The implications of stakeholders' perceptions of land for sustainable land use management in NE Ghana

There are negative implications of changes in stakeholders traditional land perceptions for sustainable land use and management in north-east Ghana. In African tenurial systems, land use was based on a local mystical view of the environment and stakeholders broad-based knowledge of the local environments. These led to sustainable resource use and management. However, in the context of current political ecology of north-east Ghana as induced by increased population growth, urbanisation, the market economy, changes in religious beliefs, and government land policies, stakeholders understandings of land have acquired even greater importance in issues of sustainable land resource use and management. A mixed methodological approach, combining both qualitative and quantitative data gathering techniques for information on stakeholders land perceptions, was used to analyse their implications for sustainable land use and management. Changes in the dynamics of stakeholders perceptions of land are partly responsible for the current state of land and environmental degradation in north-east Ghana. Policies aimed at ensuring sustainable land use and environmental management must focus on those traditional land perceptions, which encourage environmental sustainabilit

Traditional Authorities and Peri-Urban Land Management in Ghana: Evidence from Wa

Land is a fundamental livelihood resource and critical to the spiritual well-being of many Ghanaians. It has a sense of politics of belonging that underpins different corporate tenure groups in the country. With rising demographic pressures on land and increasing changes in social, economic, environmental and political stakes; debates, contestations and counter-contestations over land rights have multiplied, especially in peri-urban communities in Ghana. Peri-urban lands are the interface of rural and urban land settings, and in these areas control over land management becomes convoluted with both traditional authorities and state land managers often in conflict. This paper investigated the role of traditional authorities in peri-urban land management in Wa, a new but fast urbanizing capital of the Upper West Region of Ghana. The research is critical to informing policy formulation and legislation for sustainable land management and development in peri-urban Ghana. Utilizing the case study approach, data was collected from a total of 260 stakeholders at household, institutional and individual levels from nine (9) peri-urban communities of Wa. The results showed that peri-urban Wa has witnessed increasing involvement of traditional authorities in land management, with practices sometimes in consonance with formal structures of land administration and other times in conflict. The paper concludes, however, that as a developing country neither the formal structures for land administration nor the traditional institutions for land management working alone can provide the required amount of land delivery services to match the pace of demographic change and urbanization trends. In effect, as two key stakeholders in land governance it behooves both to work in consultation, collaboration, cooperation and coordination towards achieving participatory land management. Thus it is recommended that the thrust of current efforts by the Ghana Land Administration Project and the National Lands Commission in achieving sustainable land administration should be anchored on participatory land management practices. Keywords: Traditional Authorities, Land Management, Peri-Urban, Ghana

Dynamics of community perceptions, common resources and compensation practices in mining: The case of Newmont Ghana Gold Ltd at Ahafo

A critical issue confronting the mining industry and communities in Ghana is compensation for loss of land rights in mining activities. The 1992 Constitution and the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703) both require compensation for the expropriated to be fair, adequate and promptly paid. However, fairness, adequacy and promptness are normative value judgments predicated on stakeholders’ perceptions. This makes controversies over compensation issues inevitable and in mining communities these are rife because of increased competition between mines and communities for land and the legal provision that the payment of compensation rests with mining companies negotiating with the expropriated. Using Newmont Ghana Gold Ltd at Ahafo, we analyzed data from a sample of 120 stakeholders in four mining communities which revealed a wide divergence between communities’ perceptions and mining company compensation practices, and weak enforcement of mining legislation. Communities were also not well resourced to negotiate for compensation with the transnational corporation. Also, we argue that the principles applied in compensation assessment as provided by law, especially in the case of common resources, contribute to unfairness and inadequacy in compensation for the expropriated. We conclude that this imbalance has negative implications for community-mining company relations and threatens sustainable mining operations. We therefore recommend the rigorous enforcement of legislation, introduction of appropriate governmental and mining company initiatives in building capacities of communities for improved negotiations for compensation, legal recognition of common resources as valuable community assets for compensation, the application of the investment approach to compensation valuation and improved CSR packages by mines as means of bridging the gap between communities’ perceptions and compensation practices and ensuring improved company-community relations in the mining industry

