Safeguarding Local Communities for REDD+ Implementation in Ghana

Abstract

In this study, we primarily assess the relationship between social safeguards and the living standards of local communities in different ecological zones of Ghana, relying on data from the seventh round of the Ghana Living Standard Survey (GLSS 7) and publicly available policy documents from the Ghana Statistical Service and the Forestry Commission of Ghana, respectively. This research aims to assist policymakers and stakeholders to make informed and appropriate decisions when developing social safeguards for emission reduction projects. The GLSS 7 covers 14,009 households, comprising 59,864 individuals in 892 enumeration areas or communities across the 10 regions of Ghana, now divided into 16. The data were collected using a stratified random sampling technique. Principal component analysis was employed to develop a living condition index, after which we generated a second construct based on the number of factors affecting living conditions. The results showed that access to sharecropping, literacy, extension services, financial institutions, a mobile phone network, and markets have significant positive relationships with the living conditions of local communities in Ghana. In addition, 78% of the social safeguards described in Ghana’s REDD+ strategy, Forest and Wildlife Policy, Benefits Sharing Mechanism, and Forest Plantation Development Strategy are aligned with the determinants of local communities’ living conditions. The findings suggest a need to enforce the Benefit Sharing Mechanism, better forest governance, and tenancy reforms in order to prevent the overexploitation of landowners and avoid elite capture. Furthermore, farmers must be linked to financial institutions in order to obtain credits. Additionally, we must seek to provide local communities with better access to markets and mobile phone networks in a way that allows them to carry out their livelihood activities effectively and efficiently. These measures help to reduce the risk of REDD+ actions and ensure sustainability.