preservation of sacred groves in ghana: esukawkaw forest...

SOUTH-SOUTH CO-OPERATION PROGRAMME ON ENVIRONMENTALLY

SOUND SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN THE HUMID TROPICS

WORKING PAPERS

No 26, 1998

THE UNITED NATIONS UNITED NATIONS THIRD WORLD

EDUCATIONAL, MAN AND THE BIOSPHERE UNIVERSITY ACADEMY OF

SCIENTIFIC AND PROGRAMME SCIENCES

CULTURAL ORGANIZATION

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1

Biosphere Reserves or similarly managed areas that are part of the South-South

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Given the rich information content of these reports, there are being made

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Secretariat, Division of Ecological Sciences.

For other documents available in the series, see the back-cover.

Working Paper No 26,1998, UNESCO (South-South Co-operation Programme), Paris (France)

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INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................... 4

I- FOREST RESERVES IN GHANA.. .......................................................................... 6

1) Timber exploitation ................................................................................................................. 7

2) Forest conditions .................................................................................................................... 8

II- THE ESUKAWKAW FOREST RESERVE (EFR). .................................................... 9

1) Location ................................................................................................................................. 10

2) Leaal status ........................................................................................................................... 12

3) Local conditions.. ................................... ............................................................................... 12

4) Existina manaaement considerations.. ............................................................................... .I2

5) Actual EFR manaaement process ......................................................................................... 13

6) Existina sociotultural links to the EFR.. .............................................................................. 14

Ill- THE EFR RESEARCH ORIENTATION AND OBJECTIVES . . . ............................. 15

IV- THE ETHNOBOTANICAL SURVEY OF THE ANWEAM SACRED GROVE.......1 6

V- FOLK CLASSIFICATIONS OF LOCAL BIOLOGICAL CATEGORIES.. ............. .I 8

VI- ABUNDANCE AND DIVERSITY OF PLANT RESOURCES WITHIN THE SACRED GROVE. ............................................................................................... .20

VII- MULTI-PURPOSE LAND USES.. ....................................................................... 21

1) Reauirements and basic occupation of surroundinq populations ..................................... 21

2) Farmina activities and tvpes ................................................................................................. 22

3) Huntinq activities.. ................................................................................................................. 23

4) Fishinq ................................................................................................................................... 25

5) Multi-purpose uses of the forest resources ......................................................................... 25

6) Harvesting. processinq and marketina of plant medicines ................................................ 28

VIII-

a- Marketing of plant medicine around the EFR .................................................................. 28 b- Gatherers .......................................................................................................................... 30 c- Producers.. ........................................................................................................................ 30 d- Retailers.. .......................................... ................................................................................ 31 e- The retail market.. ............................................................................................................. 31

FACTORS OF ENVIROMENTAL DEGRADATION OF THE EFR AND SURROUNDINGS.. ............................................................................................ .32

IX- SUSTAINABLE INCOME GENERATING OPPORTUNITIES FOR LOCAL PEOPLE .............................................................................................................. .34

1) Real situation analvsis of the EFR studv framework ............................................................ 35

2) Rationalization of the EFR multi-pumose resource utlization and management.. ........... ..3 7

CONCLUSION : AFTER THE 1997 EFR INITIATIVE, WHAT NEXT ? ...................... 37

BIBLIOGRAPHY ...................................................................................................... .40

Boakye AMOAKO-ATTA is Chief Consultant and Director of Sanrid Consult, Accra (Ghana).

Working Paper N” 26,1998, UNESCO (South-South Co-operation Programme), Paris (France)

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INTRODUCTION

Ghana has a long and distinguished tradition of formal forest management stretching

back to 1909. This is manifested by the existence of 241 protected forest reserves under the

Ministry of Lands and Forestry of Ghana (h&F). Their existence date back from the 1930s.

The fact that today’s satellite imageries coincide with the plans of the 193Os, showing no

apparent significant area of primary forest outside these reserves, underscores that without

such protected forests there would probably have been no forests left nowadays in Ghana.

Over the intervening decades, various forest policies have been articulated. However,

one feature of forestry in the high forest zone of Ghana has remained constant. The ultimate

title to permanent forest has remained among traditional land holding groups : the stool, clans

and alienation holders. Outside forest reserves, alloidal title to economic trees rests on land

owning corporate groups. The Ministry of Lands and Forestry has been empowered to manage

these forest reserve resources in the interest of the land owners and the nation.

Since the Second World War, succession title policy frameworks have shifted the

focus of forest administration and sylvicultural practice towards timber production and

prompted the concomitant neglect of other high forest values and functions. By the late 198Os,

the need to restore a balance between the national, alloidal and industrial interests in the forest

resources and to establish a more productive relationship with rural communities had become

imperative. Unfortunately, though the support of local people and communities in forest

resource management has been fully recognised in official circles (Alder ; Hawthorne &

Musah) and was reflected in most emerging policies, yet the local people remain the most

disillusioned and often alienated by the forest protection authorities in most instances.

The Forest and Wildlife Policy (1994) and the collaborative Forest Management

Framework (1996) prepared by the Ministry of Lands and Forestry mark a watershed in this

respect and a return to multiple-use forestry in Ghana. The legacies of past policy frameworks

that underpinned the antagonistic relations among rural communities, concessionaires and

foresters have then largely been identified. These include tree tenure on farms, timber

harvesting procedures outside reserves, revenue sharing systems, harvesting regulations for

non-timber forest products (NTFPS), reserves planning procedures and compensatory

mechanisms. A manifestation of such change and policy re-orientation is demonstrated in the

preliminary procedures for revising rights of access to domestic products developed by the

Forestry Department. Communities on forest fringe can help to improve the efficiency of forest

management because of their comparative advantage and indigenous knowledge in non-timber

Boakye AMOAKO-ATTA : Preservation of Sacred Groves in Ghana : Esukawkaw Forest Reserve

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forest products, rehabilitation of degraded lands. Protected area management relying on

indigenous approaches, including fire protection, are thus attributes that cannot - and should

not - be under estimated.

Furthermore, the role of sacred groves or fetish groves in forest protection buttress

further the need for expanded integration of communities into forest resource management

processes. Sacred areas or fetish groves represent a special case of forest-use in Ghana, which

in some cases at least precludes all other uses and is intrinsically protective. There are today

many small patches of forest outside, and in most cases within, forest reserves which are

considered sacred can not be farmed. Notwithstanding, such indigenous attributes if not well

understood, analysed and properly integrated into modern concepts of forest resource

management and sustainable use could equally prove counter productive.

Recent efforts and initiatives of the Forestry Department to address community

integration into forest resource management include : new procedures for harvesting timber

trees on farms ; improved returns from logging to stools and farms ; local consultation in

timber utilization contract allocation ; social responsibility agreement for timber utilization

contract operations ; Government support to community management of dedicated forests

such as sacred groves, sacred forests and fetish lands ; ownership of planted trees by planters ;

and technical support to NTFPS propagation and management of trees in farming systems.

The interim procedures for harvesting timber trees on farms became operational in

August 1995, the new legislation on tree tenure was included in the Timber Rights Bill and in

the Consolidated Forest Act, as well as in other legislative instruments. Changing policies on

Forest Reserve Management being pursued by the Forestry Department seem to set the stage

for Ghana to relate positively to the 1995 Seville strategy and Statutory Framework of the

Programme on Man and the Biosphere of UNESCO, in particular to the Resolution 28/c/2.4 of

the November 1995 UNESCO’s General Conference.

The relevance of the Seville strategy is even more crucial for Ghana if one considers

that Ghana has many forest protected areas and national parks (over 240 covering more than

1.8 million hectares) in different biogeographical zones, but only one is listed as a Biosphere

Reserve (the Bia Biosphere Reserve). The crucial issue here is not the numerical strength of

existing biosphere reserves in Ghana, but the relevance of the vision carried in Seville for the

XXI”’ century translated into the four goals of the Seville strategy that could better the quality

of existing protected areas and hence the quality of the relationship between conservation and

development.


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I- FOREST RESERVES IN GHANA

Forest protection in Ghana is currently, and in theory, a three-tiered phenomenon.

Protective legislation is applied at the reserve level, at the protection working circle (PWC), and

at the level of rules governing logging and other activities. In terms of actual practice however,

these levels overlap considerably. There is a general agreement in Ghana about the values of

natural forest (Cf: TABLE l), although there exist intrinsic differences and variations on

priorities and threats from place to place. These various values are to show the range within

the whole and are not mutually exclusive.

