Sustaining community forestry in the Kassena - Nankana district of Ghana: problems and prospects

Abstract

The paper examines factors accounting for sustainable community forestry projects in the Kassena-Nankana District of Ghana. Semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions, transect walks and observation techniques were used to collect data. The paper demonstrates that existing local organizational structures that support forestry projects, community members' participation in project decision-making, external support and protection of the forests from bush fires contribute to sustainability. The paper shows that in the Kassena-Nankana District: • Community participation in decision-making for forestry projects is low at 27%. • There exists local organizational structure in all the sampled communities. • There exists a high incidence of bushfires on community forestry projects. • There exists external support for community forestry projects in the district. Hence, it concludes that: • The practice of tree planting (community forestry) is gaining ground rapidly in the district, but the culture of caring for planted trees is still poor. • The district has high potential in sustaining community forestry projects. • Socio-economic constraints emanate from their low level of formal educational achievement that limits their access to information and zeal to mobilize external resources to support the projects. Ghana Journal of Development Studies Vol. 2(2) 2005: 77-90