NATURAL RESOURCES SYSTEMS PROGRAMME PROJECT REPORT1 DFID Project Number R8258 Report Title Informing the policy process: Decentralisation and environmental democracy in Ghana. Scientific report. Annex A of the Final Technical Report of project R8258. Report Authors Brown, D. and Amanor, K. Organisation ODI and Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana. Date 2006 NRSP Production System Forest Agriculture Interface 1 This document is an output from projects funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) for the benefit of developing countries. The views expressed are not necessarily those of DFID. Final Technical Report R8258 Annex A 1. INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................... 1 The Kintampo Districts....................................................................................................... 3 Land tenure and land administration................................................................................... 7 Decentralisation .................................................................................................................. 9 Research Methodology ..................................................................................................... 10 The role of information............................................................................................. 14 Action research ......................................................................................................... 17 The organisation of research..................................................................................... 18 Identifying research partners..................................................................................... 19 What lies ahead.................................................................................................................22 2. NATIONAL LEVEL PERCEPTIONS OF NATURAL RESOURCE POLICIES ...... 24 Evidence in natural resource management ....................................................................... 24 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 26 3. DECENTRALISATION AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR DEMOCRATIC POLICYMAKING............................................................................................................ 27 The District Assembly ...................................................................................................... 28 Representing the communities.......................................................................................... 29 The departments................................................................................................................ 30 The Regional Coordinating Council ................................................................................. 31 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 32 4. THE ROLE OF INFORMATION IN DECENTRALISED NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT........................................................................................ 33 The role of information in policymaking.......................................................................... 33 Information constraints in natural resource planning ....................................................... 34 Institutional arrangements for managing bush fire ................................................... 36 Information in policy hierarchies...................................................................................... 38 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 41 5. BUILDING DECENTRALISED INFORMATION SYSTEMS.................................. 42 Policy needs ...................................................................................................................... 43 Advantages of working at the sub –district level.............................................................. 44 Data collection .................................................................................................................. 45 Data entry and analysis ..................................................................................................... 46 Scaling up.......................................................................................................................... 46 Integrating Area Council Surveys into the District........................................................... 48 District Map .............................................................................................................. 48 Synthesising information from district departments................................................. 50 Institutionalising the use of information in planning................................................ 50 Participatory planning and advocacy................................................................................ 54 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 56 6. CHARCOAL PRODUCTION, POLICIES, LIVELIHOODS AND REGENERATION............................................................................................................ 59 Policy approaches to charcoal management ..................................................................... 60 Charcoal production and rural livelihoods in Kintampo................................................... 62 Social differentiation in charcoal production.................................................................... 68 The politics of resource control ........................................................................................ 71 Charcoal production and the environment........................................................................ 74 Coppice regeneration ........................................................................................................ 78 Management practices .............................................................................................. 86 Rates of regeneration ................................................................................................ 88 Community controls.......................................................................................................... 90 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 91 A: ii Final Technical Report R8258 Annex A 7. Land cover change and regeneration: Evidence from remote sensing.......................... 92 Methodology.....................................................................................................................93 The Mansie yam belt......................................................................................................... 96 Land cover change in the Kintampo district..................................................................... 99 Asantekwa............................................................................................................... 100 Dawadawa....................................................................................................................... 104 Atta Akura....................................................................................................................... 107 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 111 8. YAM FARMING AND NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT ...................... 113 Yam in the research system ............................................................................................ 114 Yam production in Ghana............................................................................................... 116 Yam production in the Kintampo area............................................................................ 118 Implications for natural resource management............................................................... 123 9. NETWORKS, PLATFORMS AND INFORMATION .............................................. 125 Networks and platforms.................................................................................................. 125 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 132 District information systems................................................................................... 132 Yam farming networks ........................................................................................... 135 Charcoal burners platform ...................................................................................... 138 Action research ....................................................................................................... 141 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................... 144 A: iii Final Technical Report R8258 Annex A 1. INTRODUCTION This study is concerned with environmental management at the interface between government and rural communities in a district setting in Ghana. This interface occurs at the level of local government, since in Ghana, most government agencies are incorporated in some form or other into the structure of district administration. The study focuses on the use of information in policy formulation