Ambiguities of Forest Management Decentralization in Ghana

Abstract

This article examines the outcomes of forest management decentralization in Ghana. It has been demonstrated that despite claims that Ghana has adopted forest management decentralization policy, actual forest management powers and rights over forest resources are still retained by the central government. The government is only interested in using the decentralization policy to reduce expenditure and extend its control over forest resources. Nevertheless, it has employed policy ambiguities to hide its true intentions from international donors. In order to contain international donor demands for equity in the distribution of natural resource revenue, a small stream of forest revenue is paid to a few unelected traditional rulers and district assembly officials, who are actually within the executive's patronage networks. In the absence of any meaningful reward system and secure rights over forest resources, community forestry committees are not functioning properly.

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank the Economic and Social Research Council of the United Kingdom and the British Petroleum Company for jointly funding this study. I am also grateful to Dr. Alan Grainger, who supervised my doctoral research.