Do Forest Values Influence Compliance with Forestry Legislation? The Case of Farmers in the Fringes of Forest Reserves in Ghana

Ramcilovic‐Suominen, Sabaheta; Matero, Jukka; Shannon, M. A.

doi:10.1007/s11842-012-9209-z

Cited by 17 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…This builds on recent evidence that village-scale hunting activity is positively associated with economic value attributed to forests by individual residents in Borneo [31]. Likewise, the availability of wild animals for food increases the value attributed to forests by farmers living nearby forest reserves in Ghana, given their importance for immediate subsistence and people’s livelihoods [68]. These two studies, however, do not distinguish between bushmeat harvest and consumption, which are not necessarily correlated, and do not control for the dependency on other forest resources.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 77%

Who Cares about Forests and Why? Individual Values Attributed to Forests in a Post-Frontier Region in Amazonia

et al. 2016

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Understanding the multiple ways people value forests is important, as individual values regarding nature have been shown to partly determine willingness to participate in conservation initiatives. As individual values are influenced by past experiences, the way people value forests may be related to the ecosystem services they use and receive. We here aim to investigate if people value forests because of material and non-material benefits forest provide (material and non-material values), and if these values are defined by previous experiences associated with using forest resources and having frequent contact with forests. By interviewing 363 residents across 20 landscapes varying in forest cover in a post-frontier region in Amazonia, we evaluated: (1) if the use of forest resources—especially bushmeat, important for sustenance and cash income in virtually all tropical forests—is associated with attributing higher material value to forests; (2) whether the contact with forest (estimated by local forest cover and visits to forests) is associated with attributing higher non-material value to forests. As expected, respondents from households where hunting occurs and bushmeat consumption is more frequent attributed higher material value to forests, and those living in more deforested landscapes and that visited forests less often attributed lower non-material value to forests. The importance of bushmeat in shaping the way people value forests suggests that encouraging the sustainable use of this product will encourage forest conservation. Results also point to a potential dangerous reinforcing cycle: low forest cover and the loss of contact with forests may erode forest values and facilitate further deforestation. Engaging rural communities in forest conservation initiatives is challenging yet urgent in degraded landscapes, although harnessing appreciation for bushmeat could offer a starting point.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 77%

Who Cares about Forests and Why? Individual Values Attributed to Forests in a Post-Frontier Region in Amazonia

et al. 2016

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“…The increased rural population has massive pressure on scarce forestlands, causing severe degradation in the natural environment [94] and indirectly accelerating D&FD in Ghana [58]. Table 4 Forest policy lapses have indirectly fostered different kinds of forest illegalities in Ghana's high forest zones and forest reserves [96]. For example, to date, Ghana's forest policy has failed to adequately reform and address benefits and rights that would allow land occupants to harvest or access on-farm and fallow land trees culminating in widespread illegal logging [97].…”

Section: Population Growthmentioning

confidence: 99%

Analysis of the Social-Ecological Causes of Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Ghana: Application of the DPSIR Framework

Kyere-Boateng

Marek

2021

Forests

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Globally, forests provide several functions and services to support humans’ well-being and the mitigation of greenhouse gases (GHGs). The services that forests provide enable the forest-dependent people and communities to meet their livelihood needs and well-being. Nevertheless, the world’s forests face a twin environmental problem of deforestation and forest degradation (D&FD), resulting in ubiquitous depletion of forest biodiversity and ecosystem services and eventual loss of forest cover. Ghana, like any tropical forest developing country, is not immune to these human-caused D&FD. This paper reviews Ghana’s D&FD driven by a plethora of pressures, despite many forest policies and interventions to ensure sustainable management and forest use. The review is important as Ghana is experiencing an annual D&FD rate of 2%, equivalent to 135,000 hectares loss of forest cover. Although some studies have focused on the causes of D&FD on Ghana’ forests, they failed to show the chain of causal links of drivers that cause D&FD. This review fills the knowledge and practice gap by adopting the Driver-Pressures-State-Impacts-Responses (DPSIR) analytical framework to analyse the literature-based sources of causes D&FD in Ghana. Specifically, the analysis identified agriculture expansion, cocoa farming expansion, illegal logging, illegal mining, population growth and policy failures and lapses as the key drivers of Ghana’s D&FD. The study uses the DPSIR analytical framework to show the chain of causal links that lead to the country’s D&FD and highlights the numerous interventions required to reverse and halt the ubiquitous perpetual trend of D&FD in Ghana. Similar tropical forest countries experiencing D&FD will find the review most useful to curtail the menace.

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“…Understanding the role of values in informing behavioural outcomes has been a focus in the forest conservation literature in recent years (Drescher et al, 2017;Eriksson et al, 2015;Ramcilovic-Suominen et al, 2012;Sharaunga et al, 2015Sharaunga et al, , 2013. However, values alone do not lead directly to behaviours (Ramcilovic-Suominen et al, 2012;Sharaunga et al, 2015;Vaske and Donnelly, 1999). Understanding what fills this value-action gap (Blake, 1999) remains a challenge.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The relationship between forest values and behaviour has been explored (Ní Dhubháin et al, 2007;Ramcilovic-Suominen et al, 2012;Sharaunga et al, 2015;Vaske and Donnelly, 1999), often with a focus on a specific type of value (e.g. forest values or individual values) or mediating factor (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring the Value–Action Gap through Shared Values, Capabilities and Deforestation Behaviours in Guatemala

et al. 2019

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SummaryUnderstanding drivers of deforestation is essential for developing any successful intervention to reduce forest degradation or loss, yet there remains relatively little consensus or clarity on how drivers should be identified and classified. To capture the full range of values and mediating factors that may contribute to land-use behaviours, an approach derived from a shared values perspective that includes a range of values associated with whole landscapes and ecosystems is required. We developed a model that combines behavioural theory with the Capability Approach as a conceptual framework through which to investigate the value–action gap. We used exploratory factor analysis (EFA) of Likert-scale responses to belief statements in order to identify land users’ shared values in the Sarstún Motagua region of Guatemala. We then qualify and quantify the role of capabilities in mediating between the shared values of different cultural groups of land users (Q’eqchi Maya and Ladinos) by comparing their factor scores with their self-reported forest cover change behaviours. Our results indicate that Maya and Ladinos share a set of values, but hold different value orientations that predict their behavioural intentions. We find that their different value orientations reflect behavioural intentions, but an understanding of the capabilities available to different groups is also necessary to fill the value–action gap. These findings have implications for behavioural theory, providing empirical links between shared values, capabilities and behaviour and identification of the role of value orientations, as well as demonstrating a useful approach for decision-makers seeking to understand drivers of change at landscape and whole-ecosystem levels.

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Do Forest Values Influence Compliance with Forestry Legislation? The Case of Farmers in the Fringes of Forest Reserves in Ghana

Cited by 17 publications

References 30 publications

Who Cares about Forests and Why? Individual Values Attributed to Forests in a Post-Frontier Region in Amazonia

Who Cares about Forests and Why? Individual Values Attributed to Forests in a Post-Frontier Region in Amazonia

Analysis of the Social-Ecological Causes of Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Ghana: Application of the DPSIR Framework

Exploring the Value–Action Gap through Shared Values, Capabilities and Deforestation Behaviours in Guatemala

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