Project problem statement
As a result of poor environmental management resulting from excessive wood cutting, uncontrolled bush burning, sand winning and unsustainable agricultural practices along the White Volta basin, every year the communities lying within the basin suffer from flooding and excessive temperatures. The situation is made worse by spillage of Bagri Damp from the neighboring Burkina Faso and over dependence on the natural vegetation leading to food insecurity in the Mamprugu Moaduri District. Food insecurity is chronic and recurrent in the constituency, and particularly affects the rural subsistence economy especially where the proposed project is scheduled to take place. In times of food shortages, it is the women who are most vulnerable, resulting in the poor nutritional and unhealthy conditions. The current situation is being made worse as the river fringed villages and communities become more susceptible to perennial floods resulting from climate change variability thereby threatening livelihoods and properties in general. As the community livelihood base is destroyed and the women[including young girls] who cannot cope with the situation, migrate to the cities[KAYAYOs] to hire themselves out as carriers of goods (head porters), with no safe place to sleep at night while some eventually turn to the vocation of prostitution for a living.
The primary objective

The goal of the project as contained in the district development vision and mission and in line with Ghana’s policy interest on tree development and floods control is:

To raise the awareness on climate change among local civil society and to restore and improve the stock of tree vegetation along the fringe lands of the White Volta River Basin in Mamprugu Moaduri District.

This goal will be addressed with the implementation of the under mentioned three key objectives using the community as the key object of change.

Specific objectives of the proposed project include

1. To raise the understanding of local civil society on the need to take action against climate change through environmental education.
2. To build the capacity of the local people for sustainable tree plantation development and support tree plantations in 2 communities along the White Volta River and Two Basic schools to limit the effects of desertification and erosion.
3. To introduce and train on alternative livelihood support [income generation] activities in the form of bee keeping production as means of reducing local people’s over-dependence on the natural vegetation

Project rational
The District is generally low lying with numerous streams of varying sizes. The primary occupation of the people is rain fed agriculture which is mostly done along the river banks. The people in the communities along the rivers and streams also do fishing as supplementary to their crop farming activities. The main Agricultural produce includes sorghum, groundnut, millet, beans, maize and rice. These livelihoods have in recent times been affected so much by the dictates of climate change induced weather conditions such as excessive rainfall and floods waters. Unfortunately, the people in this area in the past have never been involved in the implementation of sustainable land management practices neither are they involved in the implementation of forest nor land policies related projects before. There are less income generation activities and investment opportunities, resulting in low household income levels and extreme poverty, this situation, undoubtedly has led to severe destruction of farm lands through current loss of soil nutrients and low agricultural productivity, seasonal hunger and migration, drying up of streams and water bodies and high animal mortality rates.
Climate change has become a development challenge in Ghana like any other part of the world. The National Development Planning Commission of Ghana has made guidelines with inputs from all stakeholders to direct Districts on the process of mainstreaming climate change issues into development planning. It is therefore now an integral part of the district development planning process and the district plans make conscious efforts at building resilience issues in all aspects of local development in relation to climate change impacts.
It is against this background that TUPACO wishes to introduce more climate change and desertification resilience related programmes to its river fringed communities in line with the district policy. The project will support the rehabilitation of river banks; degraded sites of two basic schools, whiles providing environmental friendly alternative livelihood support and environmental education to its river fringed communities

The specific results or output the project will produce.

1. The understanding of local civil society on the need to take action against climate change through environmental education is enhanced and produced.
2. 2 communities along the White Volta River and its tributaries degraded lands rehabilitated and planted with trees to limit the effects of desertification, erosion and floods.
3. 60 women and men trained and supported with alternative livelihood support [income generation] activities in the form of bee keeping production to prevent them from farming along the river banks

Description of Major Project Activities
RESULT 1:
The understanding of local civil society on the need to take action against climate change through environmental education is enhanced.

Planned Activities:

1.1 Two Initial consultative meetings would be organized with the beneficiary communities-TUPACO group Members to discuss and plan how the project would be implemented. They would be educated on the project goals & aspirations and implementation process.

