Nestled in the northern reaches of the Togo-Atakora Mountains, Ghana’s South Afadzato landscape encompasses over 180,000 hectares of forests, grasslands and agricultural areas. The area is drained by the Volta and Dayi Rivers and holds ecological and cultural significance, featuring sacred groves and iconic landmarks, including the country’s highest waterfall and mountain. Its rich biodiversity includes endangered species from both savannah and forest ecosystems, like the Red River Hog (Potamochoerus pocus), which is becoming increasingly rare across Ghana due to the disappearance of riverine forests.

COMDEKS Phase 4 discussions on medicinal plants with community members in the South Afadzato landscape

The South Afadzato landscape is also home to more than 100 communities of the ethnic group Ewe. Unsustainable farming practices, weak governance, and limited local capacity and knowledge about conservation and sustainable management of natural resources have led to an array of compounding threats to this environment: biodiversity loss, deforestation, land degradation, and climate change impacts, such as worsening droughts and wildfires.

To address these challenges, in 2023 the Global Environment Facility Small Grants Programme (SGP), implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), launched the fourth phase of the Community Development and Knowledge Management for the Satoyama Initiative Programme (COMDEKS) in the South Afadzato landscape, which is located in the northern part of the Weto landscape, where COMDEKS Phases 1 and 2 were implemented. COMDEKS Phase 4 aims to address climate change and biodiversity loss while enhancing the well-being of local communities, thus contributing to global biodiversity targets while addressing local challenges.

It has adopted a participatory approach to support and rebuild the ecological integrity of this landscape, developing its strategy with the involvement of a broad array of stakeholders, including traditional authorities, women’s groups, smallholder farmers, and local government agencies. A baseline assessment identified the main challenges and opportunities, while a technical advisory group ensured the integration of lessons learned from earlier COMDEKS phases.

This led to the definition of four goals focused on sustainable ecosystem management, ecosystem restoration, carbon stock enhancement and livelihood development. To achieve these goals, SGP is currently supporting six projects that integrate traditional knowledge with innovative practices across 22 communities in the South Afadzato landscape.

Project snapshot
Two of these projects build on experiences from COMDEKS Phases 1 and 2 to ensure the restoration and sustainable management of the landscape ecosystem with six communities. These initiatives are restoring the buffer zones around four sacred forests, with nearly 10,000 Indigenous plant species raised in community tree nurseries and planted by local farmers.

They have also created micro, small, and medium enterprises on poultry, pig and small ruminant rearing, as well as economic incentives for communities to conserve biodiversity by integrating non-timber forest products in farms and forested areas. Additionally, the projects are setting up village saving groups and partnerships with the private sector for assured markets for biodiversity products, benefitting over 240 people, most of them women.

Besides community level initiatives, COMDEKS funding is supporting civil society organizations to initiate dialogues among government, private sector, civil society and other stakeholders at the district level to promote integrated landscape conservation in relevant policies and plans, including local development plans, disaster risk reduction, agriculture, forestry, fisheries, tourism.

Societies in harmony with nature
Launched in 2011 as a flagship programme of the Satoyama Initiative, COMDEKS is a global effort to promote the sustainable use of natural resources in landscapes and seascapes with local communities whose livelihoods and cultural heritage depend on them. It provides small-scale finance through SGP directly to local communities, Indigenous Peoples and civil society to implement locally-led projects that improve livelihoods and well-being, conserve biodiversity, address climate change, build resilience and support local cultures and traditional practices. Launched in 2022, COMDEKS Phase 4 is funded by the Ministry of the Environment Japan and the Keidanren Nature Conservation Council, and is implemented by the SGP.

UNDP/SGP Ghana