TABLE 1 : Criteria and aspects of forest protection in Ghana

Protecting what 7 Priority case Protection against... Comment 1. Forest plant species (in Species a- Deforestation Alias biodiversity general) (varieties, _ . .) b- Plantation

not found c- Fire in some areas elsewhere.

2. Forest animal species (in Species la, b and c. Alias biodiversity : much basic general) (varieties,. . .) d- Over-hunting research is needed.

not found elsewhere.

3. Economically important Unusually a- Deforestation Alias biodiversity : much basic plants and animals productive and b- Genetic erosion research is needed. Distinguished

viable sources c- Over-exploitation loss of species. Loss of economic d- Inappropriate viability and decline in quality. plantation

4. Vulnerable landscape Steep or rocky a- Erosion after units (including water slopes, river- deforestation, supply) banks, plantation,. . .

catchment areas.

5. Local climate (including Forests in a- Deforestation water supply) little forested b- Fire in some areas

areas or drier aE3S.

6. Dry forests Driest forests a- Destruction or High chances of evolving into 8. and disturbed degradation by fires forests

7. “Fetish” groves, sacred (see comment) (see comment) Locally determined values. Threats and historically significant and desecrating agencies vary. forests Generally small areas. 8. Small forest “islands” Isolated a- Deforestation Important as refuges : supply

patches (6a in some areas) natural regeneration. Greater likelihood of supporting unusual provenance : gene bank for community projects.

9. The ecosystem as a Keystone All the above Pollinators and disperserers, food whole : the system which species and plants and other crucial members of supports and includes the landscapes : the barely understood network. The above large forests. whole is unlikely to function

without some of its parts.

SOURCES : Ministry of Lands and Forestry and categorised by Hawthorne & Musah


It must be noted however that originally, unofficial target of 25 % had been set to

represent the forest area to be reserved in Ghana, and anything below was to be regarded as

inadequate (Foggie). However forest reservation currently stands at approximately 20 %. In all

the forest reserves, two key distinctions emerge : protection reserves for maintaining the

environment and production reserves to be logged sustainably. However, many forests can not

physically be cleared (due mostly to physiography) and are today categorised most

convincingly as protective reserves. Protection reserves or not, national laws and regulations

protecting forests have applied mainly to the reserved forests.

1) Timber exploitation

The forest reserves regarded as production reserves seem to be primarily for timber

logging. The historical logging sequence and frequency of timber seem to constantly affect the

status of the forests. Although maintenance of a sustainable timber supply was only in a few

cases the sole reason for reservation, the importance attached to this has accentuated with the

decline of unreserved forests.

For sometime, logging was carried out with “combined operations” to poison climbers

and tree species which were unmarketable at that time : a real tragedy to non-timber forest

products and biodiversity in general ! These combined operations were subsequently stopped.

However, the next emergent phase in forest management from the late 1960s to the 198Os, was

an increasing erosion of the forest resource. Much more detrimental was the effective

dissolution of the selection system with the introduction of “salvage logging”, which allowed

unlimited felling of the target trees, with a return of the felling cycle to 15 years. This was seen

as a way of cleaning the forests of so-called over-matured trees. These are large trees of a size

often found to be rotten inside, and therefore seem to be redundant by some foresters. The

timber industry had been complaining about a 25 year felling cycle as, they claimed, it led to a

preponderance of large rotten trees. Yet most of the areas being logged at that time had never

been logged before (Ghartey). Even if the 25 year felling cycle had indeed led to a

preponderance of large trees, a policy of exterminating them was very misguided, taking no

account : of the beneficial effects of large trees as suppliers of regeneration ; of the serious

negative effects of increased numbers and sizes of gaps and logging tracks as a consequence of

this policy ; and of the importance of large, old, animal and epiphyte life.

It is on record that this devastating salvage felling policy was, at least, only intended

as a short term solution, pending an improved long term policy. However, that short term


8

policy has proved disastrous and most expensive for many forest reserves, especially when one

views that after a decade or so of such rough treatment Ghana’s forest suffered, in 1982-1983,

the worst forest fires in its recorded history.

2) Forest conditions

At the present level of survival of only 20 % of Ghana’s forest , it is obvious that the

wave of deforestation is now knocking at the doors of existing forest reserves and exerting

maximum pressure on the regulatory processes of forest reserves. For how long such

regulatory processes can resist the forces of degradation is a matter of time.

It has to be recognised that these forest reserves were once inhabited by indigenous

land owners with permanent villages and farms inside these forest reserves and that these

reserves served as hunting and burial grounds, and that there are sacred groves within them.

These forest reserves have had a long history of human interface. It is the rate and extent of

massive degradation which is the source of worry. Cycles of tree growth and death, even of

regional disasters and recovery are a normal pattern of forests. It is by the degree of

disturbance and by the balance of disintegration process that a forest can be judged as healthy

or not. The condition of the existing Ghana forest reserves have accordingly been classified

using certain score-sheets by the Forestry Department (Cf: TABLE 2).

TABLE 2 : Scores used to summarize condition of forest reserves in Ghana

Score 1. Excellent

Definition Few signs (area < 2 %) of human disturbance (logging, farms) or fire damage, with good canopy and virgin or late secondary forest through-out.

2. Good

3. Slightly degraded

4. Mostly

Area < 10 % of heavily disturbed. Logging damage restricted or light and well-dispersed. Fire damage none or peripheral. Obviously disturbed or degraded and usually patchy, but with good forest predominant. Maximum of 25 % with serious and poor regeneration and maximum of 50 % slightly disturbed, with broken upper canopy. Obviously disturbed and patchy, but with bad forest predominant ; 25-50 % of serious

degraded scars but maximum of 75 % heavily disrupted canopy. Or forest lightly burnt throughout. 5. Very poor 1 Forest with coherent canopy < 25 % (more than 314 disturbed), or more than half the _ _

6. No significant forest left

forest with serious scars and poor or no forest regeneration or almost all heavily burnt with conspicuous Euoatorium and other pioneers throughout. Not, however, qualifying as condition 6. Almost all deforested with savannah, plantation or farm,. _ ; area < 2 % of good forest or 2-5 % of very disturbed forest left or 5-10 % left in extremely poor condition (as scattered trees or river-me fragments). Remnants with little chance of surviving 10 years.

SOURCE : Ministry of Lands and Forestry


9

Factors recognised to contribute to the current forest condition are mostly due to

logging, fire, subsistence farming, mining and quarrying whenever present, hunting and

incessant extraction of forest resources, mostly non-timber forest products.

The forest condition for each forest reserve in Ghana today undoubtedly shows

peculiar characteristics. However, the need to re-assess the pressures of change and

biodiversity trends become crucial if effective and sustainable collective management and

sustainable use of forest resources are to be guaranteed.

II- THE ESUKAWKAW FOREST RESERVE (EFR)

A significant but often neglected fact is that many villages and towns close to existing

forest reserves were originally settled in the forest until the early 19OOs, when they were re-

located outside the forests as they were designated as reserves.

Notwithstanding, indigenous land owners still have most of the forest reserves as

stool land or clan land, with certain portions of the forests still regarded as sacred forests or

groves to the indigenous people. The cultural ties of the people to these groves still remain

intact. Of concern is the breaking down of these indigenous ties to the groves, in the sense of

indigenous protection approaches as well as reverence and adherence to traditional beliefs and

customs.

A more recent concern to most of these traditional custodians, especially the chiefs

and people of Asunafo in the Eastern region of Ghana (who are traditionally Akim Abuakwa

people having strong traditional ties and holding lien to the Esukawkaw Forest Reserve), is

their sacred groves. The Anweam sacred grove traditionally served as the burial grounds of

their traditional rulers and royalists. The Anweam sacred grove, according to the chiefs and

people of Asunafo is almost 2 000 hectares subsumed into the Esukawkaw Forest Reserve.

The grove which is composed of primary forest is shrouded in secrecy by the Chiefs and

people of Asunafo with not much recorded information on the traditional rights and customs

of the grove.

The fact that the sacred grove has not been extensively assessed for its richness in

biodiversity and its cultural significance is clearly manifested by the exclusion of the perimeter

of the Anweam sacred grove in all the series of forest inventories, botanical surveys and

permanent monitoring stations undertaken by the Forestry Department in the Esukawkaw

Forest Reserve. This fact may be either intentional or due to a sense of caution. This

observation is equally confirmed in a report by Hawthorne and Musah :


10

All sacred areas (within forest reserve) should be protected according to the wishes of the community for whom they are sacred, and no general rules can be established about which agencies may be seen as devaluing such patches.

The authors proceeded to state further :

As we have said, this is very much a class of protected area for which the details will tend to be specific. We have not compiled a complete list of sacred groves within forest reserves (the location are sometimes secret).

