Community Participation in Forest Resource Management as a Tool in Reducing the Effects of Climate Change and Enhancing Sustainable Development

Abstract

Climate change, which encompasses a long term alteration in average weather conditions of communities and regions of the world has become an issue of concern the world over. Some very visible global manifestations of climate change include generally high temperatures, severe storms, flooding, drying up of water bodies and irregular rainfall patterns. Due to these changes, forest resources globally not excepting Ghana suffer a constant rate of depletion annually, hence the need to devise a sustainable way of managing these forest resources as their rapid depletion exacerbates some drastic effects of climate change. The issue of community participation in forest resource management is a subject of utmost significance as communities living either within or at the boundaries of forests depend on these forest resources on a daily basis for their sustenance. This study examined how the participation of the communities around forest resources can contribute in the effective management of the forest resources hence reducing the effects of climate change using the Kakum National Park and the Kalakpa Resource Reserve located in the Central and Volta Regions of Ghana respectively as case studies. The study adopted mainly a comprehensive bibliographical investigation and questionnaires distributed to solicit the views of residents in the two communities on community participation in the management of the forest resource. The data collected were interpreted and discussed in coherence with the literature reviewed. The study discovered that community participation in forest management was very low in both areas. The study recommended among other things the putting in place of measures to ensure the communities living around forest areas are involved fully in the management of the forest resource.