Community perception of forest reserve regulations enforcement in the Tano-Offin forest reserve, Ghana

Abstract

In areas of high ecological importance, regulations are required to ensure that anthropogenic land uses are sustainable. In regulating such areas , it is important to consider the perspectives of land users to evaluate how regulations are effectively being enforced to achieve desired goals. While local perspectives have proven valuable in ensuring forest regulation compliance, little is known regarding community members’ perception about forest reserve regulations enforcement. By using survey data from the Tano-Offin Forest Reserve, we develop a model in this study to examine the spatial, socioeconomic, and demographic factors that influence local perception about forest reserve regulations enforcement. The study finds that community members who reside within 0.15 km from the forest reserve (AOR = 1.669, CI = 1.358–5.252, p = 0.010) and have secondary education or more (AOR: 1.689, CI: 1.176–3.694, p = 0.022) are significantly more likely to perceive that forest reserve regulations are being enforced. Moreover, the study establishes that females (AOR: 0.574, CI: 0.211–0.862, p = 0.018) and migrants (AOR:0.575, CI:0.169–0.860, p = 0.025) are less likely to perceive that forest reserve regulations are being enforced. We suggest that land managers should take into consideration diverse significant spatial, socioeconomic, and demographic factors to assess the efficiency of enforcement of forest reserve regulations.

Keywords:

• forest fringe communities
• socioeconomic and spatial variables
• forest reserve regulations
• statistical modeling

PUBLIC INTEREST STATEMENT

Enforcement of forest reserve regulation is important in ensuring sustainable management of forest resources. For this reason, community perception about the enforcement of forest reserve regulations is crucial to inform forest management decisions. However, little is known regarding community perception about the enforcement of forest reserve regulations and associated spatial, demographic, and socioeconomic factors in Ghana. Addressing this knowledge gap, the purpose of the study was to determine the spatial, demographic, and socioeconomic factors explaining community perception about the enforcement of forest reserve regulations. The study has shown that proximity to the forest reserve, gender, education, status of community membership (migrants vs. indigenes), impacts of the forest reserve regulations on participants’ livelihoods, receiving assistance under the forest reserve regulation initiative, and occupation type (full time vs. part-time farming) were associated with community perception about forest reserve regulations enforcement. The policy implications based on the findings of the study have been highlighted.

1. Introduction

Communities in the Tano-Offin Forest Reserve (TOFR) mostly engage in farming (Sobeng et al., 2018). However, illegal mining and logging (Derkyi et al., 2013; 2012; Mensah et al., 2019) have become common in recent years. While Ghana’s forest reserve regulations require all human activities in the TOFR to conform to Ghana’s forest reserve regulations,it is not clear how community members perceive regulations enforcement.

Ghana’s forest and wildlife policy of 2012 seeks to “establish and make accessible a stable source of financial support for building capacity and attitudinal changes of community institutions” (Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, 2012, p. 27). The policy also seeks to motivate and instill behavioural and attitudinal change in community members in ways that lead to improved environmental management. However, the policy does not show how forest resource managers can seek local perspectives on the progress of forest reserve regulations and enforcement in forest fringe communities. This research examines the perception of local community members about forest reserve regualtions enforcement. It pays attention to how spatial, demographic, and socioeconomic factors influence community perception about forest reserve regulations enforcement in Ghana.

Land use regulations, describing the types of acceptable anthropogenic incursions in forest reserves and other forest areas (Dalle et al., 2006; Derkyi et al., 2013; Fisher et al., 2022; Gishobi et al., 2022; Kaimowitz, 2003), govern anthropogenic land uses in forest fringe communities. Such regulations are strict, particularly in globally significant biodiversity areas (GSBA) (Ankomah et al., 2019; Ansong & Røskaft, 2011; Derkyi et al., 2013; Li et al., 2022; Phalan, 2009). Major rationale for regulating human activities in such areas is to protect biodiversity and ecosystem balance, as the loss of biodiversity mostly presents future economic losses (Attuaquayefio & Folib, 2005).

