Peri-urban transformation and shared natural resources: the case of shea trees depletion and livelihood in Wa municipality, Northwestern Ghana

Figures & data

Figure 1. The study context. Source: Authors.

Figure 2. Urban Transition of Wa from 1986 to 2016. Source: Authors.

Figure 3. Land Use and Land Cover Change in Wa between 1986 and 2016. Source: Authors.

Figure 4. Annual rainfall in Wa, 1976–2016. Source: Adapted from Wa weather station.

Table 1. Socioeconomic characteristics of respondents.

Community	Sex		Educational Status			Occupation
	Male	Female	Never	Basic	Secondary	Agriculture	Others (trading, quarrying etc.)
Kpongu	3	7	2	4	2	10	10
Guli	2	4	3	3	0	6	2
Nakore	3	7	3	5	2	10	7
Sing	2	4	4	4	0	6	3
Total	10	22	12	16	4	32	23

Source: Field survey, April (2015).

Table 2. Contribution of shea to household income.

Indicator	N	Percentage
Very important	21	65.6
Important	7	21.9
Less important	3	9.4
Not important	1	3.1
Total	32	100

Source: Field survey, April (2015).

Table 3. Declining household income from shea tree products.

Indicator	N
Strongly Agree	23
Agree	7
Disagree	2
Total	32

Source: Field survey, April (2015).

Table 4. Socioeconomic and environmental impacts on shea trees.

Stressor	Source	Impacts	Respondents reporting
Drought	Climatic	Fruiting	23 (32)
Rainfall variability	Climatic	Fruiting	23 (32)
Wind/rainstorms	Climatic	Fruiting	23 (32)
Sand/Stone winning	Human	Shea tree population	32 (32)
Conversion of lands	Human	Shea tree population	19 (32)
Bushfire	Human	Shea tree population	28 (32)
Lumbering	Human	Shea tree population	32 (32)
Pest and Disease	Biological	Fruiting	12 (32)

Source: Derived from semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions.

Plate 1. Destructive Sand wining. Source: Field survey, April (2015).

Table 5. Average loss of farm lands and access to shea tree resources.

Respondents	N	Average/loss of land
Men	10	1–3 Acres loss over the past 10 years
Women	22	1–10 Acres loss over the past 10 years

Source: Field survey, April (2015).