Sustainable livelihoods of forest fringe communities: forests, trees and household livelihood strategies in southern Ghana

Forests play fundamental roles in supporting rural livelihoods in Ghana. They form an integral part of the rural economy, providing subsistence goods and services as well as items of trade. Non-timber forest products (NTFPs) contribute in many ways to improving diets, combating hunger and increasing incomes for rural households in Ghana. Indeed, wild plants and animals have traditionally been the major insurance of many rural households against food and livelihood insecurity. Yet past forestry development efforts have primarily focused on timber, and on building the forest capital, without paying equal attention to how these particular assets combine with others to sustain livelihoods, especially for the poor. This oversight has resulted in gaps in our understanding of the contribution of forest products to sustainable livelihoods.This study focuses primarily on the role of forest products (especially NTFPs) in rural livelihoods, the institutional issues that mediate local people's access to forest products, the impact of forest degradation and decline on rural livelihoods, and the forms of adaptation to forest resources decline. By combining qualitative and quantitative processes of enquiry (rapid rural appraisal, household questionnaire survey, key informant interviews, household case studies, literature search and direct detailed observations), the extent and manner in which forest-based resources form part of livelihood structures of forest and near-forest dwellers was examined in three forest fringe communities in the Wassa Amenfi District of southern Ghana.The results of this study reveal that NTFPs provide critical resources across southern Ghana, fulfilling nutritional, medicinal, cultural and financial needs, especially during periods of seasonal hardship and emergencies. Virtually all households consume a wide variety of forest foods, and forest-based activities provide one of the most common income-earning options for households throughout the study area. The contribution of forests and forest products to rural livelihoods is also manifested in the spiritual, cultural and traditional values placed on them. Forest products feature in many cultural ceremonies such as marriages, funerals, initiations, the installation of chiefs and the celebration of births.In spite of the important contribution of forest resources to rural livelihoods, current statutes in Ghana do not recognise indigenous rights to NTFPs in forest reserve areas. All products within forest reserves, including timber and NTFPs are vested in the government. Local people must obtain permits to harvest products from forest reserves. Similarly, all naturally occurring timber trees - whether on private or on communal land, or even on private farms - 'belong' to the government. It is an offence for an individual or community to cut or sell timber or merchantable tree species without permission from the Forestry Department (FD). Local people resent this form of exclusion and see the permit system as too expensive and complicated. This policy of exclusion discourages any sense of stewardship or responsibility towards forest resources. It alienates, and is a strong disincentive to local management of forests and timber resources. Because of this, people harvest NTFPs profligately and often destroy valuable timber species on their farms before concessionaires can gain access to them.The potential of forest products to continue to support rural livelihoods in Ghana can only be realised by an increase in the stream of forest benefits to local people. This will require security of access to forest resources, local incentives to protect the forest and its timber resources, and the involvement of local communities in forest management. These are critical issues if local communities are to use the forest resources in their localities sustainably. Because local communities are primary users of forest products, and create rules that significantly affect forest condition, their inclusion in forestry management schemes is essential

Drivers of change in farming systems and forest cover in Ghana

Emmanuel Acheampong examined how Ghanaian farming practices influence farmers' livelihoods and forest cover. He found that farmers who adopt agricultural inputs are less likely to encroach forest reserves. Emmanuel hopes that Ghana's Forestry Commission and Ministry of Food and Agriculture will adopt his recommendations to enhance agricultural and forest sustainability

The relevance of knowledge, perception, and factors that influence contraceptive use among married women living in Uaddara Barracks, Ghana

BackgroundContraceptive use has many advantages for personal growth and societal advancement, but there is still the problem of unmet needs for women, which highlights the gap between women's reproductive intentions and contraceptive use. This study investigated knowledge, perceptions, and factors that influence contraceptive use among married women living in a military base in Ghana.MethodsThis cross-sectional study involved 350 married women between the ages of 20 and 58 years at the Uaddara Barracks, Kumasi. A structured questionnaire was used to collect information on the background, knowledge, perceptions on contraceptive use, and contraceptive methods used by participants. Data was entered into an Excel sheet and analysed using R version 4.2.1.ResultsMost of the participants were between the age range of 36 and 40 years (25.5%). Almost all study participants (97.4%), had heard about contraceptives with 80.6% showing a high level of knowledge on contraceptives. The majority of the women (84.6%) had previously used some form of contraceptives and 53.1% presently do. More than half of the participants (69.4%) had a positive perception of contraceptive use; 80.6% responded it was their own decision to use contraceptives, and 80.3% had the support of their husbands. Husbands' support of contraception resulted in a 5 times higher usage of contraceptives among women (aOR =  5.35; p < 0.001) while women who were married to military men were 45% (aOR = 0.45; p = 0.007) less likely to use contraceptive when compared to civilian wives. Demographic characteristics like being above 40 years (aOR = 0.25; p = 0.014), being a housewife (aOR = 0.42; p = 0.043) and working in the private sector (aOR = 0.33; p = 0.015) were significantly linked with less contraceptive use.ConclusionThe study showed that women used contraceptives at a rate that was much higher than the national norm at the Uaddara Barracks, demonstrating the beneficial influence men had on women's contraceptive use. This thereby underscores the need for interventional policies that prioritized the male as much as women, while emphasizing the benefits of contraceptive use to the family and not just as an awareness program only