To ensure compliance to forest reserve regulations, appraisals from local community members are ways to learn about how the dynamics of social, economic, spatial, and demographic factors influence the strength of forest reserve regulations. Many benefits are derived from such community appraisals. For instance, by attributing forest cover loss and degradation to agriculture and wood haversting in the Ankasa Conservation Area, Damnyag et al. (2013) recommended the adoption and strengthening of community resource managment institutions to prioritise livelihood improvement and ecosystem services in the area. Such recommendations were based on local perception about forest cover loss. In the Congo Basin, Ramcilovic-Suominen and Epstein (2015) found that farmers who perceive forest regulations to be fair are more likely to comply with the regulations. Quartuch and Beckley (2014), similarly, identified the use of a mix of regulations and non-monetary incentives as a means of ensuring stewardship among forest landowners. Thus, from the perspectives of local communities, forest managers could amend management plans to reflect local attitudes as well as the socioeconomic and cultural conditions, thereby driving conservation actions and ensuring that forest and land use reflect the basic tenets of sustainable use of resources in resource-dependent communities.

While local perspectives have proven to be effective in ensuring forest regulation compliance, much of the discussions have focused on forest resources and livelihood dynamics (Derkyi et al., 2013; Sobeng et al., 2018), the perception of local communities, particularly on forest degradation and forest change (Bodonirina et al., 2018; 2014; Damnyag et al., 2013; Twongyirwe et al., 2017), and forest management, values, and conflicts (Yang et al., 2015). Other studies have drawn a link between local perception and spatial proximity to forest reserves and social variables of gender, age, education level, etc. For instance, in Central Benin, Djagoun et al. (2022) found that education and proximity to the forest reserve contribute to community perception of forest ecosystem services. Gouwakinnou et al. (2019) similarly revealed that education level and proximity to the forest reserve determine knowledge about ecosystem services in northern Benin. In t the Congo Basin, Tegegne et al. (2022) found that perceived probability of detection and sanctions, tradition/religion, participatory rulemaking, and property rights (contextual and governance-related factors) are associated with local communities’ forest rule compliance behaviour. Income and gender are also associated with awareness of forest reserve regulations (Oduro Appiah et al, 2021). While these studies provide important information on spatial and socio-economic indicators of local perception of ecosystem services and awareness of forest reserve regulations, they provide little information about perceptions and effectiveness of forest reserve regulations enforcement in forest fringe communities. This study examines the spatial, socioeconomic, and demographic factors associated with community perception of forest reserve regulations enforcement in the TOFR. The key research questions driving the study are 1) Does the proximity of community members to the forest reserve influence perception of forest reserve regulations enforcement? 2) Does gender influence community perception of forest reserve regulations enforcement? 3) Does education level influence community perception of forest reserve regulations enforcement? Based on these specific research questions, we hypothesize that 1) community members (participants) residing within 0.15 km of the forest reserve have higher odds to perceive that forest reserve regulations are being enforced 2) Male participants are significantly more likely to perceive that forest reserve regulations are being enforced 3) Having a higher level of education significantly increases community perception about enforcement of forest reserve regulations. Our study influences the policy direction of the current forest and wildlife policy by showing the mix of social, economic, and spatial factors that are necessary and reflect general local conditions for enforcing the rules and regulations governing forest reserves. Through this study, forest managers will be able to better inform and educate communities about the proper interpretations of some of the rules, regulations, right, and stewardship duties. Not only would this study ensure the enforcement of forest reserve regulations in the TOFR, but it also provides a model for use in other locations that have similar environmental, social, economic, and demographic dynamics.

