Supporting Poor and Vulnerable Women In The Ngani Witches Camp To Invest In Sustainable Land Management, Agro-Biodiversity Conservation And Livelihood Enterprises To Combat The Effects Of Climate Change In The Northern Savannah Ecosystem
Situation and context in which the project will take place
The project area falls within the Yendi District of the Northern Region within the northern savannah ecosystem. The surrounding communities have experienced serious climatic problems in the past few years in the form severe drought, extreme temperature, and flooding anytime it rains. Extreme temperatures and floods have cut off the main towns during the rainy season and several hectares of farmlands have been destroyed resulting in worse poverty than before. More than ninety percent of the farmers in the district are considered poor. Most of the standing trees are of sheabutter and cotton origin but as poverty becomes worse as a result of climate induced activities, most of these natural trees are harvested for firewood.
The project will be undertaken in of selected communities in the Yendi District around the Ngani Witches Camp. Previous surveys of the vegetation, farmlands and local forests indicate the availability of indigenous trees mainly sheabutter and cotton which are now being harvested for the production of charcoal. These vegetation also appear to become haven for wildlife which are of benefit to local population
The destruction of the tree cover has serious implication for climate change and food security. The vegetation also serve as sources of other non-wood forest products such as snails, mushrooms and fruits etc, which are used widely for preparing local dishes and as sources of income.
The poverty situation has been made worse due to cultural practices that dehumanise women. There is a camp which is termed as the ‘witches’ camp, where middle aged women accused of witch craft are kept. These women and their grandchildren have no access to sustainable livelihood and lack the resources and support to practice sustainable land management practices.
2.2 Rationale
The important agro biodiversity in the Yendi District around the Ngani Witches Camp are now threatened from human encroachment, unsustainable resource use, collection of wood for construction purposes and fuelwood, and the risk of fire from burning farmlands. Communities rely on these resources for their food and livelihood needs. In order to provide adequate protection of agrobiodiversity and improve climate stability, it is necessary to develop alternative livelihood strategies to provide incentives to local communities to use resources in a sustainable way. Provision of community woodlots will decrease pressure on scarce forest resources, reduce habitat destruction, improve climate adaptation and provide people with a sustainable source of fuel in the future as well as a potential source of income through sales of surplus supplies.
3.0 Specific Objectives and Intended Results
Specific objectives
• To sustain and enhance women’s involvement in agro-biodiversity management at the community level;
• To educate local communities about the importance of climate change and its relation to the forests’ biodiversity and the value of these resources for their livelihoods and those of future generations;
• To involve local communities in agro-forest protection and management;
• To promote and enhance the sustainable utilization of NTFPs and indigenous cultivated tree species.
• To Introduce energy conservation measures by raising awareness and promoting the use fuel efficient cookstoves both to health of women and children and for the environment as well as household incomes
4.0 Specific Results
Objective 1
To sustain and enhance sustainable management of community forests and agro-biodiversity at the community level
Results:
• An inventory of intact local forests in Yendi District;
• Protection of two community forest with a total size of 100 ha;
• Indigenous technologies for land conservation identified and strengthened and document knowledge for their adoption for the reforestation project;
• 20ha of degraded forests and farmlands reforested with tree seedlings and/or restored at the end of 18 months;
• Conservation areas protected from bushfires by establishment and maintenance of firebreaks.
Objective 2
To educate local communities about the importance of climate change, the forests biodiversity and the value of these resources for their livelihoods and those of future generations
Results:
• Increased awareness amongst at least 1,000 community members through educational campaigns and workshops on climate change, forest protection and prevention of bushfires;
• 100 schoolchildren involved in communicating messages to their local communities about the importance of climate change
• Capacity building and training for 100 women classified as witches in hands-on conservation work for forest management and protection.
• 50 people trained in bushfire control, and firebreak establishment and maintenance.
Objective 3
To involve local communities in Afforestation and management
Results
• 50 individuals and 1,000 community members trained in lining and pegging, afforestation and forest maintenance, gaining knowledge that they can share with others and encourage more community member to become involved;
• A Community Support Group established in each community around the local forests or sacred sites;
• Ten hectares of community woodlots established with tree species most suited to coppicing in order to reduce pressures of fuelwood collection from remaining natural stands;
• Establishment of two nurseries with a total capacity for 10,000 seedlings for the reforestation scheme;
• A volunteer fire-squad established in each of the communities benefiting from forest protection and sustainable use of its resources.
Objective 4
To promote and enhance the sustainable utilization of NTFPs and indigenous cultivated tree species
Results
• A local forest manager identified in each of the communities involved in protection of the sacred site and sustainable use of the areas resources;
• Identification of resources for sustainable utilization for alternative livelihood strategies;
• 50 individuals trained in sustainable agriculture, tree growing and forest management;
• 50 women farmers provided with free seeds of soyabeans to interplant on their farms for agroforestry; this will increase the income base of poorer farmers and move towards more sustainable landuse by discouraging slash and burn agriculture.