The critical land mass, villages and towns around the Esukawkaw Forest Reserve (Cf:

MAP 1) and more significantly the fact that the Esukawkaw Forest Reserve (122 km2) which is

of a moist semi-deciduous south-east zone type. Other significant forest reserves of that type

near to the Esukawkaw Forest Reserve, but not contiguous with it, are : the Atewa range (155

kn~.~), the Kade Bepo (17 kn-~.~), the Kwekaru (12 kn~.~), the Kwahu South Scarp (155 kn~.~),

the Worobong South (13 km2) and the Nkawanda (8 km.2). The position of the Esukawkaw

Forest Reserve makes it an ideal candidate for a closer study of the moist semi-deciduous

south east zone which is still rich in biodiversity and is a classified high heat spot with many

endemic species but equally regarded as a zone undergoing much degradation.

A closer study, especially an ethnobotanical one, is a basis for a long term

development of structured community integrated in a protected area management scheme. This

will address the concerns expressed by Hawthorne and Musah :

The forest reserve boundaries established in the first half of the century have stood up to the onslaught of the second half of the century, but the resource has been significantly eroded. The problem is worse in the semi-deciduous forests than in the evergreen.

1) Location

The EFR (Cf: m 1) lies between the parallels of latitudes 6” 18’ and 6’26’ North and

meridians of longitudes 0’43 ’ and 0’52’ West covering an approximate area of 12 220

hectares.


T

MAP 1 : Geographic position of the Esukawkaw Forest Reserve

AFRICA

L-p’- ,$ ’ . , I


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2) Legal status

The Omanhene and Council of Akim Abuakwa signed on October 20* 1928 a bye-law

for the Esukawkaw River Forest Reserve which was approved by the then Gold Coast

Governor-in-Council on January 16fi 1929. The Esukawkaw Reserve was later constituted

under the forest ordinance Cap 157 by order no 22 of 1935 published in the then Gold Coast

Gazette of April 6ti 1935 which still remains the legal instrument. Ownership of the

Esukawkaw Forest Reserve is vested in the Akim Abuakwa stool. Within the forest reserve

there is a sacred grove traditionally linked to, and protected by, the inhabitants of Asunafo.

3) Local conditions

The EFR lies north of Kade hills on a relatively fairly flat land. Altitude generally

varies from 152.4 to 243.8 metres. Numerous streams arising in the reserve feed the Kade and

Subin streams which drain south-easterly. The Anronsua and Si streams flow along the eastern

boundary of the reserve. These streams constitute the major tributaries to the Birim river. Subi,

Kade, Nsuta and Asuboni streams all flow in a more or less south-eastern direction to join the

Birim river down south. Thus, the EFR constitutes a key watershed for the Birim river.

The forest reserve falls within the tropical humid climatic zone with its distinct

seasons, maximum period occurring between May-June and September-October with mean

annual rainfall between 1 600 and 2 200 millimetres. The prevailing winds in the rainy season

are south-western in December-February. The EFR overlies the lower Birimian formation

except in the east where granites intrude in a small area. The soils are of forest ochrosols group

characterised by reddish brown and yellowish brown earth. The soils are predominantly red

loams, often sandy or with quartz pebbles. The forest reserve forms part of the moist semi-

deciduous south-east type forest zone with a fair representation of primary forest. The ethnic

group around EFR is traditionally and predominantly Akyem Abuakwa with settler groups of

predominantly Krobos/Adangbes, Ewes and the Kyerepong/Anums.

4) Existinq manaaement considerations

After the historical demarcation of the EFR, management practice mainly concerned

boundary maintenance and inspections to prevent encroachment into the reserve. This basically

set the stage that antagonised the indigenous people in their access to their natural resource.


13

Current prescription for future management set by the Department of Forestry focus on the

following objectives : the optimum sustained production of the forest resources ; to maintain

the productive and environmental role of the forest ; to satisfy the reasonable demands of the

local population for forest products ; and to preserve the forest cover, thereby protecting the

hill masses from erosion and inundation and consequently preserving headwaters of streams.

The forestry management profile is towards selective logging of commercial species

and seems to focus more on timber companies than with an interest of adequately integrate

local communities. Although the Planning Branch of the Forestry Department has established

permanent sample plots (PSP) in the Esukawkaw as a means of monitoring growth and

dynamics of the EFR, schedules of their locations seem to have avoided the Anweam sacred

grove associated with lots of myth, making passage through a daunting process. As the whole

EFR is regarded by the Forestry Department as a production area accentuates the commercial

orientation of the management process. To what extent the timber concessionaires recognise

and value biodiversity conservation and ethnobotanical values remain the issue of a great

concern for the indigenous land owners, especially with respect to their traditional links to their

sacred grove.

5) Actual EFR manaaement process

The district forestry officer (DFO) and his staff directly manage the EFR plus six other

forest reserves. Two technical officers assisted by four forest guards directly monitor and

manage the EFR including the direct monitoring of all logging activities. The process is simple :

the forest guards in charge of felling checks submit list of trees felled to the appropriate

technical officers who in turn prepare reports to the DFO. The whole process of management

on the ground, when one considers that an area of 12 200 hectares is entrusted in the care of a

handful of forest guards who do not have basic logistics to effectively patrol a forest that is to

a great extent without access points, underscores the difficulty of implementing new forest

management policies, especially when an obvious conflict of interest exists between

commercial timber companies and local interest.

It is the implications of the existing EFR management framework and the apparent

marginalization of the local people and their traditional values (especially socio-cultural

affiliations to their sacred groves) and their incessant needs of forest resources that have led

the Chief of Asunafo (Nana Barima Atipa Ntim II), the Queen mother of Asunafo (Nana


14

Akosua Apeatuah II) and their elders to push the research initiative into ethnobotanical

information gathering on the EFR and its Anweam sacred grove.

6) Existinq socio-cultural links to the EFR

Within the study focus and the cross-sectional analysis of the key inhabitants

surrounding the EFR, our findings suggest that the socio-cultural links to the forest reserve is

very profound, in particular for the Asunafo community and the dominant traditional clan of

Asunafo (the Bretufo). It is this clan which is the direct traditional ruler and custodian of the

land assets of Asunafo including the EFR. The Anweam sacred grove in the EFR once served as

the ancestral home and burial ground for chiefs and the royal family of Asunafo. After the

designation of the forest as a reserve, the people of Asunafo relocated to their present location

have kept strong traditional links with the EFR and Anweam grove.

Firstly, the traditional custodians (the Bretufo clan of Asunafo) and more especially

the chief, elders and the Banmuhene (representing the traditional link of the people to the

grove) have maintained the code of secrecy and links to the Anweam sacred grove until now.

Almost all the inhabitants and people around the EFR know of the existence of the grove, but

none wants to venture into easily. The aura of secrecy and fear of the unknown surrounding

the grove seem to offer the much needed protection that continue to keep the pristine state of

the grove.

Secondly, an unexpected but startling finding is the deeply rooted socio-cultural and

anthropological pattern of the Bretufo clan, the royalists of Asunafo to the traditional links of

sacred forests. It has become apparent that as soon as the people of Asunafo were re-located

from the EFR in the 1930s they kept and maintained ownership and possession of all the land

surrounding the EFR to the extent that forest lands outside the EFR were assigned to clan

members. This traditional ownership has remained today and royalties are still paid to the chief

of Asunafo by present day users. More importantly, due to the lack of easy access to the EFR,

the chief and people have reconstituted another sacred grove very close to the Asunafo village

which represents the same socio-cultural significance that the Anweam sacred grove.

Notwithstanding, the bonds existing between the Anweam sacred grove and the people is

firmly maintained.

Another deeply rooted reverence of the Asunafo inhabitants to the EFR is the

manifestation of their expertise in the forest flora to the extent that they are pride to protect

trees and plants they regard as special significance and use to their land estates and farms. This


15

has greatly influenced the pattern of agricultural land use in the area which is influenced mostly

by shade loving agricultural crops that can be integrated in the forest canopy. The floral

composition, evident from the ethnobotanical survey, confirms this assertion. Cocoa, plantain,

cocoyams, wild yams and many wild food trees and plants are prevalent in land estates and

forests all around the EFR. They are usually inter-planted under forest trees without seriously

destroying or disrupting the forest cover. Farming is predominantly a subsistence type.

Ill- THE EFR RESEARCH ORIENTATION AND OBJECTIVES

The Forestry Department is overwhelmed by the lack of adequate human, material

and financial resources to pursue its mandated goal of managing the over 240 forest reserves in

the country. It is urgently needed to have a balanced understanding of the resource needs of

commercial logging companies and the socio-cultural values and the local community resource

needs to harmonise a sustainable management process. The EFR research initiative has focused

on issues relevant to the South-South Co-operation Programme of UNESCO and within the

Seville strategy of the UNESCO/MAE? programme.

