Sustaining protected areas: Identifying and controlling deforestation and forest degradation drivers in the Ankasa Conservation Area, Ghana

• Published in: Biological conservation Vol. 165; pp. 86 - 94
• Main Authors: Damnyag, Lawrence, Saastamoinen, Olli, Blay, Dominic, Dwomoh, Francis K., Anglaaere, Luke C.N., Pappinen, Ari
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 01.09.2013; Elsevier
• Subjects: Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Ankasa Conservation Area periphery; Applied ecology; biodiversity; Biological and medical sciences; carbon; carbon sequestration; case studies; Change detection; Climate change; cocoa beans; Conservation; Conservation areas; Conservation, protection and management of environment and wildlife; Control measures; Deforestation; Deforestation levels; Degradation; Digital; digital images; Drivers; economic development; ecosystem services; Farming; farming systems; Forestry; forests; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General aspects; General forest ecology; Generalities. Production, biomass. Quality of wood and forest products. General forest ecology; image analysis; land cover; land use; livelihood; Parks, reserves, wildlife conservation. Endangered species: population survey and restocking; people; poverty; Priorities; regression analysis; resource management; risk reduction; satellites; surveys; wood; Ghana; West Africa; Sub-Saharan Africa; Africa; Ankasa Conservation Area periphery; Deforestation levels; Control measures; Drivers; Deforestation; Degradation; Forests; Tropical zone; Protected area; Environmental protection
• ISSN: 0006-3207; 1873-2917
• DOI: 10.1016/j.biocon.2013.05.024

•Extent and DFD causes in ACA analyzed.•Subsistence agriculture, illegal logging, fuel wood harvesting were direct causes.•Poverty, off-farm employment shortages and high in-migration of people were important underlying causes.•Give priority to livelihood improvement and ecosystem services provision in ACA.•This will enable ACA increase biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation. Although protected areas in Africa contain possibly the highest repositories of carbon and thus can play a role in mitigating the effects of climate change through carbon sequestration, they are threatened due to increasing levels of deforestation and forest degradation (DFD). However, little information is available on the on-site causes of DFD in these areas. This paper estimates the levels of DFD and identifies the drivers in the Ankasa Conservation Area (ACA) in Ghana as a case study. A survey was used to identify both direct and underlying factors that promote the DFD. The extent of deforestation was estimated using satellite images. The survey data were analyzed using rankings and ordinal logistic regression techniques, while digital image classification and change detection were used to analyze land cover changes. The results show that DFD occurred at a higher rate in the periphery of the ACA compared to the core-protected and the farthest areas. Agricultural and wood harvesting activities were the main direct causes of DFD. Poverty and large in-migrations of people for cocoa farming were important underlying economic and population growth factors. To address these problems and enable ACA to contribute more to biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation, the community resource management institutions should be fully adopted and strengthened and priority given to livelihood improvement and ecosystem services provision in the periphery of the ACA.