Protected areas, in their various forms, remain the leading strategy for the conservation of biodiversity and for the protection of nature. Yet, often the areas with the highest conservation value have overlapping geographies... [ view full abstract ]
Protected areas, in their various forms, remain the leading strategy for the conservation of biodiversity and for the protection of nature. Yet, often the areas with the highest conservation value have overlapping geographies with human communities that are highly dependent on the same natural resources. There remain persistent assumptions, throughout both the academic and the natural resource management communities, that reducing poverty and promoting alternative livelihoods will result in decreased rates of resource degradation, increased human well-being, and will promote protected area success. However, the pathways that link biodiversity conservation, protected areas, and poverty reduction remain unclear.
Like many countries in sub-Saharan Africa, Ghana has significant areas of critical ecological importance, which overlap with areas of widespread poverty. Governance systems in Ghana, intended to sustain fresh water and fertile soil, have grown increasingly complex exacerbating conflict over the right to the land and its resources. Both formal and informal governance institutions can work to reverse the processes that result in social-ecological traps, yet weak or inappropriate governance institutions can also create and exacerbate traps, leading to increasing rates of resource degradation and poverty. This presentation will use the concept of social-ecological traps to present findings from a multi-method research project focused on understanding local-level perceptions toward institutions and policies governing natural resources and protected areas in the Akwapim-Togo Mountain Range of Ghana.
Findings show a clear and growing disconnect between customary management and state led systems of natural resource management and that shifting climates, fire, and drought are among the top concerns of residents across the region. Our research deepens understandings of the relationship between traditional institutions, current state policies, and contemporary livelihoods when attempting to manage natural resources in areas that have high biodiversity value and high rates of poverty. A deeper understanding of the pathways into and out of social-ecological traps is critical to inform the production, application, and adaptation of natural resource and protected area governance arrangements.
Ecosystem: Forest , Resources: Land , Big Issues: Human-wellbeing , Big Issues: Resource use , Solutions: Governance/Management
