Livelihoods and poverty reduction in coastal communities in the Western Region of Ghana: analysis of livelihoods baseline data of the ICFG Program

This report is the result of the livelihoods baseline survey as part of the USAID-funded Integrated Coastal and Fisheries Governance (ICFG) Program for the Western Region of Ghana (Hen Mpoano). The survey aims to provide a baseline for interventions to be implemented as part of the Hen Mpoano project by: 1) Establishing a baseline of the status of livelihoods of households in target communities (assess income levels and sources, seasonality issues, assets, vulnerability); 2) Establishing a simplified nutritional baseline of households in target communities and fish species consumed; 3) Identifying opportunities for livelihood diversification in the target opportunities

Ghana coastal fisheries governance dialogue: Presentations, discussions and outcomes from a stakeholder forum on issues for reforming governance of Ghana’s coastal fisheries

This meeting, the second national Fisheries Governance Dialogue, aimed to help stakeholders in the fisheries sector generate a shared understanding of critical lessons and pathways for fisheries co-management success in Ghana. This was a direct response to the call from both fisheries communities and the government of Ghana for a radical change from the way fisheries resources are currently being managed. The meeting was attended by 60 men and women from stakeholder organizations and communities, and commenced with presentations on co-management experiences from local, regional and international participants. This was followed by panel discussions to extract lessons that specifically related to successfully implementing co-management in Ghana’s fisheries. Finally, breakout groups addressed in greater detail some issues of importance to fisheries governance reform in Ghana. While fisheries co-management is not a new concept in Ghana, participants heard that previous attempts to initiate these systems proved unsustainable. A number of lessons were drawn from these past experiences

Ghana coastal fisheries governance dialogue: developing options for a legal framework for fisheries co-management in Ghana

The Third National Fisheries Governance Dialogue was a direct follow up on the Second National Fisheries Governance Dialogue held in Elmina in April 2012. It was agreed at the Second dialogue that co-management was the way forward for sustaining Ghana’s fisheries and that its success would depend on a supportive legal framework. The two day dialogue meeting consisted of four key presentations focusing on: the current status of fisheries in Ghana; co-management as a fresh approach to fisheries; outcomes from the regional stakeholder consultations on co-management structure; and outcomes from the research on the legal framework. The presentations were followed by four breakout groups that generated ideas for co-management structures for different species namely pelagic fish or Sardinella, near shore demersal, Volta lake, and lagoons and estuaries. Key elements for co-management structures and elements of a co-management legal framework were later identified during plenary discussions

Determination of Soil Erosion and Sediment Yield in the Bonsa River Basin Using GIS and Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE)

The Bonsa river is an important tributary of the Ankobra river in the Western Region of Ghana. The catchment of the Bonsa river has been undergoing rapid land cover changes due to human activities such as farming, illegal mining, population growth, among others which are likely to promote soil erosion and sediment yield in the river basin. To estimate the amount of soil eroded over a period and subsequent sediment yielded along the Bonsa river basin, the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) was integrated with Geographic Information System (GIS) to model the spatial distribution patterns in soil erosion and sediment yield within the catchment. Data used included annual rainfall records, soil map, Digital Elevation Model (DEM) and land-use map of the study area. Parameters of the model were determined and converted into raster layers using the raster calculator tool in ArcMap to produce a soil erosion map. The concept of Sediment Delivery Ratio (SDR) was applied to determine the annual sediment yield by combining a raster SDR layer with soil erosion map. The predicted soil loss and sediment yield values were found to be low. This may be due to high soil protective cover provided by vegetation as well as low topographic relief in the river basin. Though, the elements and processes responsible for soil erosion and sediment yield prevailing in the basin was found to be low, adverse situations could be developed with time if the prevailing conditions are not checked, as soil erosion is a natural gradual slow process. The gains made could be sustained by putting measures in place to control human activities, particularly, illegal mining (galamsey) in the basin, indiscriminate cutting down of trees and farmining activities along the Bansa river basin. This study will support monitoring, planning of water resources and help to improve sustainable water quality

Effect of Cleopatra mandarin rootstock age on bud ‘take’ of Late Valencia sweet orange