2. Materials and methods

2.1. Study area

Tano-Offin Forest Reserve (TOFR) is located in the Atwima Mponua District in the Ashanti region of Ghana. Specifically, it is located at longitude 6°54ʹN 6°35ʹN and latitude 1°57ʹW 2°17ʹW. There are four main forest reserves in the Atwima Mponua District, namely Gyemera forest reserve, Asanayo forest reserve, Tano-Offin forest reserve, and Offin forest shelter. The TOFR is the largest among the four forest reserves. It covers a total area of 40,233 ha. The TOFR houses a diversity of plants and animals, including but not limited to Cynometra Ananta, Heretiera utilis, and Tieghemelia heekelii, and it serves as a watershed for two major rivers in the Ashanti Region. That is, the TOFR is an important biogeographical feature of the region.

The TOFR is noted for providing diverse ecosystems and socio-economic services for the communities living in and around the reserve. The reserve serves as a protection area (Globally Significant Biodiversity Area (GSBA) for plants and animals. Also, there is a management regime that ensures sustainable harvesting of the forest. Lastly, managers of the forest reserve ensure that there are programmes to ensure the replacement of harvested trees (degraded forest) through community engagement and a mix of tree planting and farming to improve the livelihoods of the community members (Derkyi, 2012, p. 190). The forest services division has put in place measures to prevent forest fringe communities from farming, lumbering, blocking the channel of water bodies, hunting and setting fire in the TOFR. These measures are meant to protect the forest reserve. Any individual who flouts the regulations is likely to pay an amount not more than 500 penalty units or face imprisonment of not more than 2 years or both (Ghana Forestry Commission, undated as cited in Derkyi, 2012). In making sure that the regulations are adhered to, the forest services division educates and sensitizes individuals including forest fringe communities on the regulations (Derkyi, 2012). The forest services division has also come out with an initiative to support the livelihood of the forest fringe communities in the TOFR. These initiatives include the Modified Taungya System (MTS), Boundary Cleaning and the Community Biodiversity Advisory Groups.

Under the MTS, forest fringe communities are provided with land by the forest services division to cultivate crops and trees to improve their livelihoods (Ledger et al., 2011). In most cases, the trees are cultivated for the forest service division while the farmers take ownership of the crops. This situation helps forest fringe communities to improve their livelihood. There is also a program on boundary cleaning, where the forest services division enters into a contract with the Community Forestry Committees and Community Biodiversity Advisor Groups (CBAG) to clear the boundary of the forest reserve (Derkyi, 2012). Under this program, the forest service division pays the Community Forestry Committees and the Community Biodiversity Advisory Groups for cleaning the boundary. While these programs seek to ensure the active participation of forest fringe communities in forest reserve management, it is not clear how community members perceive forest regulations enforcement in the TOFR.

2.2. Sampling and data collection procedure

This study was part of a bigger project that focused on forest management programmes and livelihood outcomes (FMPLO) in TOFR communities. The sampling techniques and data collection approach are based on Sobeng et al. (2018). The data were collected between May 2017 and June 2017. Three communities—Kyereyaaso, Bofaaso, and Pamuruso—within 5 km radius of the forest reserve were selected (see, Table 1). The communities were purposely selected based on their spatial proximity. As Asare (2000) indicates, communities within 5 km from forest reserves are considered as forest fringe communities. The population size of the three communities is unknown, but Sobeng et al. (2018) used a community pilot survey to find that each of the communities has a population of approximately 1000. We selected a total sample of 150 community members (50 from each community) for this study (see, Table 2) based on Bryman (2001) assertion that a minimum sample of 70 respondents (sample size) is appropriate for statistical analysis.

