Co-Chairs’ Summary: Sustainable Land Use in Wassa Amenfi, Ghana

The Wassa Amenfi Landscape located in the Western Region of Ghana, is dominated by cocoa production. While 24% of the landscape is forest reserve, including two Globally Significant Biodiversity Areas (GSBAs), cocoa production is a significant driver of forest degradation. In addition, complicated tree and land tenure systems and mining operations pose major challenges. The Ghana Land Use Dialogue (LUD) is supported by the IUCN’s Stabilizing Land Use Project (PLUS), which intends to improve landscape governance of forest ecosystems, in turn influencing decision making at the landscape and national levels. 

 

The overall objective of the Wassa Amenfi Land Use Dialogue was to promote effective governance within the landscape, integrating local farmers, community members, regional and international NGOs and organizations, private companies and government institutions. It was also to provide input and data for the development of a Landscape Management Strategy (LMS) which would provide a broader vision for natural resources management and guide each district’s strategies towards achievement of this broader vision. The LMS would also build synergies with other landscape and national policies such as the District Assembly Medium Term Development Plans, a four-year plan designed to use a bottom-up approach to respond to community needs and national priorities.