1.2 Undertake awareness creation and sensitization on climate change in two (2) beneficiary communities. Five days intensive climate change education would be organized in each community. The services of two resource persons would be contracted mainly from the FSD and MOFA. Workshop procedures would be participatory and interactive. The beneficiaries would be taken through areas such as Overview of Climate Change- what is it, the drivers of climate change, impacts, adaptation and some mitigation measures. Global, regional and the national response to climate change, why is Africa and for that matter Mamprugu Moaduri District most Vulnerable to Climate Change, Adaptation Action for Africa to mention but a few. Local language [Mamprusi], Photographs, dramas and video shows would be used to enhance the understanding of climate change associated issues among the participants. Granted the fact that Climate change is a rather new phenomenon with huge potential risks but limited reaction of policy makers. A Communiqué would be developed and issued targeting policy makers, implementers and other relevant stakeholders in the country to climax the activity. The media would be invited to give coverage so that entire country benefits from the activity. Public education would also be undertaken through local FM radio station as part of the strategies to extend climate change education to the general public.

1.3 Undertake Disaster risk management training to enhance the communities’ capacity and understanding in managing flood related disasters which is linked to impact of climate change. Integrated water resource management training-the practice of making prudent decisions and taking actions while considering multiple view points of how water should be managed would complement the disaster risk reduction management training. Resource person specifically from NADMO and water resources commission would be brought in to train the two community members.

1.4 Support at least two community members to participate in climate change/natural resources management related meetings at the district, regional and national levels to learn and also share their experience with development experts on climate change whiles voicing out their concerns for help when things are not going well. They would return to brief their community members about what they learnt to enhance the larger society understanding of climate change and its adverse impacts.
a.
RESULT 2: 3 communities along the White Volta River and its tributaries with degraded lands rehabilitated and planted with trees and grafted mangos to limit the effects of desertification, erosion and floods.

1.1 Identify survey and demarcate degraded lands [25 hectares] for planting of seedlings along the river banks. Also the degraded areas around two basic schools would be demarcated for the possible planting of grafted mangos to provide shade, protect the school buildings against storms whiles contributing to school feeding programmes in feature. The degraded areas would be surveyed using participatory approach - Resource persons would come from FSD and the community members. The activity would delineate clearly agricultural lands from grazing lands, plantations-woodlot and grafted mangos, and settlement lands. The project has already organized community sensitization meetings in Tantala community where discussions were held between the chiefs and people about this activity. The chiefs and people indicated their willingness and commitment to the implementation of the activity to rejuvenate the already degraded lands along the river banks and that of the degraded sites around the schools. Tree species like neem, teak, cassia and leucaena seedlings would be nursed and distributed to the farmers to plant on such degraded lands.

1.2 Procure and plant grafted mango mostly in schools- Currently vegetative cover around most of the basic schools in the Mamprugu Moaduri District is seriously depleted adding to desertification and climate change. As most vegetative cover is depleted, the basic schools becomes defenseless against rain and heavy storms –roofs are reaped off and educational materials are destroyed, hence the distortions in school academic calendar and also a drain to the already insufficient District Assembly Development Fund [DDF} at the expense of other developmental projects. The badly degraded sites around the school would be surveyed and planted with grafted mangos. The grafted mangos would be procured from a local expert who will be contracted to supply and also train the women in how to graft mangos to leave knowledge behind. Each student would be assigned to a number of grafted mangos as part of their school practical agriculture activities.
b.
1.3 Establish one flying Tree nursery-The flying nursery will provide multipurpose and economic tree seedlings (indigenous and exotic) to be supplied to interested farmers with available land. Training of trainers for selected community members on afforestation and tree planting activities would be trained as nursery managers to look after the nursery. They would also be required to train their colleagues on tree management. The flying nursery will generate additional income for the project from the sale of economic tree seedlings. The project will also assist local level entrepreneurs with training, materials, simple tools and equipment to operate their own nurseries to produce the needed planting material. The activity will be done with resource persons from either FSD/MOFA.
c.
1.4 Train and equip fire volunteer squad-The northern savannah eco-system over the years has been experiencing annual devastating bushfires. The activity is necessary to equip the trained individuals to enable them protect the planted seedlings and the nurseries that would be established in the two communities. 70 community members made up of 35 from each community would be invited to participate in the training. Out of this 40 individuals made up of 20 from each would be properly equipped to form the fire volunteer squads. The resource persons specifically from the FSD would be hired to train the 70 community level fire volunteer squads.
d.
1.5 Train and Provide support to farmers to undertake sustainable land management practices through organic agriculture education -The two communities [Tantala and Tuvio] would be sensitized on the need to adopt organic agriculture in the wake of climate change and desertification. They would also be trained on general principles of agricultural production, some advantages and disadvantages. They [farmers] would be introduced and trained on actual compost building/ preparations and its application. The programmes are aimed at introducing people centered appropriate agricultural technology which is environmentally friendly with the potentials of preventing farmers from going back to farms close to the river banks whiles contributing to meeting the food security needs of the two communities. Being one component of sustainable land management [SLM] practices, two types of compost building and preparation would be taught. One type is large pit composting that takes minimum of 4 -5 months to mature for application whiles the second type is sizeable pit composting which takes minimum of 7 weeks to mature for application. Resource persons from ZEFP, organic agriculture education local NGO based in Walewale in the West Mamprusi District, would be hired to assist in training farmers. The activity targets farmers who continue to farm along the river banks and who would not like to move away because of high soil fertility content deposited as the river recedes. It would also targets farmers made up of men and women in the degraded area of uplands to prevent them from moving downwards to farm along the river banks.
1.6 Training of Trainers -Training of community future Trainers specifically on Tree Planting and Forest management is a key activity required under the TUPACO re-forestation project which seeks to increase the tree stock as part of an attempt in combating desertification, land degradation and contributing to the ongoing global efforts in the fight against climate change. To leave knowledge and skills behind, the project would train 12 community members including basic school teachers as future community trainers [FCT] from each community on best practices in tree planting and forest management. The community members trained as FCTs would in turn support and train other community members on the forest management in their various communities under the project. The teachers would also in turn train their colleagues’ teachers who in turn would be expected to train students in their various schools. The training participants on the importance of tree vegetation for their daily lives and on adaptation due to climate change has the potentials of convincing students to accept the challenges of taking up tree planting initiative since would they would grow up to replace their parents in the communities. Two resource persons specifically from the Forestry Service Division and MOFA would be hired to train the community trainees. Training would be conducted in both English and Mamprusi Languages using a participatory approach. This would be closely supervised by the Project Coordinator /the Deputy Project Coordinator