Table 1. Study communities and their distance relative to the Tano-Offin forest reserve

Community	Co-ordinates	Distance between the community and the Tano-Offin forest reserve
Kyereyaaso	6°36ʹ03.6”N 2°10ʹ08.3”W	1.07 Km
Bofaaso	6°35ʹ53.0”N 2°11ʹ56.1”W	380.29 m
Pamuruso	6°35ʹ39.1”N 2°13ʹ06.4”W	135.65 m

Sobeng et al. (2018)

Table 2. Sample size distribution among the selected communities

Name of Community	Population size according to the 2010 Population Census	Sample frame	Sample size (n)
Kyereyaaso	976*	≈1000	50
Bofaaso	-	≈1000	50
Pamuruso	-	≈1000	50
Total	-	≈3000	150

Source: *Atwima Mponua District Assembly (2014) and Sobeng et al. (2018)

The sampling procedure used in this study was affected by the availability of the community members. As indicated by Sobeng et al. (2018), an availability-based sampling procedure was used to collect data from community members from the three study communities. This sampling technique is not devoid of biases. However, Gravetter and Forzano (2015) recommend that the biases can be reduced by collecting data from “a broad cross-section of respondents” (Gravetter & Forzano, 2015). Thus, Sobeng et al. (2018) considered a sampling of respondents from a wider category of respondents of diverse socio-economic and demographic characteristics such as gender, age, level of education, occupation, level of income, and community membership.

2.3. Data collection instruments

The study used questionnaires in collecting quantitative data. Questionnaires were administered to local inhabitants from the three communities with the aid of five research assistants. The principal researchers and the research assistants were fluent in the local language spoken by the inhabitants of the three communities. Thus, the knowledge of the local language helped the researchers to familiarize themselves with the people and obtain relevant data for the study. Each questionnaire administration lasted approximately 30 minutes.

Informed consent (both written and verbal) was sought from all respondents. Sobeng et al. (2018) assured all respondents of strict confidentiality of the information they provided. As recommended by Kaiser (2009), confidentiality was addressed in this study during data collection and data cleaning.

2.4. Variables and data analytical framework

Quantitative data obtained from structured questionnaires were coded into SPSS software version 20 (IBM, Armonk, NY). To analyze the quantitative data, we selected the community members’ perception of enforcing forest reserve regulations as the outcome or dependent variable (PER). The independent variables used in the analysis include nearness of community to the forest reserve (NNF), the status of community members (SCM), occupation type (OCT), gender (GND), the education level of respondents (EDL), the likelihood of being impacted negatively by the regulations (LBN), the likelihood of receiving assistance under the forest management initiatives to lessen impacts (LRA), marital status (MS) and age (A). We use these independent variables to predict the perception of the enforcement of forest reserve regulations. Based on the Gujarati and Porter (2010) framework for building a model, we proposed a model showing the relationship between the dependent and independent variables presented as follows:

(1) $\mathrm{P}\mathrm{E}\mathrm{R}=(\frac{{\mathrm{P}}_{\mathrm{a}}}{1-{\mathrm{P}}_{\mathrm{a}}})={\beta }_{\mathrm{o}}+{\beta }_{1}NNF+{\beta }_{2}SCM+{\beta }_{3}OCT+{\beta }_{4}GND+{\beta }_{5}EDL+{\beta }_{6}LBN+{\beta }_{7}LRA+{\beta }_{8}MS+{\beta }_{9}A+\mathrm{e}$(1)

where P_a = probability that forest reserve regulations are being enforced (1 = effectively being enforced or 0 = otherwise), B₀ = model intercept, B₁ … .B₇ = coefficient of the model, and e = random error term.

3. Results

3.1. Demographic, socio-economic characteristics and other selected variables

Table 3 indicates spatial, demographic, socio-economic and other selected variables. We find that 60.7% of the respondents were females, 58.7% have a basic level of education (primary and junior high school/junior secondary school), 67.3% were indigenes and 83.3% were full-time farmers. The majority (76.7%) of the participants were married. Also, 30.7% of the participants were aged between 31–40 years. The majority of the participants constituting 74% responded that their activities have been impacted by the forest reserve regulations, however, a few of them (13.3%) have received assistance under the forest reserve regulation initiative. The study finds that the majority of the respondents, accounting for 64% perceive that the forest reserve regulations are being enforced.

