Light Fishing Operations in Small-scale Fishing in Ghana – A case study of the Chorkor and Teshie–Nungua fishing communities in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana

Coastal fisheries resources play a crucial role in promoting food security and incomes throughout the world. In recent years there has been important concerns all over the world about the overexploitation of wild fish stocks. In many developing coastal countries this overexploitation has been attributed to the increasing demand of fish products and exacerbated by modernization and development of new fishing techniques to increase catch. One of the major problems in the fishing industry is the dwindling levels of fishing output. Ghana’s fishing levels are increasingly becoming unsustainable due to the use of highly destructive fishing equipment like light attraction equipment. Apart from the periodic shortages of pre-mix fuel, light fishing activities is identified by peasant fishers as a major challenge to their livelihood. The use of light fishing method for fishing also has the potential to negatively impact the profitability of poor fishers who are mainly small-scale artisanal fishers. The damaging effect of light fishing operation in the country and the factors affecting the effective enforcement of the ban on such operation leaves us with lots of uncertainties which this research seeks to unravel. To help develop an effective management response to this challenge the study highlights the factors that make artisanal fishermen flout fishing regulations, identify the possible reasons why the prohibition of light fishing is not effectively enforced, and make necessary recommendations on the measures needed to bring the fisheries regulations closer to the realities on the ground. Different data collection strategies were employed in the study and the data was analyzed qualitatively. It finds that low penalties and poor enforcement for law-breakers are two of the major problems. The study also finds that, the lack of alternative livelihood opportunities for rural fishers contributes greatly to the increasing pressure on coastal fisheries resources which subsequently leads overexploitation. It therefore recommends that, enforcement is tightened, artisanal fishers should be given more education and be involved in the decision making process

THE FISHERIES SECTOR IN GHANA: INSTITUTIONAL AND REGULATORY GAPS, CHALLENGES AND FUTURE PROSPECTS

The fisheries sector in Ghana contributes significantly to its socio-economic development. The sector contributes about 4.5% of Ghana’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and provides livelihood for an estimated 10% of the population.[1] The Ghanaian fishing fleet is made up of artisanal or canoe, inshore or semi-industrial, industrial trawler and tuna fleets,[2] all of which are regulated by the Fisheries Commission (FC). This paper examines the inherent institutional and procedural contradictions undermining the implementation of fishery law and policy in Ghana. The paper adopted a review approach by reviewing relevant literature including policies and legal documents, reports, journal articles, newspaper articles and interviews. The study reveals that contradictions undermining fisheries law implementation is due mainly to weak and inadequate enforcement, low compliance of fisheries laws, and inadequate institutional and human capacity.[3] The paper concluded that there is a lack of administrative and technical capacity, inadequate funding, and political influence during the prosecution of violators.[4] The paper recommended the need to increase funding for regulatory agencies, enhancement of human and institutional capacity, involvement of stakeholders in decision-making of fisheries management, continuous and effective collaboration with international donors, and between stakeholders

Gold mining pollution and the cost of private healthcare: The case of Ghana

To attract greater levels of foreign direct investment into their gold mining sectors, many mineral-rich countries in sub-Saharan Africa have been willing to overlook serious instances of mining company non-compliance with environmental standards. These lapses in regulatory oversight and enforcement have led to high levels of pollution in many mining communities. The likelihood is high that the risk of pollution-related sicknesses, such as skin infections, upper and lower respiratory disorders, and cardiovascular diseases, will necessitate increasingly high healthcare expenditures in affected communities. In this study, we propose and estimate a hedonic-type model that relates healthcare expenditure to the degree of residents' exposure to mining pollution using data obtained on gold mining in Ghana. The empirical results confirm that, after controlling for factors such as current and long-term health status, increased mining pollution leads to higher healthcare expenditure

Co-management and Traditional Fisheries: The Case of Fante Fishers in Elmina, Ghana

Co-management has widely been recognized as an alternative approach to addressing natural resource crises and diverse environmental concerns. In line with this, the Ghanaian fishery sector introduced co-management as an institutional approach to manage natural resources. However, studies still reiterate that, the traditional fishery sector is still in decline, which have affected the livelihood of communities that depends on the resource and resulted in Ghana becoming a net importer to meet the country’s fish requirements, which is likely to increase due to the growing population. The aim of this study therefore is to understand the factors contributing to the decline of the sector despite the adoption of co-management. Following a qualitative approach, the study involved Fante fishers in Elmina to understand how co-management have influenced traditional fishing. The study further seeks to identify constraints that impede the successful implementation of co-management. By exploring the economic, social and environmental impacts of co-management, divergent issues were raised from respondents. Research findings reveals that weak institutional framework, lack of active participation, empowerment and trust as the challenges that contributes to the underperformance of co-management. From discussions and analysis, general lessons and recommendations are drawn from the study

Strategies for managing common pool natural resources in Sub-Saharan Africa : a review of past experience and future challenges

