Livelihood trends in Response to Climate Change in Forest Fringe Communities of the Offin Basin in Ghana

Research Highlights: Landscape approach principles were developed to address competing claims on resources at local scales. We used the principles to address agricultural expansion in Ghana’s forest reserves. Background and Objectives: Agricultural expansion is a major cause of Ghana’s forest-cover loss. Cultivation has totally deforested some forest reserves. The situation in Ghana illustrates the trade-off between attaining the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). SDG 1—reduction of poverty, and 2—achieving food security, are in conflict with SDG 15—protecting and restoring forests. We examined how farmers in forest fringe communities could be engaged in restoring degraded forests using the landscape approach and whether their livelihoods were improved through the use of this approach. Materials and Methods: The Ongwam II Forest Reserve in the Ashanti region of Ghana is encroached by farmers from two communities adjacent to the reserve. We employed the 10 principles of the landscape approach to engage farmers in restoring the degraded reserve. The flexibility of the landscape approach provided a framework against which to assess farmer behaviour. We encouraged farmers to plant trees on 10 ha of the degraded reserve and to benefit through the cultivation of food crops amongst the trees. Results: Access to fertile forest soils for cultivation was the main motivation for the farmers to participate in the reforestation project. The farmers’ access to natural and financial capital increased and they became food secure in the first year of the project’s operation. Conclusions: Effective implementation of several small-scale reforestation projects using the landscape approach could together lead to a forest transition, more trees in agricultural systems and better protection of residual natural forests while improving farmers’ livelihoods, all combining to achieve the SDGs.

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Shrubby and forest fringe communities of the inselberg - rainforest ecotone in Atlantic Central Africa

Plant Ecology and Evolution ◽

10.5091/plecevo.2010.404 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 143 (2) ◽

pp. 128-137 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Thomas Mignaud ◽

Bruno Senterre ◽

Jonas V. Müller ◽

Jean Lejoly ◽

Ingrid Parmentier

Keyword(s):

Central Africa ◽

Fringe Communities ◽

Forest Fringe

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Integral economics and the exploration of indigenous knowledge

Corvinus Journal of Sociology and Social Policy ◽

10.14267/cjssp.2012.02.04 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 3 (2) ◽

pp. 83-105

Author(s):

Somnath Ghosal

Keyword(s):

Value Added ◽

Forest Products ◽

Native Forest ◽

Fringe Communities ◽

Economically Deprived ◽

Non Timber Forest Products ◽

Alternative Sources ◽

Ecological Concern ◽

Value Added Products ◽

Forest Fringe

The ever-increasing pressures on tropical forests due to the increasing population of socio-economically deprived communities dwelling in forest fringe areas are not only a matter of ecological concern, but also affect the sustainable livelihoods of these communities. Alternative sources of income are urgently needed for these communities. Forest is the principal natural resource for the Purulia, Bankura and West Midnapur districts of West Bengal, India. More sustainable harvesting of forest products, particularly Non-Timber Forest Products(NTFPs) and the production of value added products would therefore be the best possible way to improve the existing economic conditions of deprived forest fringe communities and save native forest biodiversity for the future.

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Rights and Responsibilities: The Reality of Forest Fringe Communities in the Northern Region of Ghana

10.5772/intechopen.93550 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Rikiatu Husseini ◽

Stephen B. Kendie ◽

Patrick Agbesinyale

Keyword(s):

Northern Region ◽

Fringe Communities ◽

Forest Fringe

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Ethnobotanical Studies on the Use of Medicinal Plants among Forest Fringe Communities around the Kasewe Forest in Moyamba District, Southern Sierra Leone

American Journal of Plant Sciences ◽

10.4236/ajps.2021.1212135 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (12) ◽

pp. 1963-1989

Author(s):

James S. Eisah ◽

Fallah Nyumah ◽

Jonathan Johnny ◽

Joseph F. Charles

Keyword(s):

Medicinal Plants ◽

Sierra Leone ◽

Fringe Communities ◽

Forest Fringe

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Documentation of ethno-medicinal practices: A case study on tribal forest fringe dwellers of Terai West Bengal in India

Journal of Applied and Natural Science ◽

10.31018/jans.v7i2.689 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 7 (2) ◽

pp. 822-827 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

A. N. Dey ◽

S. Datta ◽

Bani Sharma

Keyword(s):

Plant Species ◽

West Bengal ◽

Traditional Practices ◽

Sustainable Utilization ◽

Survey Period ◽

Plant Resources ◽

Fringe Communities ◽

Indigenous Plant ◽

Forest Fringe

The ethno-medicinal practices were documented which were being used by tribal population dwelling forest fringe areas of Terai zone of West Bengal, India on under exploited, non conventional, traditional and indigenous plant species for the sustainable utilization of these resources to cure day to day ailments. A total number of forty seven medicinal plant species belonging to 25 families were documented during the survey period 2012-13, which was used in curing many diseases. Among the families, Euphorbiaceae, Zingeberaceae and Leguminosae were the dominant families that represented four species each. Herb was the highest proportion of plant species 18 (38%) followed by 15 tree species (32%), 8 species of shrubs (17%) and rest were climbers and fern. It was observed that the tribal forest fringe communities of the Terai zone of the West Bengal have a good ethno-medicinal knowledge of using plant resources and developed their own traditional practices to cure day to day diseases.

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