Table 3. Demographic, Socio-economic and other selected variables

Variables	Category	Frequency (n = 150)	%
Gender	Male	91	60.7
	Female	59	39.3
Education Level	No formal education	45	30.0
	Basic	88	58.7
	Secondary or more	17	11.3
Status in the Community	Indigene	101	67.3
	Migrant	49	32.7
Involvement in occupation	Full time	125	83.3
	Part-time	25	16.7
Impact of forest regulation on livelihood	Yes	111	74.0
	No	39	26.0
Received assistance under the forest reserve regulation initiative	Yes	20	13.3
	No	130	86.7
Perceived enforcement of forest reserve regulations	Yes	96	64.0
	No	54	36.0
Age (years)
	18–30	24	16.0
	31–40	46	30.7
	41–50	40	26.7
	Above 50	40	26.7
Marital status
	Married	115	76.7
	Single	35	23.3

3.2 Demographic and socio-economic factors predicting community perception about the enforcement of forest reserve regulations

Demographic, socio-economic and other variables explaining community perception about enforcement of forest reserve regulations are indicated in Table 4. The study reveals that participants who reside within 0.15 km from the forest reserve were 1.669 times significantly more likely to perceive that forest reserve regulations are enforced compared to those who reside 1.07 km away from the forest reserve (AOR: 1.669, CI: 1.358–5.252, p = 0.010). We find that those with secondary level of education or more were 1.689 times significantly more likely to perceive that forest reserve regulations are being enforced compared to those with no formal education (AOR: 1.689, CI: 1.176–3.694, p = 0.022). Moreover, the study establishes that females were 0.574 times significantly less likely to perceive that forest reserve regulations are being enforced compared to their male counterparts (AOR: 0.574, CI: 0.211–0.862, p = 0.018). The study findings reveal that migrants were 0.575 times significantly less likely to indicate that forest reserve regulations are being enforced compared to those who are indigenes (AOR: 0.575, CI: 0.169–0.860, p = 0.025). The study finds that participants whose livelihood activity have not been impacted by the forest reserve regulations were 0.506 times significantly less likely to indicate that forest reserve regulations are being enforced compared to their counterparts whose livelihoods have been impacted (AOR: 0.506, CI: 0.209–0.726, p = 0.032).

Furthermore, the study reveals that respondents who have not received assistance under the forest reserve regulation initiative were 0.713 times significantly less likely to perceive that forest reserve regulations are being enforced compared to those who have received assistance under the forest reserve regulations initiative (AOR: 0.713, CI:0.321–0.920, p = 0.02). The study reveals that participants who were part-time farmers were 0.506 times significantly less likely to perceive that forest reserve regulations are being enforced compared to those who were full-time farmers (AOR: 0.506, CI: 0.274–0.785, p = 0.041).

4. Discussion

The study models how spatial, demographic, socio-economic, and other variables predict perception about forest reserve regulations enforcement in forest fringe communities. Whereas many of the variables suggested a significant relationship with the perception about forest reserve regulation enforcement, we show different levels of engagement between the predictor variables and the outcome variable. Specifically, the study presents detailed insights about the perception of the community members in the TOFR regarding the enforcement of forest reserve regulations as follows. First, the study outcome suggests that community members who live closer to the forest reserve are more likely to perceive that forest reserve regulations are being enforced in the TOFR. This outcome is likely to be a result of the differences in how connected community members are to the forest reserve as well as how well information about regulation enforcement reaches each of the forest fringe communities. We argue that community members who are closer to the forest reserve are likely to be more involved in the activities in and around the forest reserve, including supporting regulations enforcement. This argument is supported by a related study (see Tesfaye, 2017), which found that community members who are closer and more involved in forest conservation programmes are more likely to express positive perceptions towards the programme. Also, in Northern Benin, Gouwakinnou et al. (2019) have argued that proximity to forests plays a key role in the disparities regarding knowledge and perception of ecosystem services in forest reserves. In their study about the perception of ecosystem services in Central Benin of West Africa, Djagoun et al. (2022) found that proximity to forest reserves influences people’s perception of forest ecosystem services.

