An evaluation of forest conservation perceptions after a decade of community conservation in Afadjato Agumatsa, Ghana

Abstract

Perceptions of communities about natural resource conservation are important intermediate outcomes of conservation interventions. This is especially important in community-based natural resource management regimes, where they need to be assessed before the ultimate outcome of conserved natural resources and biodiversity. The assessments of these perceptions are also very important for conservation management purposes. Selected communities in the Afadjato Agumatsa area in Ghana, West Africa started community forest conservation in 1999 with technical support from a conservation organization as well as financial support from an international agency. At the beginning of the conservation action, forest conservation perceptions were assessed. In this study, we evaluated the changes in perceptions about forest conservation in three communities living in the Afadjato Agumatsa area in Ghana, between 1999 and 2009. The method we used was a qualitative pretest posttest evaluation. We also assessed which socioeconomic factors predicted peoples’ perceptions about forest conservation. The results suggest that there has been an overall increase in support for forest conservation in the area expressed by the cultural, natural resource and economic benefits and values from the forests since 1999. This increase could be influenced by the cultural and economic benefits that the conservation program introduced. However, some respondents continue to hold reservations about restrictions to the exploitation of natural resources that the conservation program has imposed. This concern has to be continually managed.