Evaluation of red blood cell count as an ancillary index to hemoglobin level in defining the severe falciparum malarial anemia among Ghanaian children in low-resource communities

© 2020 The Author(s) Our study evaluated red blood cell count as supporting hematological index to hematocrit level in predicting severe malarial anemia instead of the hemoglobin levels among malaria-infected children in Ghana. This case-control study was conducted at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in Kumasi, Ghana. The study recruited 139 children, of which 45 were Controls (C), 43 with severe malaria (SM), and 51 with mild malaria (MM). Validated questionnaires were administered to obtain the socio-demographic data from each respondent. Venous blood was obtained for parasitemia count and to determine the hematological profile of each participant. With point of observation, data analysis was done. The mean age of the children was 4.22 ± 2.65 years. Median levels of hemoglobin (Hb) decreased in the order; C \u3e MM \u3e SM (P \u3c 0.0001). There was a reduction in median levels of hematocrit (HCT) (P \u3c 0.0001), RBC (red blood cells count) ( \u3c 0.0001), from the MM to the SM. Among patients with severe malaria, there were a positive significant spearmen\u27s co-efficient correlations between median levels of RBC (r = 0.652, P = 0.005) and HB (r = 0.640, P = 0.006) individually against HCT. However among the mild malaria patients only RBC (r = 0.884, P \u3c 0.001) was positively correlated against HCT. At a cut-off of \u3c 4.0×106/uL for RBC and \u3c 8.8 g/dL for Hb, RBC (90.4%) recorded a slightly high accuracy in predicting severe falciparum malarial anemia than Hb (86.9%) among the cases. Red blood cell count may be a promising indicator to support hematocrit ( \u3c 15%) in defining severe malarial anemia than hemoglobin level ( \u3c 5 g/dL) among malaria-infected children from endemic areas in Ghana

The Bible, In-Laws and Family in Africa

The rolelessness of in-laws in the family structure makes in-law and family relationships a difficult problem in Africa. This article investigated the Bible, in-laws and the family in Africa, as well as how Scriptures address in-laws and families in connection to African culture. The research is supported by existing literature by researchers in the research field. It examines relevant Bible material, investigates how the Bible treats the problematic topic of in-laws and situates it in the African setting. The focus of the research is to determine if the Bible’s stance on in-laws conforms to family structure in the African environment by analysing the interaction between them. It establishes that the Bible instructs us to respect and care for our in-laws. The couples consequently must pursue the well-being of their in-laws, as there is a connection between the Bible, in-laws and the family in Africa

Deforestation is driven by agricultural expansion in Ghana's forest reserves

Ghana's protected forest reserves have suffered average annual deforestation rates of 0.7%, 0.5%, 0.4%, and 0.6% for the periods 1990–2000, 2000–2005, 2005–2010 and 2010–2015, respectively. The Ashanti region has recorded the second highest deforestation rates. Despite the government's efforts to maintain and protect Ghana's forest reserves, deforestation continues. We observed deforestation patterns in the Ashanti region of Ghana from 1986 to 2015 using Landsat imagery to identify the main causes of deforestation. We obtained and processed two adjacent Landsat images from the United States Geological Survey's (USGS) National Centre for Earth Resources Observation and Science at 30 m spatial resolution for 1986, 2002, and 2015. We then supported the results with findings from 291 farm household surveys in communities fringing the forest reserves. By 2015, dense forest covered 53.3% of the land area of the forest reserves, and the remaining area had been disturbed. Expansion of annual crop farms and tree crops caused 78% of the forest loss within the 29-year period. Afforestation projects are ongoing some of which employ the participation of farmers, yet agricultural expansion exerts more pressure on the remaining dense forest. Agricultural intensification on existing farmlands may reduce farm expansion into the remaining forest areas. Strengthening and enforcing forest protection laws could minimise the extent of agricultural encroachment into forests. Mixed tree-crop systems could reduce the effects of arable farming on deforestation, limit the clearance of trees from farmlands, enhance the provision of ecosystem services, and improve the soil's fertility and moisture content. A forest transition may be underway leading to more trees in agricultural systems and better protection of residual natural forests

Cultural Profile as Determinant of Work Outcomes in a Collectivist Context

Extant research evidence shows that interpersonal bonds—the bond to the immediate supervisor and work team—have an incremental predictive effect in western settings, neglecting emerging economic and cultural environments. This study, thus, examines the impact of cultural profiles on interpersonal bonds and related performance in an emerging market context. Specifically, the study examines the emergence of profiles based on micro-level psychological collectivism (individualism) and power distance orientations. The study further examines the effect of the emerged profiles on interpersonal bonds and the performance of activities related to the targets of the bonds. A survey questionnaire was used to collect data from 148 multiple public and private organizations of varied industries (banking, manufacturing, education, and local government) in an emerging market. Using the MANOVA analytic procedure, the study finds that the supervisor-oriented and team-involved profile rather than the team-alienated profile demonstrates a significantly higher level of work outcomes involving interpersonal commitment to the supervisor and substantially higher task performance. The outcome suggests that power distance cultural value may have a negative psychological effect while collectivism has a positive psychological effect on work outcomes in this context. The implication of the outcome for theory and policy in the collectivist context is discussed