Cleopatra mandarin is preferred to rough lemon as rootstock material for budding because of the susceptibility of the latter to major citrus diseases such as gummosis and phytophtora infections. However, Cleopatra mandarin rootstocks have poor bud ‘take’. The experiment was conducted at CSIR-Plant Genetic Resources Research Institute, Bunso to determine the effect of Cleopatra mandarin rootstock age on bud ‘take’ of Late Valencia sweet orange variety. Cleopatra mandarin rootstocks of ages 9 months, 10 months, 11 months and 12 months were budded with Late Valencia sweet orange variety using the chip budding technique in a randomised complete block design. There were 25 budded seedlings for each age group and replicated four times. Results obtained indicated that younger Cleopatra mandarin rootstock favoured bud ‘take’more than older ones. Higher bud ‘take’ was recorded in the 9-month old rootstocks followed by the 10-month old ones. Bud ‘take’, however, decreased with age of the rootstock. Differences in bud ‘take’between younger rootstocks (9 and 10 months old) were insignificant. There were, however, significant differences between bud‘take’ of younger rootstocks and older rootstocks (11 and 12 months old)

Rapid Assessment of Anthropogenic Impacts of Exposed Sandy Beaches in Ghana using Ghost Crabs (Ocypode Spp.) as Ecological Indicators

We applied a rapid assessment methodology to estimate the degree of human impact of exposed sandy beaches in Ghana using ghost crabs as ecological indicators. The use of size ranges of ghost crab burrows and their population density as ecological indicators to assess extent of anthropogenic impacts on beaches was explored in this study. For each site, three transects were laid perpendicular to the shoreline over a 100 meter distance at 50 m intervals, i.e., at reference points 0, 50 and 100 meter points. Sampling locations were randomly selected along the three transects using a 1 m x 1 m quadrat. Measurements were done twice weekly for a period of four weeks. The results showed that even though the moderately disturbed beach had higher burrow density than the disturbed beach on the average, the difference is not statistically significant (T-test; p > 0.01). However, mean burrow diameter at the moderately disturbed site was statistically found to be significantly larger than for the disturbed site (T-test; p < 0.01). We conclude that burrow sizes is a good estimator for verification of human impacts of exposed sandy beaches. It confirms that burrow density even though an important factor, may not necessarily be a significant estimator of the impacts of human activity on beaches. On this basis, it appears that the estimations of the diameter of burrows of crabs of the Ocypode genera provides a rapid tool for impact verification of sandy beaches and for use in environmental quality monitoring of beach programs in coastal areas

The Use of Bauxite as an Arsenic Filter

AbstractArsenic (As) has the potential to negatively affect soils and groundwater quality, and cause several public health challenges. It is usually concentrated and released during metal mining of ores that contains arsenic-bearing minerals. Remediation strategies are in place to avoid pollution. In this study, bauxite from Awaso, Ghana, was characterised, and its ability to sequester As was tested under varying conditions of temperature, Eh and pH. The study showed that the best particle size in the range utilised was 80% passing 2 mm as it allowed easy percolation, and As removal was about 95%. The reaction is a favourable pseudo-second order reaction that is spontaneous and thermodynamically stable and compares well with the Langmuir Sorption Isotherm. About 80% sorption was achieved within 20 minutes of contact with low desorption rate of less than 1.8%. The study thus concludes that bauxite is a good filter for arsenic. Keywords: Arsenic, Bauxite, Filter, Sorption, Isother

Design, development and deployment of a software platform for real-time reporting in the west of Scotland demersal fleet : FIS032

Acknowledgements We thank the co-funders (FIS, SFO, Scottish White Fish Producers Association, Seafish and the University of Aberdeen), the participating POs and the participating fishers for being willing to take a chance on RTR. Critical early support was given by D. Anderson (Aberdeen Fish Producers Organisation) and M. Park (SWFPA). K. Haflinger (Sea State Inc., Seattle, USA) generously shared valuable insights about the use of RTR on the west coast. C. Asare is thanked for his concerted efforts trying to “catch” fishers to be interviewed in 2019. C. Needle (Marine Scotland Science) kick-started interest in mapping unwanted catch of juvenile cod in the North Sea.Publisher PD

Influence of improved technology adoption on livelihoods of small ruminant farmers in Ghana

The study was conducted with the objective of finding how the adoption of small ruminant technologies affected the livelihood outcomes of small ruminant farmers in Ghana. Data collected using questionnaires which were triangulated with focus group discussions. A sample size of 180 small ruminant farmers comprising 141 men and 39 women was used. Socio-economic factors such as sex, age and contact with extension agents were observed to have significant effects on adoption. Also, a significant relationship was found between adoption and incomes, ability to afford school fees, payment of utility bills and access to veterinary drugs. There was also a significant relationship between adoption and food security and group membership. Adoption of improved technologies had influenced most of the livelihood outcomes of the farmers. It is recommended that extension officers continue to intensify education on the improved technologies so that more results can be obtained on livelihoods of the farmers