However, spatially, community members may be closer to the forest reserve but may not interact with it very often or involve in forest management activities. Similar to this finding is the study outcome which suggests that community members who are part-time farmers are less likely to have a perception that forest reserve regulations are being enforced as compared to the full-time farmers. This study outcome is likely to follow the trend of the level of involvement. Those who are full-time farmers would likely have more experience regarding regulation enforcement as compared to those who work as part-time farmers.

In Table 4 the level of education is significantly associated with the perception that forest reserve regulations are being enforced. The study outcome suggests that community members who have had some education are more likely to perceive that forest reserve regulations are being enforced. The level of education may influence community members’ understanding of what regulation enforcement means. Besides, the understanding of the level or amount of regulation enforcement is likely to play a role in adequately differentiating between regulations when they are being enforced and when they are not being enforced. Our finding agrees with previous studies in other countries. For instance, studies have shown that education is significantly associated with the perception of regulating and supporting ecosystem services identification (Gouwakinnou et al., 2019; Marrtin-Lopez et al., 2012; Poppenborg & Koellner, 2013). Specifically, in line with our findings, Gouwakinnou et al.(2019) found education level contributes to differences in knowledge regarding ecosystem services in Northern Benin. Further, in their study on the perception of ecosystem services in Central Benin, Djagoun et al. (2022) found that education level predicts the perception of forest ecosystem services. In a related study, Owubah et al. (2001) noted that farmers’ level of education influences their understanding of the need to conserve natural forests and engage in forest plantation activities. Here, we argue that informal education for community members in terms of what constitutes regulation enforcement would be necessary to ensure that community members know and understand the duties of the regulation enforcement team in the forest fringe communities. Thus, community members would be able to determine the activities of the regulation enforcement team that are deemed legal and hold the team accountable for their activities.

Table 4. Factors predicting community members’ perception about the enforcement of forest reserve regulations

Variables		B	S.E.	Sig.	AOR	95% C.I. for AOR
						Lower	Upper
	Nearness to the forest reserve
	Kyereyaaso (1.07 km) (Ref)	1.00
	Bofaaso (0.38 km)	.137	.466	.021	1.147	1.460	4.858
	Pamuruso (0.15 km)	.512	.475	.010	1.669	1.358	5.232
	Education
	No formal education (Ref)	1.00
	Basic	.859	.460	.062	2.361	.958	5.817
	Secondary or more	−.373	.696	.022	1.689	1.176	3.694
	Gender
	Male (Ref)	1.00
	Female	−.394	.395	.018	.574	.211	0.862
	Community Status
	Indigene (Ref)	1.00
	Migrant	.243	.412	.025	.575	.169	.860
	Impact of forest regulations on livelihood activity
	Yes (Ref)	1.00
	No	−.681	.451	.032	.506	.209	.726
	Receiving assistance under the forest regulation initiative
	Yes	1.00
	No	.285	.459	.036	.713	.321	.920
	Level of involvement in occupation
	Full-time Farmer (Ref)	1.00
	Part-Time Farmer	.836	.495	.041	.506	.274	.785
	Age (years)
	18–30 (Ref)	1.00
	31–40	−.388	.559	.487	.678	.227	2.030
	41–50	−.508	.608	.404	.602	.183	1.983
	Above 50	−1.444	.639	.024	.236	.067	.826
	Marital status
	Married (Ref)	1.00
	Single	−.274	.465	.556	.761	.306	1.892
	Model Fitting Information
	Cox & Snell R Square						.121
	Nagelkerke R Square						.166
	Hosmer-Lemeshow χ^2 (Significance)						7.819 (.451)
	Omnibus Tests of Model Coefficients of Chi-Square (significance)						19.297(0.014)

