Final Project Report
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ITTO RED-PA 056/11 REV. 1(F): STRENGTHENING THE CAPACITY OF ITTO PRODUCER COUNTRIES IN GENERATING AND DISSEMINATING SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION ON REDDES DEVELOPING STRATEGIES FOR REDDES ACTIVITIES IN SELECTED PILOT AREAS IN CAMEROON, GHANA, LIBERIA AND NIGERIA Final Project Report Compiled and Edited by E.G. Foli & M. Kleine August, 2014 CONTENTS ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS ............................................................................ ii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................. iv CHAPTER ONE: GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO THE ITTO REDDES PROJECT (RED-PA 056/11 REV. 1(F)) ...................................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER TWO: REDDES PILOT SITES IN THE SELECTED COUNTRIES 4 2.1 CAMEROON (DIMAKO DISTRICT)..................................................................... 4 2.1.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 4 2.1.2 Location of the pilot site ................................................................................... 5 2.1.3 Bio-physical conditions .................................................................................... 6 2.1.4 Socio-economic conditions ............................................................................... 7 2.1.5 Legal framework ............................................................................................... `9 2.1.6 Status of forest landscape degradation: Problem analysis ................................ 11 2.1.7 Developing solutions: Proposed strategies to solve the problems .................... 16 2.2 GHANA (OFFINSO DISTRICT) ............................................................................. 17 2.1.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 17 2.1.2 Location of the pilot site ................................................................................... 18 2.1.3 Bio-physical conditions .................................................................................... 19 2.1.4 Socio-economic conditions ............................................................................... 20 2.1.5 Legal framework ............................................................................................... 20 2.1.6 Status of forest landscape degradation: Problem analysis ................................ 24 2.1.7 Developing solutions: Proposed strategies to solve the problems .................... 25 2.3 LIBERIA (BOPOLU STATUTORY DISTRICT, GBARPOLU COUNTY) ....... 27 2.1.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 27 2.1.2 Location of the pilot site ................................................................................... 28 2.1.3 Bio-physical conditions .................................................................................... 28 2.1.4 Socio-economic situation ................................................................................. 29 2.1.5 Legal framework ............................................................................................... 29 2.1.6 Status of forest landscape degradation: Problem analysis ................................ 33 2.1.7 Developing solutions: Proposed strategies to solve the problems .................... 34 2.4 NIGERIA (AKURE, ONDO STATE) ...................................................................... 36 2.1.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 36 2.1.2 Location of the pilot site ................................................................................... 37 2.1.3 Bio-physical conditions .................................................................................... 37 2.1.4 Socio-economic situation ................................................................................. 38 2.1.5 Legal framework ............................................................................................... 38 2.1.6 Status of forest landscape degradation: Problem analysis ................................ 41 2.1.7 Developing solutions: Proposed strategies to solve the problems .................... 42 CHAPTER THREE: GENERAL CONCLUSIONS, LESSONS LEARNT AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR POLICY MAKERS ......................................................................................................... 43 REFERENCES ..................................................................................................................... 45 i ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS ACS American Colonisation Society AfDB African Development Bank AFF African Forest Forum AFR Akure Forest Reserve ANAFOR National Forestry Development Agency, Cameroon CoC Chain of Custody CRL Community Rights Law (Liberia) CTFC Technical Centre for Council of Forests (Cameroon) CTFC Technical Centre for Council of Forests, Cameroon DSFZ Dry Semi-Deciduous Fire Zone EPA Environmental Protection Agency (Ghana) EU European Union FDA Forestry Development Authority (Liberia) FPDC Forest Plantations Development Centre FLEGT Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade FMC Forest Management Contract (Liberia) FORNESSA Forestry Research Network of Sub-Saharan Africa FORNIS FORNESSA Information Service (www.fornis.net) FORIG Forestry Research Institute of Ghana FPDC Forest Plantations Development Centre (Ghana) FRIN Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria FSD Forest Services Division (Ghana) FTI Forestry Training Institute (Liberia) GNA Ghana News Agency GNF Gola Yorma National Forest (Liberia) GSS Ghana Statistical Service IBA Important Birds’ Area ITTO International Tropical Timber Organisation IUFRO International Union of Forest Research Organisations LAP Land Administration Project LEITI Liberia Extractive Industries Transparency Initiatives LUA Land Use Act (Nigeria) MESTI Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology Innovation (Ghana) ii MINAGRI Ministry of Agriculture (Cameroon) MINAT Ministry of Territorial Administration (Cameroon) MINEE Ministry of Energy and Mines (Cameroon) MINFOF Ministry of Forestry (Cameroon) MINTP Ministry of Public Works (Cameroon) MINUH Ministry of Town Planning and Housing(Cameroon) MoFA Ministry of Food and Agriculture (Ghana) MSD Moist Semi-Deciduous NFRL National Forest Reform Law (Liberia) NGO Non-Governmental Organisation NTFP Non-Timber Forest Product PES Payment for Environmental Services PLAN International NGO (http://plan-international.org) REDD Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation REDDES Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation and Enhancing Environmental Services from Tropical Forests. RMSC Resource Management Support Centre (Ghana) SA Social Agreement (Liberia) SFID Societé Forestière Industrielle de Doume SGS Societé Générale de Surveillance TC Tribal Certificate (Liberia) TIDD Timber Industry Development Division (Ghana Forestry Commission) TSC Timber Sales Contract (Liberia) UL University of Liberia UNDP United Nations Development Programme USAID United States Agency for International Development VPA/APV Voluntary Partnership Agreement WD Wildlife Division (Ghana Forestry Commission) iii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Reducing deforestation and forest degradation and enhancing environmental services from forests have become central to the global debates on climate change, conservation of biological diversity and sustainable forest management. Towards this end, this project aimed to contribute to ITTO’s Thematic Program on REDDES (Reducing Deforestation and Forest Degradation and Enhancing Environmental Services from Tropical Forests). This was achieved through scientific analysis of specific REDDES pilot areas in four ITTO member countries in Africa and capacity building in the dissemination of scientific information and effective interactions with policy makers at national and regional levels. In addition, the project supported the organisation of a regional forest science congress, including a special event organised by the African Forest Forum and ITTO. The focus of the project’s work was on four REDDES pilot sites located in Cameroon, Ghana, Liberia and Nigeria, and was clearly related to ITTO’s mandate, contributing directly to ITTO’s Objective No. 2 as provided for in the ITTA, 2006. Furthermore, the project was designed as a contribution to ITTO’s Thematic Programme on REDDES, pursuing specific REDDES objectives such as (a) reducing unplanned deforestation; (b) reducing forest degradation; and (c) contributing to the social and economic sustainability and well-being of forest-dependent communities by increasing forest values through forest restoration and rehabilitation. In addition, the project addressed three of the four strategic areas of the Thematic Programme on REDDES including (a) assessment and diagnosis, by enhancing availability and accuracy of data and information on the state of and threats to forest resources; (b) enabling conditions and capacity-building, by supporting the formulation of national forest policies including legislation as well as expanding the necessary national capacity through training; and (c) scaling up and dissemination, through sharing information and lessons learned locally, nationally, and internationally. The project derived from the realisation that deforestation and forest degradation are driven by a multitude of factors from outside and inside the forest