Objective 5
Introduce energy conservation measures by raising awareness and promoting the use of fuel efficient cook stoves both to health of women and children and for the environment as well as household incomes
Results:
• 24 households Identified as interested in piloting the efficient stoves
• One construction site set up
• 6 communities introduced to the efficient stoves
• Training programmes put in place to construct and produce the stoves
• 50 fuel efficient stoves produced and in use by community members
The project area falls within the Yendi District of the Northern Region within the northern savannah ecosystem. The surrounding communities have experienced serious climatic problems in the past few years in the form severe drought, extreme temperature, and flooding anytime it rains. Extreme temperatures and floods have cut off the main towns during the rainy season and several hectares of farmlands have been destroyed resulting in worse poverty than before. More than ninety percent of the farmers in the district are considered poor. Most of the standing trees are of sheabutter and cotton origin but as poverty becomes worse as a result of climate induced activities, most of these natural trees are harvested for firewood.
The project will be undertaken in of selected communities in the Yendi District around the Ngani Witches Camp. Previous surveys of the vegetation, farmlands and local forests indicate the availability of indigenous trees mainly sheabutter and cotton which are now being harvested for the production of charcoal. These vegetation also appear to become haven for wildlife which are of benefit to local population
The destruction of the tree cover has serious implication for climate change and food security. The vegetation also serve as sources of other non-wood forest products such as snails, mushrooms and fruits etc, which are used widely for preparing local dishes and as sources of income.
The poverty situation has been made worse due to cultural practices that dehumanise women. There is a camp which is termed as the ‘witches’ camp, where middle aged women accused of witch craft are kept. These women and their grandchildren have no access to sustainable livelihood and lack the resources and support to practice sustainable land management practices.
2.2 Rationale
The important agro biodiversity in the Yendi District around the Ngani Witches Camp are now threatened from human encroachment, unsustainable resource use, collection of wood for construction purposes and fuelwood, and the risk of fire from burning farmlands. Communities rely on these resources for their food and livelihood needs. In order to provide adequate protection of agrobiodiversity and improve climate stability, it is necessary to develop alternative livelihood strategies to provide incentives to local communities to use resources in a sustainable way. Provision of community woodlots will decrease pressure on scarce forest resources, reduce habitat destruction, improve climate adaptation and provide people with a sustainable source of fuel in the future as well as a potential source of income through sales of surplus supplies.
3.0 Specific Objectives and Intended Results
Specific objectives
• To sustain and enhance women’s involvement in agro-biodiversity management at the community level;
• To educate local communities about the importance of climate change and its relation to the forests’ biodiversity and the value of these resources for their livelihoods and those of future generations;
• To involve local communities in agro-forest protection and management;
• To promote and enhance the sustainable utilization of NTFPs and indigenous cultivated tree species.
• To Introduce energy conservation measures by raising awareness and promoting the use fuel efficient cookstoves both to health of women and children and for the environment as well as household incomes
4.0 Specific Results
Objective 1
To sustain and enhance sustainable management of community forests and agro-biodiversity at the community level
Results:
• An inventory of intact local forests in Yendi District;
• Protection of two community forest with a total size of 100 ha;
• Indigenous technologies for land conservation identified and strengthened and document knowledge for their adoption for the reforestation project;
• 20ha of degraded forests and farmlands reforested with tree seedlings and/or restored at the end of 18 months;
• Conservation areas protected from bushfires by establishment and maintenance of firebreaks.
Objective 2
To educate local communities about the importance of climate change, the forests biodiversity and the value of these resources for their livelihoods and those of future generations
Results:
• Increased awareness amongst at least 1,000 community members through educational campaigns and workshops on climate change, forest protection and prevention of bushfires;
• 100 schoolchildren involved in communicating messages to their local communities about the importance of climate change
• Capacity building and training for 100 women classified as witches in hands-on conservation work for forest management and protection.
• 50 people trained in bushfire control, and firebreak establishment and maintenance.
Objective 3
To involve local communities in Afforestation and management
Results
• 50 individuals and 1,000 community members trained in lining and pegging, afforestation and forest maintenance, gaining knowledge that they can share with others and encourage more community member to become involved;
• A Community Support Group established in each community around the local forests or sacred sites;
• Ten hectares of community woodlots established with tree species most suited to coppicing in order to reduce pressures of fuelwood collection from remaining natural stands;
• Establishment of two nurseries with a total capacity for 10,000 seedlings for the reforestation scheme;
• A volunteer fire-squad established in each of the communities benefiting from forest protection and sustainable use of its resources.
