Sustainable management of freshwater resources in Ghana: an analysis of the perspectives of local residents

Figures & data

Figure 1. is inserted to provide a visual representation of the study setting and its geographic location.

Source: Amoah-Nuamah (2023).

Table 1. Unit of Enquiry sample frame and sample size.

Units of Enquiry	Population	Average household size	Sampling frame	Sample size
Abaase,	456	5.3	86	43
Adwafo	402	5.3	76	38
Obbu	350	5.3	67	34
Apewu,	382	5.3	72	36
Aborodwom	360	5.3	68	34
Abono	1012	5.3	191	96
Esaase	284	5.3	55	28
Total	3246		615	309

Source: DPCU (2022).

Table 2. Sample units and the number of key informants interviewed.

Key informants	Number of participants
Assembly members	2
Traditional Leaders	7
Total	9

Source: Author’s Own construct.

Figure 2. is inserted to provide a visual overview of the methodological workflow.

Source: Authors construct (2023).

Table 3. Showing the socio-demographic data of respondents.

Socio-demographic background	No. of respondents	Percent
Gender
Male	171	55.3
Female	138	44.7
Age
Less than 20	60	19.4
20–29	99	32.0
30–39	66	21.4
40–49	48	15.6
50–59	27	8.7
60 or more	9	2.9
Ethnicity
Akan	223	72.1
Ewe	32	10.4
Ga/Adamgbe	18	5.8
Guan	11	3.6
Mole/Dagbani	15	4.9
Gruma/ Bimo	8	2.6
Other	2	0.6
Religion
Orthodox	60	19.4
Pentecostal/ Charismatic	198	64.1
Traditionalist	23	7.4
Muslim	28	9.1
Years of stay
5–10 years	50	16.2
11–20 years	111	35.9
21–30 years	64	20.7
31–40 years	39	12.7
41–50 years	27	8.7
50+ years	18	5.8
Education
No Formal Education	56	18.2
Primary	73	23.6
JHS/ Middle School	116	37.5
SHS/ VoTech	48	15.5
Tertiary	12	3.9
Other	4	1.3
Total	309	100.0

Source: Fieldwork, 2022.

Table 4. Variables Influencing Indigenous Perception on Community- based Freshwater management.

Variables	Description
MN1	Who owns Lake Bosomtwe
MN2	Who has control over Lake Bosomtwe
MN3	Communities must actively be involved in the Lake’s management with supporting law
MN4	Communities should be in charge of the Lake’s management with no direct state involvement
MN5	Communities should actively participate in Lake Bosomtwe’s management system
MN6	Communities must be consulted in decisions concerning the Lakes management
MN7	Communities can stop illegal use of Lake Bosomtwe by arresting and offended people
MN8	Communities should be involved in income generating activities of Lake Bosomtwe
MN9	Community lake management association should be constituted and registered
MN10	Communities should spend more time in management than the state and other institutions
MN11	Lake Bosomtwe’s use should be controlled by the community
MN12	Donors and NGO’s should negotiate with community leaders for projects on the lake.
MN13	Community- based knowledge sharing platform should be instituted

Source: Field work, 2022.

Table 5. Factor Loadings Explaining the local’s Perception about Management and ownership of Lake Bosomtwe.

Variables	Component
	1	2	3
Ownership and Control
MN1			.713
MN2			.799
Policy formulation and implementation
MN3		.698
MN4		.577
MN5		.739
MN6		.718
MN7		.533
Community Initiative
MN8	.587
MN9	.583
MN10	.725
MN11	.798
MN12	.756
MN13	.721

Source: Field work, 2022.

Table 6. Cross Tabulation showing relation between who owns the lake and who manages the lake.

			Who manages the lake					Total
			Community	Government	WSMT staff	Traditional Authority	I don’t know
	Community	Count	16	10	0	62	3	91
Who owns the lake		% of Total	5.2%	3.2%	0.0%	20.1%	1.0%	29.4%
	WSMT Staff	Count	1	0	4	3	2	10
		% of Total	0.3%	0.0%	1.3%	1.0%	0.6%	3.2%
	Government	Count	3	70	5	60	7	145
		% of Total	1.0%	22.7%	1.6%	19.4%	2.3%	46.9%
	NGO	Count	0	1	1	2	3	7
		% of Total	0.0%	0.3%	0.3%	0.6%	1.0%	2.3%
	I don’t know	Count	1	8	0	22	25	56
		% of Total	0.3%	2.6%	0.0%	7.1%	8.1%	18.1%
Total		Count	21	89	10	149	40	309
		% of Total	6.8%	28.8%	3.2%	48.2%	12.9%	100%

Source: Field work, 2022.

Amoah-Nuamah, J. (2023). Exploring the local perceptions of the ecological services of Lake Bosomtwe, Ghana. African Geographical Review, 42(1), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1080/19376812.2023.2297710

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Data availability statement

The data used in this study is available upon reasonable request from the corresponding author.