Within that context, the following specific issues and objectives have been

investigated as a basis for future programming of an environmentally sound socio-economic

development of the EFR : i) the local people’s management of their sacred grove within the

EFR favouring the growth of nature species which have a subsistence and commercial value,

concurrently assessing the role of non-traditional forest products (non-timber forest products)

in rural economy and conservation ; ii) gain a clear understanding of the breadth of local

biological categories and determine the correspondence between folk and scientific

classifications of the forest protected area and sacred grove ; iii) measure the diversity and

abundance of plant resources within the sacred grove and the buffer and transition zones

outside the sacred grove ; iv) evaluate the local people’s indigenous knowledge on biological

agents including macromycetes, insects, birds, or other species of plants and animals regarded

as bioindicators for monitoring forest disturbances, soil conditions and the health of the forest

ecosystem ; v) evaluate traditional systems of agricultural production (polycultures) and assess

the impact of influence of ethnic group interaction and effect on such polycultures within and

surrounding the forest enclave ; and vi) study existing agricultural systems (polycultures) and

the role of the local people in the conservation of the genetic material of traditional cultures

and wild plants.


16

IV- THE ETHNOBOTANICAL SURVEY OF THE ANWEAM SACRED GROVE

Using the scores to summarized the condition of a forest (Cf. TABLE 2), the Anweam

sacred grove is undoubtedly in an excellent condition. This is no accident or coincidence since

from the local community perspective also, with respect to the richness of NTFPS in the

Anweam sacred grove, the highest level of medicinal plants, wild edible roots, tubers, natural

sweeteners, spices, wild edible fruits, sponges, poisons, plants used as charms, magic or “juju”,

basketry, cloth dyeing, mortars, traditional stool, general carpentry and construction abound in

the grove area compared to any other area of sample.

Time and resource constraints have not permitted forest stand conditions scoring or

detailed frequency assessment of the characteristic star species in this study. However, notation

of the rare species and genetic heat indicators (GHI) have been made. This indicator is normally

determined by the Forestry Department in Ghana (Cf: TABLE 3). Black to blue star species are

of concern because of their rarity at one scale or another and red to pink star species are of

concern because of threats from exploitation.

TABLE 3 : Summary of star categories of conservation priority for species in Ghana

stainable. Protection on all scales vital.

SOURCE : Ministry of Lands and Forestry

From this study (Cf: PHOTO l), high forest tree species like Entandrophraama

species, Danialla olnae, Canarium schweinfirrthii, Celtis zenkeri, Triplochiton scleroxvlon,

Pericopsis elata, Guerea species, Pvcnanthus angolensis, Ricinodendron heudelotic, Militia


17

excelsa, Anthiaris species, plus many which abound, and also Dioscoreophvllum cumminsii,

svnsepaium dulcicum (the miracle berry) and Thaumatococcus danaiellii, plus the spices

Ajkamomum melezuetta (CT.’ PHOTO 2), Piper mineenes, and many significantly abundant

multi-purpose forest resources like Lanna welwitschii, Uenaiia afiicana, Luccospermum

secundiflorium, Laccosperma opacum, and Nauclea species all indicate that there has not been

any serious forest disturbance within the EFR in particular inside the Anweam sacred grove.

PHOTO 1 : Inhabitants from Asunafo and scientists on an ethnobotanical survey.

PHOTO 2 : A cluster of Aframomum meleaueta within the Anweam sacred grove.


18

An intact three-tiered tropical high forest is visible and stratified in layers in the

Anweam sacred grove. From the top are the emergents (above loo’), followed by the tall trees

(between SO’-100’) the under storeys (between 50’-80’) and the shrubs (below 50’). Visibly

seen and intermingled among the trees are the lianas and to be seen along the forest floor are

many of the semi-woody or herbaceous plants.

The most conspicuous trees among the emergents are the Triplochiton scleroxvlon in

the plant family Sterculicea: and the Piptadeniastrum afiicanum in the family Mimosaceae both

timber trees.

The tall trees include the Mammea africana in the family Sapotacea and the

Ricinodendron heudelotii in the family Euphorbiaceze. The canopies of the tall trees could be

seen touching each other to form a continuous shade over the forest.

Below the tall trees are the under storeys, commonly encountered among them are the

Coyzanthe pachvceras in the family Rubiacea: and the Carapaprocera in the family

Meliacea.

The shrubs include the Baphia intida in the family Papilioncea, the Svnsepalum

dulcfficum in the family Sapotaceae, the Eremospatha macrophvlla in the family Palmae among

others. Some of the lianas are the Lannea wehvitschii from the family Anacardaceae, the

Landolphia owariensis in the family Apocynacez The ground flora include the Geophila

obvailata in the family Rubiaceze and the Leptaspis cochieata forest grass.

V- FOLK CLASSIFICATIONS OF LOCAL BIOLOGICAL CATEGORIES

The most remarkable observation on the depth of the local people’s knowledge on

floral and fauna is the expression of folk names and their classification of both plants and

animals within and outside the forest. Less than 10 % (fewer than 40) of all plant species

surveyed could not be assigned a local folk name. Of special significance is the fact that most

of the plant species which could not be assigned any folk name usually could not be assigned

any local uses or significance. Certain specific generalisations emerge from the local

classification patterns of plants : i) all plants are regarded in the local name equivalent as

plants ; ii) the folk name is characterised by the uses and potency which then provides a quick

significance of the plant to the community, so the folk classification serves as a warning and

has an ecoconservation relevance ; iii) the local name is often based on location or where the

plant can be found in the natural environment ; iv) in the plant medicine category, most of the

nomenclature clearly depict the medicinal value of the plants, hence the direct conservation


19

relevance ; and v) the folk name also typifies the unique nature and presence of a plant species

in the ecosystem.

The tightly connected folk classification of the forest vegetation with uses,

significance and status remain a traditional means to pass to subsequent generation the plant

uses and ecoconservation status of plants. Unlike the conventional taxonomic classification

which does not confer any immediate meaning of the plant uses, significance,. . ., to the

community, the use of local dialect and its associated meaning describe immediately a plant,

alert the individual of its relevance, significance and status. This pattern of folk classification

seem to permeate through rural areas, often close to forest in Ghana. The preponderant use of

forest resources and their multi-purpose use by rural communities seem to be inextricably

linked to the folk nomenclature and close interaction of communities to these abundant

resources. Colour, or the dyeing characteristics of plants are used as basis for the folk

classifications also, for example, white and red are usually used to distinguish one species of

plant from the others. Other characteristics of folk nomenclatures relate to the plant

characteristics, such as the manner that large fruit drops to the ground. The highly prevalent

understanding and knowledge of the rural community to these plants is thus amazing,

especially regarding the inhabitants of Asunafo with their sacred grove and the EFR.

Many plant species are considered bioindicators (Cf: TABLE 4) of the health of the

ecosystem.

TABLE 4 : Summary of plant bioindicators as expressed by inhabitants living around the EFR

What is rather surprising is the lack of detailed analysis and documentation of the folk

classification of the flora in Ghana with respect to the plant uses, values and conservation

relevance. A more systematic analysis and detailed understanding and documentation of these

folk nomenclature could make considerable impact in the tracking and restoration of folk

ethnobotanical knowledge which is fastly eroding because of rural exodus to urban areas. A

remarkable contrast is the very low or even lack of knowledge of these folk nomenclatures by

the urban and per-i-urban dwellers distant from these forest reserves. The rich floral


composition of the Anweam sacred grove and the corresponding flair of understanding and

knowledge of inhabitants closely associated to it is an indication of the values of indigenous

conservation being marginalized that need to be reversed.

VI- ABUNDANCE AND DIVERSITY OF PLANT RESOURCES WITHIN THE SACRED GROVE

The flora richness of the Anweam sacred grove and the changing patterns towards

secondary forest vegetation around settlements clearly emerge.

