Activity 1.1: Organize stakeholder engagement: the project successfully held 6 stakeholders? engagement to seek their input and buy-in on proper ways of achieving a full-scale implementation. The Engagement saw the communities accepting the process to allow the formation of CREMA activities in their communities. The stakeholder?s engagement also addressed some challenges and issues the communities are confronted with as a way of their inability to support natural environment protection activities and therefore mapped out several strategies to adopt in the project approach in all the three beneficiary communities. The stakeholder?s engagement also looked at some of the Government and district policies in Wildlife and Forest management activities, which the project adopted in its advocacy and sensitization plan. The communities were educated on these policies and how they can help sustain such policies in their communities to help protect the natural resources around the beneficiary communities such as the Kenikeni forest and the Mole National Park.

Activity 1.2: Engage the Forest, bee, and honey value chain actors and built their capacities on forest management activities: this activity benefited 15 bee and honey value chain actors on their role in supporting National policies on biodiversity, Wildlife, and forest management activities. They were trained on how to use their activities to influence the communities to plant more trees and avoid frequent cutting of trees for logging and charcoal activities.

Activity 1.3: Organize community entry and sensitization events on forest management: three community entries were organized in all the project communities to seek for the support of the Chief, Queen mothers, Assembly Members, Youth Leaders, and other opinion leaders in the project implementation. During these meetings the communities were sensitized on their roles in protecting the natural environment and the natural resources around them. They were also educated on the dangers of destroying the forest cover surrounding them, most especially the Kenikeni forest and the Mole National Park.

Activity 1.4: Undertake media advocacy and Social and Behavioral Change Communication (SBCC) activities: the project organized 6 Radio panel discussions at the Kasha FM in Damongo on forest and wildlife management. The radio activities also included discussion on the need for the communities to support and accept the creation of CREMA activities in all the 3 communities. The Facilitators/Panelist included Chiefs, Assembly Man, Forest Value chain actors and youth Leaders of the three communities. Also, the project engaged 3-online and print media institutions on publishing the project activities to cover the general public (Below contains the links to some of the publications). The Chiefs in their presentations expressed their willingness to cooperate with State and Non-State actors in resource control and management activities in their communities. They also admonished their communities through the Radio discussion to help in protecting the General environment by planting more trees in their surroundings and be law abiding citizens with the national laws protecting forest and wildlife resource management. They also used the Radio discussion to appeal to their community members to desist from, tree logging, bush burning and among other acts that can destroy the beauty of the General environment, and since they are fringing the KENIKENI FOREST and the MOLE NATIONAL PARK, which is their civic responsibility in protecting such Reserves.

Activity 1.5: Build ASERD-GHANA ability in influencing public policies and stakeholder engagement: the project among other interventions supported ASERD-GHANA and its stakeholders with capacity to engage and influence the Chiefs and the communities to adopt best practices in resource management. This gave the organization the opportunity to explore other approaches in influencing the State and Non-State policies on Wildlife and Forest Management.

Activity 1.6: Conduct community environmental audit, social, economic, and biological baseline survey to support CREMA and beneficiary activities. The project held 3 Focus Group Discussions with the KANANTO KABAMPE and GRUPE communities in the West Gonja Municipality of the Savanna Region of Ghana. The focus Group Discussions focused on understanding some of the challenges the communities are facing environmental and how the communities can adopt self-initiated activities in protecting the General environment. The Focus Group Discussions which are part of the field data collection tools sought to collect views from the opinion Leaders on the need to establish CREMA and Apiculture activities in the Communities to enable them raise incomes from bee keeping and other Green Value-Chain Systems in the Municipality. The Baseline survey also had one-on-one interviews with other community Members at their homes to fully understand the challenges this communities and their families faces environmentally. This established and promoted project ownership and belonging by the beneficiary communities.

Activity 1.7: Organized a workshop meeting to disseminate the baseline and Environmental Audit findings: the project had one day dissemination meeting to discuss the findings of the baseline survey and to seek for the inputs of the key stakeholders on the findings. These enabled the Municipal Assembly to understand some of the development concerns raised and some other challenges the communities are facing environmentally and how such can be addressed for proper environmental management and the improvement of the livelihoods of the communities.

Activity 1.8: Established Community Resource Management Committees (CRMCs) and build their capacities: ASERD-GHANA engaged the KANANTO, KABAMPE and GRUPE communities in the West Gonja Municipality of the Savanna Region of Ghana with training programs on the need for communities to form Community Resource Management Areas (CREMA) with stronger Leaderships to control and Manage the Natural resources around them and to help protect National policies on Forest and Wildlife Management. During these engagements, each community proposed 15-members each, to serve as Executives and Members of the CREMA groups. The communities were taken through the various roles and clear mandates or Functions of the CREMA Executives with the support of each community. The Chiefs and Communities members expressed their willingness and support to these CREMA Leaderships to be Established to function well to protect the Natural environment. In all, 45 Executives and Members were proposed from the Communities to lead the CREMA GROUPS. They were also taken through some National policies and laws protecting the General environment, most especially, Wildlife and Forest Management in the Ghanaian Communities.

Activity 1.9: Established with clear functions and mandate the CREMA Executive Committee, CREMA regulations and guidelines and functions of all structures elaborated in a constitution: the project was able to establish 3 CREMA Grous or Committees, 1 in each community with 15 Members each comprising both males and females. During the process a constitution was drafted by each group with an elected executives to control the activities of the Groups. Each Group enacted their own rules with the support of the ASERD-GHANA. The project organized three training meetings for these executives and their groups on their role to monitor and control all the environmental activities around their communities.

