Project Title: SMART Agro-Ecosystems
Implementing Partner: LINK- Ghana
Funding Pertner: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Villages / towns: Navrongo area, including the villages of Katiu, Kayoro and Basisan
Number of communities and beneficiaries: 10 communities, with a total of 250 direct beneficiaries
Country: Ghana
The community-based forestry initiative in Northern Ghana bordering Burkina Faso focuses on addressing the pressing challenges of climate change, deforestation, and forest loss. This project, which began in June 2023 and is set to run through December 2024, covers communities in remote areas affected by these environmental changes. Utilizing the CREMA (Community Resource Management Area) approach, the initiative fosters sustainable land and forest management.
Key themes include sustainable honey production, indigenous seedling planting (including dawa-dawa and shea trees), fuel wood reduction through energy-saving stoves, and promoting women’s leadership in community-based forestry. The initiative spans 69 000 hectares near the Burkina Faso border and includes cross-border collaboration to share knowledge and practices with mixed families across the region.
This project aims to build climate resilience, enhance biodiversity, and provide sustainable livelihoods through community engagement, training, and innovative approaches, while preserving the ancestral knowledge passed down through generations.
The initiative highlights the cross-border collaboration between communities in northern Ghana and Burkina Faso, demonstrating how shared challenges such as deforestation and climate change can be addressed collectively. By implementing a CREMA approach, the initiative fosters a sense of joint responsibility in sustainable forest management across national borders, where knowledge, resources, and best practices are exchanged seamlessly between communities.
The project encompasses a range of activities beyond seedling cultivation, including sustainable honey production, fire prevention measures, and the introduction of energy-efficient stoves, all aimed at reducing environmental damage and improving livelihoods. This collaborative, cross-border model shows how community-driven forestry efforts can transcend boundaries, enhancing regional cooperation and fostering sustainable land management practices.
NB: Kindly use the pictures in the link below