An obvious idea is that by ensuring that most areas of natural forest are managed

without too much damage to the ecosystem, the areas required for more complete protection

will be minimised. The need to recognise such areas are of paramount importance now. Lack

of action will undoubtedly accentuate the extinction process. Such a rich natural area, as the

Anweam sacred grove, need a special protection even within the forest reserve. There are

many reasons for addressing this special protective framework. Such constant protected area

within the EFR (experiencing constant challenge from concessionaires) will be more positively

defensible from fire, logging or other violations. The 2 000 hectares of the Anweam sacred

grove within the EFR is large enough for such consideration. The above analysis justifies such

added protection, but there are many other reasons, such as the preponderance of many fruit-

eating forest monkeys and other animals prevalent in the grove area. These fruit-eating forest

animals will continue to live in the EFR as long as such fruits exist. With no effective and

sustained protective means and if there should be a future break in the resiliency and richness

of the grove, trees that are dispersed by such fi-ugivores and are abundant now in the grove,

may not be expected to thrive in the long term. The need for such protected long term refuge is

thus urgent. Actually, the fear surrounding large tracts of the grove is providing a better refuge

from hunters and other such negative influences. It has to be recognised that in the absence of

appropriate animals, some plants in the EFR cannot complete their life cycle most efficiently.

The Anweam sacred grove seem to be, at least for now, providing a suitable provenance

reserve where both population of economic species and others are protected from the pressure

exploitation going on at the logging blocks, but for how long ?

The above analysis clearly reinforce the socio-cultural issue that all sacred areas

within forest reserves, as the Anweam sacred grove, should be protected according to the

wishes of communities for whom they are sacred. This addresses the afore mentioned Seville

Declaration and more specially the declaration goal 11, objective 11.2 and recommendations.

Boakye AMOAKO-ATTA : Preservation of Sacred Groves in Ghana : Esukawkaw forest Reserve

21

VII- MULTI-PURPOSE LAND USES

The prevailing land and resource uses are greatly influenced by the socio-cultural,

traditional and ethnic affiliations of the inhabitants. Inhabitants are basically indigenous people

who are predominantly the Akyem Abuakwa and, to a limited scale, the Kwahus. An

established settler community has become deeply rooted in the area through intermarriages.

Settler communities are mostly the Krobos, Adangbes, Ewes, the Kyerepong/Anums.

1) Requirements and basic occupation of surroundinq populations

A large number of inhabitants living near the reserve have an extent need of non-

timber forest products including medicinal plants, chewing sponge, chewing sticks, items for

arts, crafts and building, wild fruits and wildlife for domestic consumption and farming. The

only visible activity worth to note within the EFR is basically hunting (for bush meat and snail)

and gathering of wild food crops.

The major occupation of inhabitants of Asunafo is trading in plants of medicinal

importance and subsistence agriculture. The people of Osoroase (Cf: PHOTO 3), predominantly

Krobos and to a lesser extent Ewes, are farmers, hunters and traders in chewing sponges ; as

are Peseso hamlet dwellers. The other towns and villages are mostly farmers. There exist also a

flourishing trade for chain-sawn lumber (Cf: PHOTO 4) for towns and villages around the EFR.

Basketry, mostly using canes and raffia, provides modest livelihood for inhabitants in villages

around the reserve. Fishing, snail hunting are seasonal activities.

PHOTO 3 : Osorase, a vi//age settlement outside the EFR.


22

PHOTO 4 : Chain saw operators processing a felled timber at Ekorso near the EFR.

2) Farmina activities and tvpes

Almost all farming activities are exclusively outside the EFR. Two main farming types

are easily identified. Firstly cash crops production which include the following commodities :

Theobroma cacao (cocoa), Cola nitida and Cola acuminata (cola nuts), Elaeis guineensis (oil

palms), Citrus species (orange), Afiamomum meleffueta (guinea grains), Melemata (grains of

paradise) and P&er niarum (black pepper). Secondly, staple food crops production, mostly in

the form of subsistence agriculture, include the following commodities : Manihot esculentus

(cassava), Xanthosoma maffafa (cocoyam), Colocasia esculentus (eddoes), Zea maw

(maize), A4usa paradisiaca (plantain), A4usa saDientum (banana), Dioscorea species (yams),

Qomoea batatas (sweet potato) and assorted vegetables such as : Lycopersicon lvcopersicum

(tomato), Capsicum annuum (pepper), Solanum species (garden eggs) and AZZium

ascalonicum (shallots).

The mixed cropping system is the commonly practised farming system. Over forty

different cropping systems involving different mosaic, matrix or combinations of the above

crops within the settlement and transition areas outside the EFR have been recorded.

There is an obvious ethnic influence on land-use patterns. The Akyem Abuakwa

indigenous inhabitants are mostly conservative in their farming activities, resorting to eco-


23

friendly actions by using mostly under storeys and floor covers of forest land. Crops mostly

planted are shade loving as cocoyams, wild yams of the forest type such as Dioscorea

paraehensis, cocoa, plantains. The settler community influence is resulting in massive land

clearing to cultivate vegetables such as tomatoes, egg plants, pepper, maize and cassava which

accentuate the degradation of the forest vegetation in their settlement areas outside the EFR.

The pressure by such land-use can be seen on the north-eastern fringes of the EFR around

Ekorso and Osoroase, Krobomu and Latemu. The Asunafo farmers are more conscious of the

plants of medicinal importance and are constantly tending and protecting these plants in their

farm land by avoiding bush burning and indiscriminate tree felling in their farms.

3) Huntinq activities

The main hunting activities within towns and settlements around the EFR are game

hunting (bush meat hunting for domestic use) and snail hunting. Game hunting is indiscriminate

and covers both the EFR (tantamount to poaching usually at night) and within the transition

forest area outside the EFR (Cf: PHOTO 5). Snail hunting is mostly seasonal, from March to

September/October, coinciding with the bimodal pattern of rainfall regimes. Snail hunting is a

major activity which involves a large proportion of the population but it is mostly gender

biased : almost 70 % of the women and young girls are participating to this seasonal activity

(Cf: PHOTO 6). The giant African snails, the Archachatina and Achatina species, are the main

species hunted, even inside the core of the EFR (Anweam sacred grove) as it is traditionally

allowed by the Chief and custodians of the grove but only for the indigenous of the Asunafo

village.

PHOTO 5 : A hunting expedition of Osorase’s hunters near the EFR.


24

PHOTO 6 : Snail (Archachatina SP.) trading.

TABLE 5 : Summary of mammalian wildlife within and outside the EFR under threat by hunters of settlements along the fringes of the EFR

Cephalophus SQQ. Black duicker Ewioh Manidae Manis qp.

Viverrida: Genetta spp. Abrobieh Cercopithecinae Colobus polykomos (Zimmermann) Colobus Effboh _ _

Cercopithecus SQQ. Monkey Guenos

Adoee

SOURCE : Fauna1 survey

The threat of the wildlife from local hunters (Cf: TABLE 5) has definite ecological

implications for the biodiversity of the Em. Of major relevance is the fact that the EFR is

currently under protection and management of the Forestry Department. The mandate of the


25

Forestry Department does not cover that of wildlife. It is the Department of Game and Wildlife

that has the power to extend management protection to wildlife. Such management is usually

under taken in protected areas such as national parks or strictly protected natural area.

Although it has not been possible to detail in-depth the fauna1 composition of the EFR,

including the Anweam sacred grove, it is clear that the relative abundance of fauna including :

snakes (pythons, cobra, mambas) ; crocodiles, alligators and monitor lizards ; chameleons ;

many different birds (eagles, hawks), butterflies, bees ; tortoises and many more.

4) Fishinq

The many rivers, streams, swamps and water catchment areas within and around the

EFR have created a well established traditional fishing system in all towns, villages and

settlements. This has resulted in a design of a unique traditional fishing trap made from Raphia

species or Laccosperma rattan species. Hardly do local inhabitants and settlers use any other

fishing traps or conventional nets. This has an ecological conservation advantage since the

traps keep the fishes alive and healthy until owners come to collect or examine them so that

any unwanted catch is returned into the stream without any injury or damage.

5) Multi-purpose uses of the forest resources

Forest resources used by local inhabitants include : 63 species of medicinal plants, 16

species of wild edible roots, tubers, corms and rhizomes, 3 species of natural sweeteners, 9

species of edible seeds, 6 species of spices, 13 species of lea@ vegetables, 11 species of wild

edible fruits, 10 species of lea% wrappers, 2 species of bathing sponges (C$ PHOTO 7), 2

species of chewing sponges (Cf: PHOTO S), 4 species of chewing sticks, 3 species of alcoholic

beverages, 3 species of sweet beverages, 4 species of hallucinating plants, 1 species of poisons,

7 species of charms, magic and juju plants, 11 species of matting and basketry plants, 8 species

of cloth dyeing, 8 species of mortars and other kitchen utensils, 7 species of traditional stools,

6 species of bast fibres and ropes, 10 species of animal feed and general fodder, 9 species of

construction and building materials, 16 species of gun stocks, carpenter’s planes and general

tools and 10 species of drums and other musical instruments. Other local expressions of plant

uses include : plants as binding materials, wild edible fruits, wild edible vegetables and

mushrooms, plants as source of honey, latex-producing plants, adulterants, birdlime,


26

coagulants, gum-yielding trees and incense trees, resin-yielding trees, gutta-percha and

decorative beads.