This article reviews the literature on the conservation and livelihood impacts of recent policy and institutional reforms concerning the management of common pool natural resources in sub-Saharan Africa. The evidence suggests that the specific institutional and natural resource context is critical to the success or failure of reforms. We also identify several methodological and data deficiencies in the literature that pose significant challenges for the design of effective and sustainable policies in the future. We propose several priorities for future research, including improving the characterization of the nature, extent, and purpose of policies; controlling for confounding effects and selection bias in research design; developing standardized and conceptually sound impact measures that are aligned with the goals of policy reforms; adopting ecosystems approaches that model complex coupled socioecological systems; broadening cost and benefit measures to include the regulation of ecosystem services of significant local, regional, and global value; and identifying long-term economic incentives and benefit-sharing arrangements among stakeholders, particularly given the increasing competition from alternative land use options. Finally, we find that the literature is dominated by contributions from the natural sciences, suggesting an opportunity to increase the role of environmental economics and policy research.https://academic.oup.com/reep2021-05-03hj2020Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Developmen

Evaluation of CEEPA's IDRC/SIDA-funded "Capacity Strengthening Program in Environmental Economics and Policy Analysis" (2006-2012)

In Utilization Focused Evaluation (UFE) evaluators facilitate a learning process with attention on how real people in the real world apply evaluation findings and experiences. The focus is on “intended use by intended users.” This case study is one of five test cases in the application of the UFE process towards strengthening research capacity, while introducing UFE as part of the work process. Singapore internet Research Centre (SiRCA) has developed broad based high quality, multidisciplinary social science research in ICT4D in Asia. Using the 12 steps outline of UFE, SiRCA analyzed its organizational gaps, developing a “theory of change.

Evaluation of CEEPA's IDRC/SIDA-funded "Capacity Strengthening Program in Environmental Economics and Policy Analysis" (2006-2012)

In Utilization Focused Evaluation (UFE) evaluators facilitate a learning process with attention on how real people in the real world apply evaluation findings and experiences. The focus is on “intended use by intended users.” This case study is one of five test cases in the application of the UFE process towards strengthening research capacity, while introducing UFE as part of the work process. Singapore internet Research Centre (SiRCA) has developed broad based high quality, multidisciplinary social science research in ICT4D in Asia. Using the 12 steps outline of UFE, SiRCA analyzed its organizational gaps, developing a “theory of change.

Community management and common property of coastal fisheries in Asia and the Pacific: concepts, methods and experiences

Coastal fisheries, Fishery management, Resource management, Common property resources

Marine payments for environmental services in an artisanal fisheries context

The past decade has seen a growing interest in the application of the Payments for Environmental Services (PES) instrument, in part for its apparent ability to alleviate poverty and inspire sustainable environmental practices. More recently, PES programmes have been advocated for use within marine environments. However, concerns have been raised relating to their applicability in this context, e.g. ill-defined property rights and more fluid environmental services. Yet these issues have received little critical scrutiny. This thesis presents one of the first empirical analyses of the applicability of PES to the marine and coastal context, more specifically its suitability to small-scale artisanal fisheries. The first part of the thesis analyses expert opinions in order to identify what opportunities and, indeed, what obstacles remain for PES more broadly in the marine environment. The second part delves a little deeper in order to identify those determinants which can encourage adoption of marine PES within artisanal fishing communities are reported on, paying particular attention to those characteristics important for low-income and vulnerable groups. In addition, the thesis investigates how PES adoption can be influenced by several key design parameters. Analyses are based on primary data collected from six artisanal fishing villages in Mtwara, southern Tanzania. The thesis presents a number of key findings. Firstly, evidence from expert elicitation suggests that the on-going concerns based on the nature of marine environmental services pertaining to marine PES could be unjustified and solutions for their effective implementation are presented. At the supply-level, fishers’ gender and informal risk mitigation strategies are shown to have significant associations with participation within marine PES and may influence the adoption of marine PES programmes within fishing communities. Moreover, whilst PES design can influence adoption, the initial transition away from current management practices can signify a larger utility cost and be met with resistance. The results have interesting implications for the successful application of marine PES schemes, particularly those hoping to target poor households. The findings are widely applicable due to a global dependence on coastal and marine resources and their continuing degradation

African Handbook of Climate Change Adaptation

This open access book discusses current thinking and presents the main issues and challenges associated with climate change in Africa. It introduces evidences from studies and projects which show how climate change adaptation is being - and may continue to be successfully implemented in African countries. Thanks to its scope and wide range of themes surrounding climate change, the ambition is that this book will be a lead publication on the topic, which may be regularly updated and hence capture further works. Climate change is a major global challenge. However, some geographical regions are more severly affected than others. One of these regions is the African continent. Due to a combination of unfavourable socio-economic and meteorological conditions, African countries are particularly vulnerable to climate change and its impacts. The recently released IPCC special report "Global Warming of 1.5º C" outlines the fact that keeping global warming by the level of 1.5º C is possible, but also suggested that an increase by 2º C could lead to crises with crops (agriculture fed by rain could drop by 50% in some African countries by 2020) and livestock production, could damage water supplies and pose an additonal threat to coastal areas. The 5th Assessment Report produced by IPCC predicts that wheat may disappear from Africa by 2080, and that maize— a staple—will fall significantly in southern Africa. Also, arid and semi-arid lands are likely to increase by up to 8%, with severe ramifications for livelihoods, poverty eradication and meeting the SDGs. Pursuing appropriate adaptation strategies is thus vital, in order to address the current and future challenges posed by a changing climate. It is against this background that the "African Handbook of Climate Change Adaptation" is being published. It contains papers prepared by scholars, representatives from social movements, practitioners and members of governmental agencies, undertaking research and/or executing climate change projects in Africa, and working with communities across the African continent. Encompassing over 100 contribtions from across Africa, it is the most comprehensive publication on climate change adaptation in Africa ever produced