Mountain Partnership

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Ghana

Ghana's mountains and high plateaus have suffered degradation from human activities and practices, such as intensive cultivation along the steep slopes, application of inappropriate mechanization, over grazing, indiscriminate logging, bush fires and human settlements.

The Afadjato Community Forest Conservation Project (ACFCP) was initiated in 1998 by the Chiefs and People of the Gbledi Traditional Area as a result of their increasing concern about the degradation of the forest on the Mount Afadjato (the highest mountain in Ghana) and adjoining ranges. The importance of biodiversity in the area is considered exceptional, especially in terms of butterfly and bird species, and the Afadjato forest is home to such endangered mammals, such as the Golden Cat Profelis aurata.

The project is being implemented through partnership between the Chiefs and People of the Gbledi Traditional Area and Mountain Partnership member, the Ghana Wildlife Society, and aims to empower local people to take responsibility for the management of their natural resources. The project seeks to use the natural attractions of the habitat and the Agumatsa ranges to promote community-based ecotourism as an alternative to farming and tree cutting in the forest. Small-scale industries which are compatible with forest conservation are also being developed through credit and technical support to increase income and improve livelihoods. To read more about the ACFCP Project, go to the Ghana Wildlife Society Web site.

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