PHOTO 7 : A processed bath sponge from the EFR being carried to a local market.

PHOTO 8 : Women at Peseso actively processing a chewing sponge (Acacia pennata) from the EFR.

Other economic activities based on natural resources include palmwine tapping (Corn

both Elaeis mineenses and Raphia hooker? which is often distilled into local gin). Basketry


27

(Cf: PHOTO 9), mostly baskets for carrying food stuffs and cocoa beans, and also drying mats,

cocoa beans (from rattan palm or climbing palm of the species), tatched roofing (usually made

from raphia leaves), fencing and barns construction (bamboo). What is most apparent is the

different levels of skills, efficiency and imagination in the multi-purpose resource-use (Cf.

PHOTO 10) exhibited by different communities. For instance, the level of indigenous knowledge

and expertise in traditional medicine possessed by the inhabitants and indigenous people from

Asunafo is remarkable, while the skills in the use of rattans, raphia, and bamboos in basketry,

furniture construction is woefully poor. The apparent discrepancies in the knowledge and

resource-uses have serious ecological conservation implications. Because of the lack of skills

and knowledge in the use of rattans, canes and bamboos and lack of appreciation of the

ecological niches of most forest plants, inhabitants of Osoroase, Krobomu have no special

regard to medicinal plants. The farmers have also resorted to complete land clearing of such

flora in their settlement area to plant tomatoes, pepper and garden eggs. This is causing

massive destruction of the transition areas, replaced with plants whose requirements are not

compatible with the natural ecosystems. Even if this pressure is now not close to the EFR, it

could possibly have some effects in the near future. Training and skills orientation of the area’s

youth could effectively reverse this trend since the actual volume of these forest resources

(rattan, bamboos, raphia, medicinal plants) is enormous and once their values and potentials

would be known, the beneficiaries would themselves ensure a judicious and sustainable use of

these resources.

PHOTO 9 : A bunch of rattan pa/m (Laccosperma SD.) from the EFR used in making baskets.


28

PHOTO 10 : Assorted products including mortar, pesfel, baskets, carvings on sale at Enyirisi.

6) Harvestinq, processinq and marketinq of plant medicines

a- Marketing of plant medicine around the EFR

Of all the inhabitants along the fringes of the EFR, the population that depends mostly

of medicinal non-timber forest products (NTFPS) for their sustenance and daily income is the

population of Asunafo.

The population of Asunafo is estimated of 3 856 persons (2 571 females and 1 285

males). Over 80 % of them are participating to the marketing of plant medicines which are

highly demanded both in local rural and urban markets. The trading in plant medicine currently

remains the major occupation of the local community, especially for women (Cf: PHOTO 11).

Most of the Asunafo people collect medicinal plants from the deep forest (mostly the Anweam

sacred grove). In the transition areas outside the EFR anybody can go and collect medicinal

plants but the pattern is to concentrate on the collect from family lands. Hence, this enjoins

family members to tend these genetically special plants on their lands. Some family members

have even established, since many years, home gardens where they cultivate these plants,

including certain wild food plants like wild yams, wild plantains which produce two bunches of

fruits on single plant,. . .


29

PHOTO 11 : Medicinal plant exfracfs from the EFR on sale at Koforidua.

FIGURE 1 : Marketing Network of Plant Medicine in Asunafo

SOURCE OF PLANT M (Forest Reserve and surroundings)

c I > GATHERERS <

09 2)

v 1 2

PRODUCERS ( 5 PRODUCERS I


The main sources of supply of medicinal plants are from the secondary forest or

fallow land around the EFR and the forest reserve. The marketing of these plant medicines is

well structured. It takes the form of a network from the source of supply in Asunafo to the

local and urban markets (Cf: FIGURE 1). From the source of supply, the plant medicine gets to

the local and the urban markets through gatherers, producers, wholesalers and retailers.

Further demand for the supply of the plant medicines from the supply sources is normally made

by the gatherers in response to the market demand. This interaction is shown in a feed-back

relationship between the market and the gatherers. The rate of utilization of plant medicines

therefore depends on the supply and demand responses through this functional marketing

network system.

b- Gatherers

The gatherers can be grouped into three categories according to the sources of supply

of the medicinal plants. The first category of gatherers normally concentrate their activities

within the secondary forest around the EFR where the most common types of medicinal plants

are normally obtained. The second category of gatherers normally concentrate their activities

on collecting relatively rare type of medicinal plants from the forest reserve and its sacred

grove. The third group of gatherers comprise both the first and the second groups, so they

normally collect medicinal plants both from the secondary forest and the forest reserve. All

these groups tend to use family members, young and elders, in the gathering process.

c- Producers

The major fimction of producers is to process the raw plant medicines for the market.

In most cases, producers are also gatherers (Cf: PHOTO 12). Apart from the ordinary

producers, there are special types of producers who are, within the community, highly

recognised and reputable herbalists. They are the main focal points for securing relatively rare

but potent medicinal plants. Their major function is to organize the gathering and processing of

relatively rare medicinal plants and are mainly engaged in the wholesale trade of these relatively

rare plant medicines. Their customers are mainly retailers from outside and within Asunafo.

The majority of these focal point collectors do their own processing but they rarely travel

outside Asunafo to market their products. People rather come to them to procure or seek their

assistance.


31

PHOTO 12 : Medicinal plant extracts being sundried by a gatherer at Asunafo.

d- Retailers

There are two main types of retailers in Asunafo. The first type of retailers who are

also gatherers and producers normally send themselves directly their products to the urban

markets outside Asunafo. These types of retailers are also categorised into two groups

according to the retail behaviour in the urban market. The first group administers its product

directly on particular patients who are usual customer. The other group markets its ware to

anyone in need in the urban market.

The other type of retailers in Asunafo are retailers who purchase their wares from the

wholesalers in Asunafo and therefore function as middlemen between the wholesalers and the

urban markets. The average age of the wholesalers is around 50 years while most retailers

range between 20 and 40 years. Owing to this relatively young age, retailers are very mobile

and tend to travel long distances to a variety of urban markets within and outside Ghana.

e- The retail market

The emerging retail market or outlets for plant medicines from Asunafo cover a wide

range of markets throughout Ghana and even abroad, some travelling as far as Cote d’Ivoire,

Togo and Nigeria.

Working Paper No 26, 1998, UNESCO (South-South Co-operation Programme), Paris (France)

32

The study has provided a pattern of a wider market distribution network covering

almost all the regions in the country. However, most of the marketing centres seem to be

concentrated in the Eastern region, perhaps owing to proximity to the supply source (Asunafo)

which is also located in that region. Observed urban markets in Brong Ahafo region, Western

region, Volta region, Northern region, Central region and Upper West and East regions also

suggest the spread and mobility of the retailers from Asunafo to other regional markets to sell

their medicine (Cf: TABLE 6).

TABLE 6 : Notable folk named medicinal plants from Asunafo to other parts of the country and ailments treated

VIII- FACTORS OF ENVIROMENTAL DEGRADATION OF THE EFR AND SURROUNDINGS

The EFR research initiative has provided a better understanding by local inhabitants

and even logging companies and certain forest policy issues that some of their actions

unfortunately interfere with the quality and life of the EFR and its forest resources.

Poverty seems to be the bedrock affecting the existence of the majority of local

inhabitants. This poverty is in the midst of plenty if the existing natural resources are looked at

in totality. With the prevailing poverty, financial resource mobilization for sustainable

exploitation in the apparent abundance of forest resources is suspect.

The scenario has resulted in a rich and poor division whereby the logging companies

which are more organized, more articulated and with access to capital are exploiting at will the


33

rich timber resources and are equally being provided with recurrent custom tailored policy

framework which at each turn seem to deeply marginalize the role of local inhabitants who

depend mostly on non-timber forest products (NTFPS) and subsistence farming for sustenance.

The attractiveness of logging is having a rippling effect on the secondary forest,

mostly surrounding the EFR, by accentuating the aggressive and uncontrolled operation of

chain-saw operators.

The rich-poor division is precipitating the drive of poverty stricken rural inhabitants

into more extensive extraction of NTFPS from surrounding forests outside the EFR and even

into the EFR. The increasing exploitation of NTFPS is resulting from the increasing demand of

traditional medicine in urban, per-i-urban and mostly in rural communities all over the country.