Land tenure and sustainable livelihoods in north-east Ghana

Many authors have blamed African land tenure systems for the poor agricultural production and environmental degradation in sub-Saharan Africa, and therefore the resulting hunger, environmental refugees and the lack of socio-economic progress. The aim of this investigation was to investigate the customary and statutory tenure practices in north-east Ghana and their implications for agricultural production and environmental degradation and recommend ways of improving tenurial practices. The study revealed that contrary to the mainstream view that lack of security of customary land tenure is the main cause of the poor agricultural production and environmental degradation, stakeholders’ perceptions of their security of tenure was generally high. Stakeholders’ religious background, gender, levels of education, age, occupation and community membership status were important factors influencing their perceptions and attitudes to land tenure, and land and environmental management practices. Yet poor agricultural production and environmental degradation characterised the study area. Interviewees perceived the main causes to be due to non-tenurial factors including lack of finance, poor soil fertility, inadequate and unreliable rainfall, pests and diseases, inadequate farmlands, bush burning and excessive tree cutting. It was also shown in the study that women and strangers generally had little or no power and control over land use decision-making and management under customary land tenure. These findings have negative implications for tenurial conditions, environmental and livelihood sustainability in north-east Ghana since most women are involved in food production. Results of the investigation were used to develop a participatory and holistic approach to land use and management and developed an integrated framework of customary and statutory tenure as a way forward in sustainable land management and the provision of sustainable livelihoods in north-east Ghana in particular, and sub-Saharan Africa generally. The study has contributed to an understanding of the political ecology of north-east Ghana and concludes that the emerging changes in land resource access and use have conflicts as an inevitable element of the process, which broad-based stakeholder participation provides a useful solution

Inaccessible Built Environments in Ghana’s Universities: The Bane of a Weak Legal and Regulatory Framework for Persons with Disabilities 1

This is a qualitative study of the role of the legal and regulatory framework in making built environments accessible to Persons with Disabilities in six universities in Ghana. It revealed that the local component of legislation dealing with accessible environments was fragile and fraught with compliance challenges, administrative laxity and the lack of a time conscious approach to issues thereby resulting in inaccessible built environments. In effect, the study gives credence to the proposition of the social model that disability is a creation of humankind and recommends an amendment of Ghana’s Persons with Disability Act

Property rights and sustainable development in sub-Saharan Africa: a case study of North-East Ghana

Land tenure is the institutional framework within which access to and use of land and environmental resources are achieved. Thus, property rights have a crucial role to play in the attainment of sustainable development. The relevance of sustainable development practices to sub-Saharan Africa cannot be overemphasized. However, due to the urgent need to overcome poverty in sub-Saharan Africa, balancing the environmental, economic and social goals of development is an extremely difficult task in the region. Using both qualitative and quantitative data from North-East Ghana, the linkages between property rights and sustainable development are examined. The evidence adduced shows that the main factors that undermine the prospects of achieving sustainable development are inappropriate agricultural practices, high levels of poverty, lack of environmental knowledge and demographic conditions. The way forward for the concept of sustainable development to be realized, is a systems approach that emphasizes sustainable agricultural practices and poverty reduction measures leading to sustainable livelihoods. The paper concludes that political will and commitment on the part of governments and civil society groups are crucial if sustainable development is to be achieved

Application of Geo-Information Techniques in Land Use and Land Cover Change Analysis in a Peri-Urban District of Ghana

Using Satellite Remote Sensing and Geographic Information System, this paper analyzes the land use and land cover change dynamics in the Bosomtwe District of Ghana, for 1986, 2010 thematic mapper and enhanced thematic Mapper+ (TM/ETM+) images, and 2014 Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager and Thermal Infrared Sensor (OLI/TIS) image. The three images were geo-referenced and processed for classification, using the maximum likelihood classifier algorithm. A Jeffries-Matusita’s separability check was used in confirming the degree of spectral separation acceptability of the bands used for each of the land use and land cover classes. The best Kappa hat statistic of classification accuracy was 83%. Land Use and Land Cover (LULC) transition analysis in Environmental Systems Research Institute ESRI’s ArcMap was performed. The results of the classification over the three periods showed that built up, bare land and concrete surfaces increased from 1201 in 1986 to 5454 ha in 2010. Dense forest decreased by 2253 ha over the same period and increased by 873 ha by the 2014. Low forest also decreased by 1043 ha in 2010; however, it increased by 13% in 2014. Our findings showed some of the important changes in the land use and land cover patterns in the District. After the urbanization process, coupled with farmland abandonment, between 1986 and 2010, substantial increments in urban land and clear increments in farmland coverage between 1986 and 2014were found to be the reason for vegetation cover decreases. This suggests that major changes in the socio-ecological driving forces affecting landscape dynamics have occurred in the last few decades

