuous wise use of wetlands. Yet fewer studies have highlighted the characteristics as basis for the development of a typology to make it easy for differentiated and appropriate spatial, management and policy planning interventions. The study draws on urban commons and resource access theories to highlight the different land management practices, land use activities, land ownership within and around wetlands in a developing country secondary city, Kumasi. Levels of encroachment and institutional support are used to categorise wetlands in Kumasi. The findings indicate four different typologies, with many wetlands characterised by high levels of encroachment and low institutional support for the enforcement of regulations. The study attributes this to the commoditisation of wetlands due to land scarcity and failure of planning agencies to conserve urban wetlands as urban commons because of pressure from customary landowners. Underlying these shortfalls in wetland management are legislative, institutional, and spatio-political conflicts, inability of state agencies to create, protect and sustainably use wetlands, poorly defined property rights and power imbalances in the land market. Also, the major dynamics of urban wetlands were encroachment by residential, civic, and recreational uses, overlapping institutional roles and functional inefficiencies, and poor functional collaborations and synergies between the stool and the state. The results suggest that governance of urban commons will require comprehensive planning modules that engage various stakeholders at the different levels of urban planning and enforce planning legislations in consultation with urban land custodians.