This sudden upsurge in the demand for traditional medicine is due to the actual policy of the

Ministry of Health which has introduced a cash and carry policy for health deliveries which

implies that all medical health deliveries in government hospitals and clinics should be based on

the payment of the cost by recipients. This has stifled the capacity of most people to have

access to conventional health care, thereby resorting to traditional medicine which is relatively

cheap. The sudden raise in the popularity of traditional medicine has brought with it desire of

many rural, urban and per-i-urban individuals to get into traditional medicine trade, bringing in

more novice retail traders and putting more pressure on gatherers, producers and processors of

at the source level. Resulting, thereby, in an exceptional high volume of extraction of medicinal

plants.

The collect alone is not the problem. It is rather the method of collect, mostly guided

by traditional collect procedures which is affecting the forest resources. Poverty is a distressing

phenomenon, but poverty means that “anything goes” which, in this case, pushes to extract

anything that will bring in money. The distressing scenario involved in the trade of NTFPS,

especially medicinal plants at the urban and per-i-urban centres, shows that most new gatherers

are not well vexed in the correct art of collecting those UPS oftenly resulting in a complete

removal or circling of barks of trees thereby causing a premature death of trees. In some cases,

a severe removal of roots of plants has the same effect. Basically, both within and outside the

EFR, there is an inappropriate collect of these resources from the forest. This process does not

respect sapling which is the basis of a healthy regeneration of forest. There is an urgent need to

organize these medicinal plant retailers and traders and to especially initiate an effective

training and educational intervention at the local community level to address this situation SO as

to perpetuate an effective sustainable growth and regeneration of these vital renewable


resources. This really urgent since there is no current system in Ghana to extend training of this

nature to rural communities. Luckily logging procedures and management guidelines for timber

exploitation exists and foresters are constantly being trained in such procedures, but NTFPs are

not taken into consideration, thereby the process of unsustainable use of NTFPS including

medicinal plants, canes, rattans,. continues unabated to the detriment of the forest.

The settler communities misplaced farming practices by introducing their eating habits

- cereal based (especially maize) and cassava, vegetable (like tomatoes, egg plant and pepper)

- cultivation which requires intensive tillage operations and removal of forest vegetation. Such

crops are not ecologically friendly to the moist semi-deciduous south-east zone

biogeographical vegetation where they now live in. Most of these settlers are equally desirous

of embarking on ecodevelopment initiatives that will be more ecologically friendly. A need to

rationalize the whole process of the forest land-use has become now apparent.

Bush meat hunters, with their indiscriminate aggressive activities, are changing the

fauna1 diversity and accentuating the influx of immigrant rodents into the farms and the

secondary forest. The trapping and hunting of most of these rodents is bringing with it

unfamiliar bush fires in certain transition farms within the settlement communities. Since bush

fires are not a feature of the EFR surroundings, the need to reassess hunting activities and

address the wildlife situation becomes crucial. The need to conduct a more exhaustive fauna1

survey as a basis for implementing a socio-economic sustainable fauna1 resource management

becomes very urgent.

IX- SUSTAINABLE INCOME GENERATING OPPORTUNITIES FOR LOCAL PEOPLE

We have taken note that the EFR provides for virtually all segments of the Ghanaian

society 63 species of plants to traditional health relief, including a wide spectrum of medicinal

competence. The ethnobotanical survey has affirmed the values of the multi-purpose resource

uses of over 160 plant species, excluding those of medicinal use, providing socio-economic and

other service benefits as wild food plants, arts and craft, natural sweeteners, spices, carpentry,

music, construction and many more to the local communities.

What has clearly emerged therefore is a better understanding of the causes and trends

in resource management and environmental change as well as resource utilization within the

EFR area, without which it would have been difficult to initiate or undertake any successful

intervention.


35

There has been already a conscious change with the organization of snail hunters in

Asunafo and Osoroase since July 1997 into Snail farmers. Twenty-five men and women have

already recognised that snail farming could be a more profitable and sustainable cottage income

generating activity since it is easy to get thousands of snail eggs during the snail hunting season

and rear them under domestic condition obtaining all snail food resource from the forest in a

sustainable manner at no cost. Yet, at the end, snail farming creates a more lucrative business

and has even export possibilities.

It has also become apparent that previous written information on the existing forest

reserve with respect to the inhabitants in the immediate surrounding areas stem from

generalizations coming from other forest reserves that may not apply. The need to have a clear

understanding of the actual pattern of behaviour and possible causes of change and trends that

directly affect the behaviour of the inhabitants, especially regarding their resource utilization

and management processes have been made and can now be the basis on which processes of

meaningful interventions for change can be organized.

1) Real situation analysis of the EFR studv framework

The whole area of the EFR and the greater portion of the fringes of the EFR are under

the preservation of the Asunafo indigenous. The process of interactions with people from other

parts of the country has not been extensive due primarily to the fact that for the whole of this

century, there has been only a feeder road which branches into and ends in the Asunafo town.

To reach the EFR, the only direct road access is to the south-west from Asuom. All other

access have been tracts made by logging companies which are mostly from the south-west, the

north and the north-east, thus leaving the southern portion with only foot paths from Asunafo.

Coincidentally, this means walking through secondary forests through family land holdings

before gaining access to the Anweam sacred grove within the EFR. It is this lack of easy access

that has made it easy for the Asunafo inhabitants to buttress their conservation instincts and

traditional means of protection. From Asunafo or most settlement areas to the EFR, one has to

walk through footpaths for one to three hours before reaching the forest reserve, oflen

crossing streams without bridges and difficult forest paths. This has meant that many outsiders

and uninitiated people got lost in the forest. This unfamiliar forest path actually constitutes the

bedrock of most taboos associated with the Anweam sacred grove. The common belief is that

the grove is inhabited by “dwarfs” who magically confuse people in their tracks. The existing

patterns of traditional beliefs and conservation instincts are thus mostly shrouded in fear. The


36

beliefs have been long lasting because the inhabitants are predominantly poor and live on their

forest resources for their sustenance. Lack of financial resources have made it logically

expedient for the people to subsist on the knowledge they possess, mostly coming from family

knowledge protecting their trees, herbs and other resources. Two features, poverty and

survival instincts, are actually interacting to sustain these conservation practices. Poverty,

because they lack financial resources to invest in their land. Survival instinct because it is more

expedient and cost effective to rely on their energy to exploit natural resources to meet their

basic needs. These traditional beliefs and attitudes are deeply rooted and cemented within

family lines and reflected in the knowledge on medicinal plants, extractive processes and niches

of these plants ; farming practices and preference habits of plant foods, animals and small scale

multi-purpose uses and operations. The traditional practices and skills tend to be mostly

rudimentary and lack technological innovations and sophistication. For example, current

practices of collecting and processing of medicinal plants have been mostly intluenced by

traditional rules and guidelines : one must not talk or look back when collecting certain

medicinal plants, has to pour libation before collecting certain bark of plants and under no

circumstances should one circle the girth of a trunk to remove the bark,. . These traditional

rules only permeate within family lines. The knowledge on the plant uses, although with

positive results have been mostly confined to family members.

The use of certain forest resources remain equally elementary. For example, the

mortar and pestle carved from certain trees have remained the same over centuries, despite the

labour intensive and energy sapping process of use of these kitchen items for pounding of the

local “fi1fI.2’. The traditional means to make cocoa baskets and drying mats requires the use of

more rattan, making it inefficient and wasting raw material resources. These confirm that the

actual processes of resource utilization and management have been basically traditional

knowledge passed on from generation to generation, being indigenous knowledge and

behaviour.

The implications are obvious. As long as the traditional knowledge converge into

attitudes which are not modulated into any enhanced or improved knowledge due to changing

circumstances, the ecological implications could either be stagnation or disturbance with

negative implications if external pressures tend to destabilize the situation.

Many of the emerging rural communities along the EFR are becoming poorer due to

the general state of the economy. Many others are entering into the environmental forest

resource trade and trading in NTFPS although they have inadequate knowledge and expertise of


37

this economy, of the traditional means of extracting and processing products, neither are they

well vexed in the ecological niches of these forest resources.

2) Rationalization of the EFR multi-purpose resource utlization and manaqement

The EFR area and its surroundings with its resources and the local community around

the EFR must be viewed as integrated if a sustainable resource-use is to be developed.

The process of logical sequence of analysis and reasoning to determine what is

socially desirable (the kind of appropriate social organization), ecologically sustainable and

economically efficient (in terms of production, processing and marketing, size and economic

framework of operations, level of technological innovations, complexity of design and

technical sophistication considered relevant) become necessary considerations for

implementing a future sustainable multi-purpose resource-utilization.