Activity 1.10: Developed CREMA Management plan with key interventions on resource utilization and improvement initiatives: the project supported 25 community leaders with their capacities built on CREMA related activities and its importance for community development. It trained selected Community Chiefs, Queen Mother's, Youth Leaders, Assembly Members and other stakeholders on the Importance of CREMA activities and formations in their communities. The training supported the participants from the KANANTO, KABAMPE GRUPE, and the DAMONGO community to understand why they have to support the processes of CREMA activities and its Importance in the Mole Ecological Landscape. They were also trained on the benefits the communities will get with Community Resource Management Areas (CREMA) formations in their communities and how it will help protect the Forest and Wildlife Reserves in the Area. During the training, Mr. Godwin, an officer of ARocha Ghana highlighted some of the experiences and benefits the Mognori and Murugu CREMAS in the West Gonja Municipality are currently benefiting from their organization and their partners. The Tolodompewura, A. Ahmed (Chief Monor) who is the Vice Chairman of PAMAU and also the Chairman of the Mole Ecological Zone Trust Fund encouraged the chiefs not to desist the CREMA activities in their communities because of how it will help them to have a stronger Leadership Front in protecting the environment and their Natural resources in their various communities.

Activity 2.1: Regroup members of the Federation of beekeepers within the landscape: the project engaged 30 Bee Farmers in the West Gonja Municipality with a capacity building training on various ways of having an organized association registered in the Municipality. They were also taken through the processes involved in bee farming and how they can increase their bee farming practice to raise more incomes for their livelihood. Some of the farmers shared their successes and challenges they are facing with the Bee farming which they think this project is a great way to address such. The training was aimed at influencing these Bee farmers to produce quality honey for the market to raise much revenues. It was also aimed at empowering them to have an elected leadership for the association to be formed.

Activity 2.2 Undertook community sensitizations, and awareness in order to strengthen their capacities and engagement for nature preservation and the protection of the Mole Wildlife and forest Reserve: during the project implementation, 45 community members from the 3 beneficiary communities were supported with capacity building and awareness creation on Wildlife conservation and protection. They were also trained on how to support in protecting the animal and forest species found in the Mole National Park and the Kenikeni Forest Reserve. The participants were also taken through the various laws governing the Wildlife reserve with the aim of influencing them to stop illegal entry into the Mole National Park for hunting and cutting of the tree species found there.

Activity 2.3: Introduced the beekeepers to Village Savings and Loans Association (VSLA): the project among other activities supported the 3 communities to Map out active and non-active Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLA) groups. They were trained on the importance of VSLA activities, the need to work with their already established constitutions and how they can be linked to the Financial Institutions for savings and to access loans for their business. Madam Dramani Saratu, the Secretary of the Sabote Group called out for more training of such, and as well as financial institutions to support them to grow their businesses. In all, a total of 16 VSLA groups with a total of 95 women memberships were mapped out and trained in KANANTO, KABAMPE and GRUPE communities in the West Gonja Municipality of the Savanna Region of Ghana. During the process, the organization supported the VSLA groups with capacity Development activities on various ways in adopting the concept to mobilize more resources for higher saving, and to raise more incomes for their livelihood. They were also taken through the various modules in Rural Savings methods. Over 80% of the groups memberships are Women within these farming communities and between the Ages of 21 and 60.

Activity 2.4: Organized Trainer of Trainers (ToT) training workshops to develop beneficiaries? technical skills in bee farming best practices: The trainings, which started on the Friday 22nd September 2023 and ended on Monday, 2nd October 2023 supported and distributed 80 Kenyan Model Bee Hives and 80 Mental Stands to the CREMA committees in the 3 communities, namely KANANTO, KABAMPE and GRUPE. The training was aimed at Developing beneficiaries technical skills in bee farming and best practices in Apiculture to generate incomes for their livelihood. It was also aimed at supporting the communities to set up the apiaries to colonize the bees for Honey productions to raise the incomes of rural farmers. The training supported farmers to mount and set up the bee hives in their farms, most of which are cashew plantations. Mr. Iddrisu Abubakari, the Chairman of the GRUPE committee expressed their profound Gratitude on behalf of his colleagues to the UNDP Ghana office and ASERD-GHANA for such an initiative to support Green Value-Chain activities in their communities while promoting Socio-economic Development through Smart Climate Change activities and the protection of the general Environment. Promoting Gender. A total of 40 members of the 3 committees benefited from the process with 15 Females and 25 being Males.

Activity 3.2: Build on the competences in beekeeping and honey processing in commodities compliance for export and marketing: the project trained 40 bee keepers in the 3 beneficiary communities on how to set up the bee apiaries, baiting for the bees, proper guidance on the colonized bee hives, best practices in honey harvesting and best ways in producing pure and organic honey for sale and consumption. They were supported with technical skills in extracting the honey from the bee hives and proper ways of processing it. The Women in KANANTO, KABAMPE and GRUPE are equally supported with the Biodiversity Conservation activities and trainings. They are also supported to be part of the CREMA Committees formed to take control and Manage the resources around them. These was aimed at addressing Gender disparities in the communities by way of encouraging women to be part of decision-making processes in the communities, especially when it comes to resource management activities.