Chiefs and Trees: Tenures and Incentives in the Management and Use of Two Multipurpose Tree Species in Agroforestry Parklands in Northern Ghana

Renegotiating Access to Shea Trees in Burkina Faso: Challenging Power Relationships Associated with Demographic Shifts and Globalized Trade

“…Although global changes have affected sub‐Saharan Africa, little research has been conducted on changing tree tenure since the 1990s. Shea tree tenure has not been studied recently, although some authors have provided insights (Augusseau et al ; Benjaminsen ; Boffa et al ; Brottem ; Coulibaly‐Lingani et al ; Crélerot ; Elias ; Gausset et al ; Poudyal ). The seminal works of Berry, Fortmann and Rocheleau (Berry ; Fortmann ; Fortmann and Rocheleau ; Rocheleau and Edmunds ) provided several key insights into tree tenure in Africa: namely (i) land and tree tenures are distinct but entangled; (ii) rights to trees are multiple and overlapping; and (iii) tree tenure is flexible and dynamic.…”

The Crumbling Backbone of the Savannah Woman: Adjusting to the Declining Shea and Locust Tree Densities in Northern Ghana

“…The density of Shea and locust bean trees, which constitute a larger proportion of agroforestry parklands in Northern Ghana (Kent & Bakaweri, 2010;Poudyal, 2011), has also not been spared by the ensuing environmental changes. Available scientific evidence, suggests a significant degradation of agroforestry parklands and the population densities of Shea and locust bean trees (Maranz, 2009;Poudyal, 2011). The depletion in Savannah environmental resources, dates back to at least early 1970s, as Haglund et.…”

“…al 2006). These indigenous forest resources, play a critical role in the household economies of rural populations (Poudyal, 2011;Kent, 2018). Consequently, the fruits of these trees are so essential to rural livelihoods, especially women's, that their collection and processing are subjects of intense competition (Coulibaly-Lingani et.…”

“…These studies miss the opportunity of exploring Shea and locust trees as a bundle of community resources which complement each other in supporting the livelihoods of rural women especially in northern Ghana. Since Shea and locust bean are associate trees (Poudyal, 2011), and play very important roles in the livelihoods of rural women, concentrating on only one of them, partially addresses the problem, and also ignores the complementarities between them. Consequently, policies drawn from studies that partly address the problem, will most likely be unable to sustainably deal with the challenge.…”

“…Consequently, policies drawn from studies that partly address the problem, will most likely be unable to sustainably deal with the challenge. Attempts made by Poudyal (2011), to provide a comprehensive assessment of Shea and locust beans trees, provides a very good insight. He however limits the scope to various incentives that influence the management of these trees, thereby also missing the opportunity to critically examine the effects of decline in these trees on women's livelihoods.…”