There is for example the need to enhance the NTFPS economy, especially in the

harvesting and processing so as to enhance the income generating capacity of rural

communities.

CONCLUSION : AFTER THE 1997 EFR INITIATIVE, WHAT NEXT ?

The UNESCO-M,Q international conference on biosphere reserves in Seville (Spain),

from 20 to 25 March 1995, provided what has become known as the Seville Strategy giving

recommendations for developing effective biosphere reserves and setting out conditions for the

appropriate functioning of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves.

The Esukawkaw Forest Reserve initiative has clearly accomplished the goal 2 of the

Seville Strategy which is to involve the local people. The ethnobotanical study of the EFR

brought to the fore the already existing local conservation actions inside the Anweam sacred

grove within the EFR. In particular, the study has analysed the relevance of the Anweam sacred

grove as a natural strictly protected area within the EFR and underscored the importance of the

Anweam sacred grove as an area where traditional lifestyles and indigenous uses of

biodiversity are practised and/or where there are critical interactions between people and their

sacred forest.


What is needed for future action from this study is most importantly the establishment

of activities compatible with the goals of conservation through the transfer of appropriate

technologies.

The actual process of traditional knowledge, uses and resource-utilizations (as

medicinal plants, wild food and fruit plants, art and craft among others) have been discussed.

Even if local communities are mostly interested in sustainable conservation and depend on

resources from their forest and sacred grove, their current traditional practices of conservation,

extractive processes, harvesting and resource-utilization from the forest are mostly elementary,

lacking sophistication and could be counterproductive if the prevailing extractive processes are

not improved. There is an apparent and crucial need to rationalize the traditional processes if

conservation and sustainable use of natural resources from the EFR area are to be assured to

guarantee sustained but alternative means of livelihood for the local people.

Many extremely abundant forest resources exist (including Calamus deeratus,

Eremosvaths macrocarva, Laccosverma ovacum, Dendrocalamus strictus and Oxvtenanthera

abvssinia and Ravhia vinifera) that are still abundant even in forest outside the forest reserve

that have not yet been tapped by local inhabitants. The economic potential of Afiamomun

melezuetta, a spice and medicinal plant, and that of the natural sweeteners (Dioscoreovhvllum

cumminsii. Synsepalum dulcificum and Thaumatococcus daniellii) all high forest understorey

plant species, are just emerging. The miracle berry (Svnsevalum dulcificum) is a highly

acclaimed sugar substitute that holds so much prospect for diabetic patients that it is already

emerging as an export crop. By encouraging potential rural dwellers to cultivate these plant

species in the deep forest, they will be compelled to protect the forest vegetation which is a

basic prerequisite for the successful development of the above plant species listed. This is a

natural renewable resource development process that has a highly competitive market. The

process of education, social organization, technological backstopping to cover sylvicultural

practices, harvesting and post-production processes of these plants need to be researched into

and developed as an effective income-generating activity. Medicinal plants are all mostly

sustainable and have, as records attest, sustained and provided traditional medicine to the rural

and even urban and per-i-urban inhabitants for centuries. The prospects for the next decade is

positive. The full potential of these medicinal plants have not been assessed, especially the

multi-purpose use and advantages of these plants. There are undoubtedly many gaps in

technology and knowledge that need to be addressed. Harvesting and extractive processes

need to be enhanced through training for gatherers and collectors. There is a high level


39

wastage in the processing stage due to very elementary processing actions, especially drying,

slicing, packaging, labelling that must be addressed to create better hygiene, appeal,

marketability and long term storage. Efficient harvesting, processing and storage will enhance

distribution and immensely reduce wastage thereby promoting conservation due to automatic

reduction in the intensity of harvesting.

The need to structure, develop and involve local communities, school children and

other stake-holders in the education, training and even research and monitoring of the health of

the EFR and the Anweam sacred grove has to be developed to add meaning to the integration

of the community to the EFR area resource management framework.

The recognition of the wealth of the folk classification nomenclature of the flora and

fauna has just began. The issue of disintegration and erosion of traditional knowledge of

biodiversity can best and firstly be addressed from the folk nomenclature perspective.

The dangers besetting conservation and ramification of Agenda 21 under the

Convention on Biodiversity in Africa seem to be the lack of both human, material and research

financial support to consolidate and sustain continuous in-depth studies to contribute to in-

depth knowledge addressing serious issues and locality studies. Actions and studies within the

framework of the Seville Strategy have yet to be tilly developed in Africa. No initiative is too

small to be abandoned midstream. Herein lies the future challenges for the African situation.


BIBLIOGRAPHY

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HALTENOR T., DILLER H. : A Field Guide to the Mammals of AJLica Including Madagascar William Collins & Co, London (UK), 1980.

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No 1 (1995) : The Mata Atldntica Biosphere Reserve (Brazil) : An Overview, by Antonio Carlos Diegues

No 2 (1995) : The Xishuangbanna Biosphere Reserve (China) : A Tropical Land of Natural and Cultural Diversity, by WU Zhaolu, OU Xiaokun.

No 3 (1995) : The Mae Sa-Kog Ma Biosphere Reserve (Thailand), by Benjavan RERKASEM, Kanok RERKASEM.

No 4 (1995) : La Reserve de la biosphere de Dimonika (Congo), par Jean DIAMOUANGANA.

No 5 (1995) : Le Part national de Tat (C&e d!lvoire) : un maillon essentiel du programme de conservation de la nature, par Yaya SANGARI?.

No 6 (1995) : La Reserve de la biosphere de Mananara-Nord (1Madagascar) 1988-1994 : bilan et perspectives, par N&line RAONDRY, Martha KLEIN, Victor Solo RAKOTONIRINA.

No 7 (1997) : A Study on the Homegarden Ecosystem in the Mekong River Delta and the Hochiminh City (Viet Nam), by Nguyen Thi Ngoc AN.

No 8 (1995) : The Manu Biosphere Reserve (‘Peru), by Luis YALLICO, Gustav0 SUAREZ DE FREITAS.

No 9 (1995) : The Beni Biosphere Reserve (Bolivia), by Carmen MIRANDA L..

No 10 (1995) : La Reserva de la biosfera Sierra de1 Rosario (Cuba), por Maria Herrera ALVAREZ, Mar&a GARCIA Garcia.

No 11 (1995) : The Omo Biosphere Reserve (Nigeria), by Augustine 0. ISICHEI.

No 12 (1995) : Environnement nature1 et socio-tconomique de la fort% classee de la Lama (Benin), par Marcel A. BAGLO, P. COUBEOU, B. GUEDEGBE, B. SINSIN.

No 13 (1995) : The Calakmul Biosphere Reserve (Mexico), by Eckart BOEGE.

No 14 (1996) : Conservation de la biodiversite aux Comores : le Part national de Mohtli, par A. S. ALI, A. YOUSSOUF.

No 15 (1996) : Resoure-Use Patterns : The Case of Coconut-Based AgroJystems in the Coastal Zones of Kerala (India) andAlagoas (Brazil), by Vinicius NOBRE LAGES.

No 16 (1996) : The Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve : A Review of Conservation Status with Recommendations for a Holistic Approach to Management (India), by R J. RANJIT DANIELS.

No 17 (1996) : Kinabalu Park and the Surrounding Indigenious Communities (&talaysia), by Jamili NAIS.

No 18 (1997) : Puerto Galera (Philippines) : A Lost Biosphere Reserve ?, by M. D. FORTES.

No I9 (1997) : The Pa&an Biosphere Reserve (Philippines), by Ricardo M. SANDALO, Teodoro BALTAZAR.

No 20 (1997) : Le Part national de Kahuzi Biega, future Reserve de la biosphere (Republique democratique du Congo), par Bihini won wa MUSITI, Get-main Mankoto ma OYISENZ60, Georg DORKEN.

No 2 1 (1997) : Biodiversity Conservation through Ecodevelopment Planning and Implementation Lessons from India, by Shekhar SINGH.

No 22 (1997) : The Tanjung Puting National Park and Biosphere Reserve (Indonesia), by Herry Djoko SUSILO.

No 23 (1997) : Biodiversity Conservation in Mozambique and Brazil, by Maria Teresa Rufai MENDES.

No 24 (1998) : Social Sciences and Environment in Brazil : A State-of-the-Art Report, by Paulo Freire VIEIRA.

No 25 (1998) :La implementacibn de reservas de biosfera : la experiencia latinoamericana, por Claudio DANIELE, Marcel0 ACERBI, Sebastian CARENZO.

No 26 (1998) : Preservation of Sacred Groves in Ghana : Esukawkaw Forest Reserve and its Anweam Sacred Grove, by Boakye AMOAKO-ATTA.

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