The Effects of the Intestate Succession Law 1985 (PNDCL 111) and the Head of Family Accountability Law 1985 (PNDCL 114) on Youth Access to Agricultural Land in the Techiman Traditional Area of Ghana

This paper examines the effects of the Intestate Succession Law 1985 (PNDCL 111) and the Head of Family Accountability Law 1985 (PNDCL 114) on youth access to agricultural land in the context of customary land tenure. Using the Techiman Traditional Area in Ghana as a case study, the study sampled 455 youth and 23 elders using multiple sampling techniques. It was revealed that while PNDCL 111 has had some positive effects on the ability of the youth to inherit personal properties of their deceased parents; its exemption of family land in terms of application takes agricultural land access through inheritance outside the purview of the law. Given that majority of agricultural lands are family property, youth land access option through inheritance under the law is thus limited. Again, there are no more vacant lands to be acquired as personal property which the youth can inherit under the law. In the case of PNDCL 114, the study found that the law provides no practical support to the youth in asserting claims to land or seeking accountability from their elders over land proceeds. It is recommended that both PNDCL 111 and PNDCL 114 be reviewed to reflect these limitations. Also, the Head of Family Accountability law should make Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanisms an integral part of the law to improve on dispute adjudication given that court actions to demand accountability are not generally culturally acceptable.KEY WORDS: Legislative interventions, Youth, Land, Access, Ghan

Inaccessible Built Environments in Ghana’s Universities: The Bane of a Weak Legal and Regulatory Framework for Persons with Disabilities

This is a qualitative study of the role of the legal and regulatory framework in making built environments accessible to Persons with Disabilities in six universities in Ghana. It revealed that the local component of legislation dealing with accessible environments was fragile and fraught with compliance challenges, administrative laxity and the lack of a time conscious approach to issues thereby resulting in inaccessible built environments. In effect, the study gives credence to the proposition of the social model that disability is a creation of humankind and recommends an amendment of Ghana’s Persons with Disability Act

Geospatial Analysis of Land Use and Land Cover Transitions from 1986–2014 in a Peri-Urban Ghana

Recently, peri-urbanisation has led to the transformation of the rural landscape, changing rural land uses into peri-urban land uses, under varying driving factors. This paper analyzes the dynamic transitions among identified land use and land cover (LULC) types in the Bosomtwe district of Ghana, from 1986 to 2014. An integrated approach of geo-information tools of satellite remote sensing in Earth Resource Data Analysis System (ERDAS) Imagine 13 and ArcMap 10.2 Geographic Information System (GIS), with Markov chain analytical techniques were used to examine the combined forest land cover transitions, relative to build-up, recent fallows and grasslands and projected possible factors influencing the transitions under business as usual and unusual situations. Statistical analyses of the classified Landsat TM, ETM+ and Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager and Thermal Infrared Sensor (OLI/TIS) indicated that over the period of 24 years, the Bosomtwe district has undergone a series of land use conversions with remarkable forest losses especially between 2002 and 2010. In 2010 dense forest cover was degraded to low forest by 4040 ha indicating 0.40% transition probability in the future. There was a remarkable increase of built-up/bare and concrete area with a 380% increment in the 1986–2002 transition periods. The application of the Markov futuristic land use dynamics by the years 2018 and 2028, projected from the 2014 LULC indicated a future steady decline in the area coverage of the dense forest to low forest category. This is currently being driven (as at the 2017 LULC trends), by the combined effects of increasing build up bare and concrete surface land uses as well as the expanding recent fallows and grassland. The paper concluded that the health of the ecosystem and biodiversity of the lake Bosomtwe need to be sustainably managed by the Bosomtwe district assembly