LUND UNIVERSITY INTERNATIONAL MASTERS PROGRAMME IN ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES AND SUSTAINABILITY SCIENCE (LUMES) LOCAL PARTICIPATION IN WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT: CASE STUDY OF OLD FADAMA COMMUNITY, GHANA. A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE (MAY 2008) STUDENT: SUPERVISOR: FREDERICK ATO ARMAH JOHANNA ALKAN OLSSON(PhD) MAGISTRATSVAGEN 55B:307 LUCSUS, LUND UNIVERSITY SE-22644, LUND SOLVEGATAN 10, SE-22100, LUND SWEDEN SWEDEN
[email protected] [email protected] ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I would like to thank my supervisor, Johanna Alkan Olsson (PhD) for excellent support and critical ideas without which this work would not have materialized. I would like to thank my dearest wife, Nesba Yaa Anima Armah for her patience, understanding and spiritual support throughout the entire two-year period that I was away from home. Constructive criticism has largely shaped this thesis. For this, I owe tons of gratitude to David Oscar Yawson, Nicodemus Mandere, Yengoh Genesis, Ben Ason, Aaron Thomas, Samson Wakuma, Edward Onumah and all my LUMES colleagues. My family has been a pillar in my life: Dad, Mum, Barbara, Rita and Roberta, I appreciate your invaluable support. To the saints in Cape Coast-Ghana, I say may the Good Lord replenish all that you have lost for my sake. Last but certainly not least, I wish to express my profoundest gratitude to the Swedish Institute not only for sponsoring the field work component of the thesis but also for granting me scholarship for the entire duration of the Masters programme. Abstract Participation of stakeholders at the local level (local participation) is evolving worldwide as a mechanism to address complex environmental problems such as water resource management.