Natural Resource Management Schemes as Entry Points for Integrated Landscape Approaches: Evidence from Ghana and Burkina Faso

Samson Foli,Mirjam A F Ros-Tonen,James Reed,Terry Sunderland

doi:10.1007/s00267-017-0866-8

Samson Foli, Mirjam A F Ros-Tonen + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-017-0866-8

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Abstract

In recognition of the failures of sectoral approaches to overcome global challenges of biodiversity loss, climate change, food insecurity and poverty, scientific discourse on biodiversity conservation and sustainable development is shifting towards integrated landscape governance arrangements. Current landscape initiatives however very much depend on external actors and funding, raising the question of whether, and how, and under what conditions, locally embedded resource management schemes can serve as entry points for the implementation of integrated landscape approaches. This paper assesses the entry point potential for three established natural resource management schemes in West Africa that target landscape degradation with involvement of local communities: the Chantier d’Aménagement Forestier scheme encompassing forest management sites across Burkina Faso and the Modified Taungya System and community wildlife resource management initiatives in Ghana. Based on a review of the current literature, we analyze the extent to which design principles that define a landscape approach apply to these schemes. We found that the CREMA meets most of the desired criteria, but that its scale may be too limited to guarantee effective landscape governance, hence requiring upscaling. Conversely, the other two initiatives are strongly lacking in their design principles on fundamental components regarding integrated approaches, continual learning, and capacity building. Monitoring and evaluation bodies and participatory learning and negotiation platforms could enhance the schemes’ alignment with integrated landscape approaches.

Highlights

In sub-Saharan Africa, close to 600 million people are dependent on forests for food and/or income, and many of those are food insecure (Ickowitz et al 2014; Koffi et al 2016)
Productive land uses, principally cereal cropping and agro-pastoralism, are often combined with the harvest, processing and sale of wood and nontimber forest products (NTFPs), which in turn contribute to food security (Boffa 1999; Koffi et al 2016)
This paper explored whether, and how, three natural resource management (NRM) initiatives in Ghana and Burkina Faso that integrate landscape and livelihood objectives of local populations can provide entry points for the implementation of integrated landscape approaches

Summary

Introduction

In sub-Saharan Africa, close to 600 million people are dependent on forests for food and/or income, and many of those are food insecure (Ickowitz et al 2014; Koffi et al 2016). Facing insecurities related to forest decline, loss of biodiversity and erosion of ecosystem services, many are vulnerable to the impacts of climate change (Bele et al 2015; Mantyka-Pringle et al 2015). Recent environmental discourse calls for the integrated governance of natural resources and integrating conservation efforts with opportunities for rural economic development and increased resilience to climatic vicissitudes (Sachs et al 2009; Scherr et al 2012; Minang et al 2014; Sunderland et al 2015). An integrated landscape approach is a framework that attempts to reconcile social, environmental, and economic development with biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation (Kozar et al 2014). Several authors have developed principles and tools that can guide research and decision-making on multifunctional landscapes (Sayer et al 2013; Ros-Tonen et al 2014; Reed et al 2015; Chia and Sufo 2016), yet it remains unclear how these principles can be fully operationalized in specific contexts (Reed et al 2017)

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