Linking ‘no deforestation’ supply chains and national climate mitigation initiatives

The IKI supports capacity building within the framework of the Asunafo-Asutifi Landscape Programme in Ghana.

Proforest’s Production Landscape Programme encompasses several initiatives and programmes including the Linking ‘no deforestation’ supply chains and national climate mitigation initiatives programme, supported by the International Climate Initiative (IKI). 

This programme recognises the need for collective action to address systemic challenges such as deforestation, water management, land conflict and labour rights: action within and beyond individual supply chains. This requires collaboration with the government, communities, producers, and companies to achieve locally relevant and long-term positive impacts within a landscape.

In the Asunafo-Asutifi landscape, one of Ghana’s six Hotspot Intervention Areas under its Ghana Cocoa Forests REDD+ Programme (GCFRP), the main challenge was the large number of independent smallholders producing cocoa at a relatively small scale. 

Proforest, collaborating with key landscape stakeholders including the government’s Forestry Commission (FC), the World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) representing cocoa companies, and Tropenbos Ghana, took the approach of supporting the establishment of a landscape governance structure with land-use and forest protection oversight, and in parallel building capacity within this structure to support the management of the landscape by local actors.

Outcomes 

Three main outcomes can be noted from the capacity building project work in Asunafo-Asutifi:

1.    Developing a Landscape Capacity Building Plan

This was based on a comprehensive needs assessment and stakeholder engagement carried out with the communities and a national-level needs assessment completed with the REDD+ secretariat and other NGOs.

2.    Training over 140 landscape-level stakeholders (private sector, government officials, NGOs, traditional authorities)

This training was to enable all actors in the landscape governance structure to be able to play their respective parts and support the establishment of the governance structure. Working closely with its key stakeholders, two national level trainings were held, one in late 2021 and another in March 2022. For example, the following topics were covered:

• Overview of the GCFRP; 
• Asunafo-Asutifi HIA Landscape Governance Structure and Management Plan; 
• General principles of Climate-smart agriculture.

3.    Training over 420 local-level stakeholders (farmers, women, and youth groups)

This was a larger exercise in awareness raising so the community knew what was happening in the landscape, and their rights and responsibilities as stakeholders in the landscape. The first round of local level training was held in April and May 2022. The six training programmes covered six groups comprising 420 participants across the following locations: Goaso, Mim, Kukuom, Sankore, Kenyase and Hwidiem. 

In both the local level and national level training, activities involved classroom, face-to-face presentations, discussions and experience sharing as well as field tour of key ecological areas across the landscape.

Proforest believes that training and capacity building create an alignment and understanding of the roles and responsibilities each landscape stakeholder holds, therefore enabling a collaborative work environment. 

This is an ongoing activity that should be open to everyone to ensure real local ownership of the landscape initiative. This is especially important when new players appear, such as new companies operating in the landscape or a change of officials after a certain term of office.