Objective 4
To promote and enhance the sustainable utilization of NTFPs and indigenous cultivated tree species
Results
• A local forest manager identified in each of the communities involved in protection of the sacred site and sustainable use of the areas resources;
• Identification of resources for sustainable utilization for alternative livelihood strategies;
• 50 individuals trained in sustainable agriculture, tree growing and forest management;
• 50 women farmers provided with free seeds of soyabeans to interplant on their farms for agroforestry; this will increase the income base of poorer farmers and move towards more sustainable landuse by discouraging slash and burn agriculture.
Objective 5
Introduce energy conservation measures by raising awareness and promoting the use of fuel efficient cook stoves both to health of women and children and for the environment as well as household incomes
Results:
• 24 households Identified as interested in piloting the efficient stoves
• One construction site set up
• 6 communities introduced to the efficient stoves
• Training programmes put in place to construct and produce the stoves
• 50 fuel efficient stoves produced and in use by community members
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Project Snapshot
Grantee:
SOUTHERN SECTOR YOUTH AND WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT NETWORK
Country:
Ghana
Area Of Work:
Land Degradation
Grant Amount:
US$ 30,800.00
Co-Financing Cash:
US$ 24,050.00
Co-Financing in-Kind:
US$ 30,000.00
Project Number:
GHA/SGP/OP5/Y3/STAR/LD/07/04/017
Status:
Satisfactorily Completed
Project Characteristics and Results
Capacity - Building Component
Construction of fuel efficient cookstoves for households
The trained volunteers would visit individual households in the Ngani camp and the surrounding communities to assist them in constructing the fuel efficient cookstoves.
Notable Community Participation
Local communities have played a major role in the development of this proposal and they will continue to be very involved throughout the project’s implementation. Critical to the project’s success will be the participation of communities and traditional authorities in the management of the forests and decisions over their future use. This will be achieved in a number of ways. Community leaders are helping to identify which sacred forests have the best potential for sustainable use. Community members will participate in the design of forest resource management plans, in the educational components of the project and in the hands-on conservation work in the local vegetation and buffer zones. They will benefit from the development of alternative sustainable livelihood strategies such as agroforestry that will provide them a sustainable source of income, and other activities based on the sustainable use of agribiodiversity. Community members will participate in determining sustainable harvest levels in their local forests.
It will be necessary for communities to select leaders for each component of the project or major activity. They would also be responsible for ensuring the needs and priorities of the communities are reflected in project activities.
Community participation in each activity will be ensured through:
• The community, and villages around the project area to be replanted will undertake the work on the afforestation programme with guidance from local experts;
• Members of the community will form a volunteer squad that will be responsible for tending and maintaining the project activities;
• Individual participants in the Community Forest Project could later establish a and own their own woodlots on individual or family lands, enabling the project to be replicated elsewhere;
• The land on which the trees will be planted would be provided by the individuals, families and clans who own the lands while they participate in the enterprise, ensuring project ownership;
• Local communities will set up the Community Support Groups in collaboration with NGOs and other relevant experts. These groups will support the protection and management of the forests and take decisions over their future use. The group will be composed of representatives from the local community and the local traditional authority.
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Indicators
Empowerment
Number of CBOs / NGOs participated / involved in SGP project
1
Empowerment
Number of CBOs / NGOs formed or registered through the SGP project
1
Empowerment
Number of women participated / involved in SGP project
50
Empowerment
Number of indigenous people participated/involved in SGP project
150
Empowerment
Innovative financial mechanisms put in place through SGP project
1
Biophysical
Hectares of degraded land rest
50
Biophysical
Hectares of land sustainably managed by project
20
Biophysical
Tons of soil erosion prevented
50000
Biophysical
Number of innovations or new technologies developed / applied
2
Biophysical
Number of local policies informed in land degradation focal area
1
Biophysical
Number of national policies informed in land degradation focal area
1
Livehood
Total monetary value (US dollars) of ecosystem goods sustainably produced and providing benefit to project participants and/or community as a whole (in the biodiversity, international waters, and land degradation focal areas as appropriate)
50000
Livehood
Total monetary value (US dollars) of clean energy services provided to project participants and / or community as a whole (in the climate change focal area)
10000
Livehood
Increase in household income by increased income or reduced costs due to SGP project
80
Livehood
Number of households who have benefited* from SGP project
50
Livehood
Number of individuals (gender diaggregated) who have benefited* from SGP project
150
SGP Country office contact
Dr. George Buabin Ortsin
Phone:
233-242-977980
Email:
Ms. Lois Sarpong
Phone:
+233 505740909
Email:
Address
UNDP, Global Environment Facility Small Grants Programme P.O. Box 1423
Accra, Greater Accra, 233-302
Accra, Greater Accra, 233-302
Visit the Ghana Country Page