RESULT 3: 60 women and men trained and supported with alternative livelihood support [income generation] activities in the form of bee keeping/small ruminant production to prevent them from farming along the river banks
1.1 Train and support 60 women and men with alternative livelihood scheme [income generation] activities in the form of pure honey production through bee keeping as means of reducing local people’s over-dependence on the natural vegetation, and also stopping the rural women from engaging in KAYAYO. It is seen as a participation incentive to compensate for their whole time and resources devoted in the project activities. They would be taken through training such as Beekeeping as an alternative income venture, Traditional bee keeping and honey hunting. They would also be taken through the relations between traditional beekeeping; honey hunting and that of the modern appropriate beekeeping and honey harvesting. The effects of bush fire and environmental destruction on pollinating insects would all be discussed. The benefits of modern beekeeping, its effects on Agriculture as bees are major players in the improvement of crop yield. Trainees, with the support of the facilitators would discuss what constitute modern beekeeping, advantages and disadvantages and also the economic importance of beekeeping and honey harvesting.
The beneficiary groups, who benefited from the training, will then be provided with inputs such as beehives, veil, torchlight, solar extractors and wellington boots, etc for production. The beneficiary group will be monitored and will pay back the cost of materials under contractual agreement to enable other group members also benefit from the project. The action will be carried out in collaboration with a MOFA and local bee-keeping experts. The project would assist farmers to source for, identify, and exploit market opportunities for their honey produce. The emphasis will be on creating access to market information and linkages with existing marketing organizations such as Savannah Farmers Marketing Company (SFMC), Tamale that provides ready market for Pure Honey. Market surveys would be conducted and fair market options identified to provide ready market to farmers produce. A simple survey would be conducted to established baseline upon which the impact and outcomes of the project on the livelihoods of the beneficiaries can be measured at the end of the project cycle.

1.2 One component of the activities stipulates that, farmers along the river banks be giving organic agriculture education of compost building and its application to enable them stay away from river banks. It is important that ruminants [goats’ production] added to the alternative livelihood support scheme to complement the supply of animal dropping/manure to support the compost building in the area. It would be treated as participation incentive to compensate for their whole time and resources devoted in the project activities as well. A Follow up consultative meeting would be organized to discuss further and a 6 member committee made up of 4 women and 2 men, which would be charged with responsibility of procuring local breeds of promising high rate of returns under the close supervision of project staff [project coord/deputy coord.]. They would be distributed to the members to take home and take good care of them. Each beneficiary would be required to contract a house as part of their own contribution to keep the animals and promise not to let them loose so as to be detrimental to the very forestation project being implemented in the two communities. One Resource person from MOFA would be hired to provide one day capacity building training on basic principles of animal management to beneficiaries in each community. In all total of 60 individuals, 30 from each community is expected to benefit from the