Note: Reference Group (Ref) = 1.00; AOR = Adjusted Odds Ratios

The study suggests that women are less likely to perceive that forest reserve regulations are being enforced as compared to men, and this is likely due to how well women know the details about the forest reserve management system. In a related study, Allendorf and Allendorf (2013) found that women are less likely to express perceptions of problems and benefits associated with protected areas than men and also, they are less likely to have some positive attitude towards protected areas. Gender disparity in participation in forest management has been reported in many forest communities (Colfer, 2011; Mwangi et al., 2011). In forest communities in Ghana, the forest policy does not exclude women from forest management activities (Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, 2012), but as in many locations, social norms exclude women from involvement in forest management (Oduro Appiah et al., 2021). In many cases, women who manage to participate are not allowed to actively participate and thus, their views are not taken into account in decision-making (Agrawal, 2001). However, women’s perception is likely to be necessary for forest management purposes. Westermann et al. (2005) for instance, have noted that women’s involvement has had greater success in terms of conflict resolution in resource management.

Whereas migrants in some forest communities are spatially or physically related to the forest areas, they are mostly socially-excluded and are inhibited from participating in forest management (Coulibaly-Lingani et al., 2009; Mcdermott & Schreckenberg, 2009). Hence, it is not surprising that migrants in the forest fringe communities of the TOFR are less likely to have a positive perception of the activities of law enforcement in terms of enforcing forest reserve regulations. Most importantly, in throwing more light on migrants as disadvantaged community members, Mehring et al. (2011) have noted that strong power inequalities exist in terms of land distribution and access to resources, among the poor migrants and consequently, migrants are prevented from holding a village leadership position. Unfairness in terms of land acquisition, lack of access to resources and village leadership positions are enough to influence the perception of migrants regarding forest regulation enforcement.

In terms of the enforcement of forest reserve regulations, the study outcome suggests that there is a similarity between those who have not been impacted by the forest reserve regulation and those who have not gotten any aid from forest managers. These categories of community members are less likely to mention that the regulations are being enforced. However, regulation enforcement in the reserve area is not likely to work if there are no alternative livelihoods for community members who have been negatively impacted by regulations that put the forests under strict protection such as in the GSBA of the TOFR (Derkyi et al., 2013). Pagdee et al. (2006) have noted that a clear definition of resource ownership and rights should be in tandem with regulations enforcement to ensure more successful forest management. Inadequate assistance for community members who experience negative impacts from the implementation of regulations that inhibit land use rights and access to forest resources in forest fringe communities could spark negative perceptions. For instance, Vodouhê et al. (2010) have found that community perceptions of biodiversity conservation are strongly related to locally perceived benefits and that the decision to completely prevent farmer encroachment increased negative opinions towards conservation. Such negative attitudes are likely to decrease the possibility of participation in protected area management (Sirivongs & Tsuchiya, 2012).

4.1. Conclusion

In this study, we model the relationship between the perception that forest reserve regulations are being enforced (outcome variable) and the spatial, socio-demographic, economic, and other factors (independent variables) in forest fringe communities of the TOFR. The findings of this study validate all our hypotheses driving the study and represent a major contribution of the study to literature. Specifically, the study finds that residents who stay in communities closer to the forest reserve are significantly more likely to perceive that the regulations are being enforced compared to people who live in communities farther away from the forest reserve. We find that migrants are significantly less likely to perceive that the regulations are being enforced as compared to the indigenes. Moreover, the study finds that women are significantly less likely to perceive that regulations are being enforced. Community members whose livelihoods have not been impacted by the regulations are significantly less likely to perceive that regulations are being enforced as compared to those whose livelihoods have been impacted by the regulations. Similarly, community members who have not received any assistance as part of forest management initiatives in the TOFR are less likely to perceive that forest reserve regulations are being enforced. More importantly, the findings from this study have provided enough information to address the researchhypotheses underpinning the study.

These findings suggest that there is a need for an equal amount of exposure to the regulations governing forest reserve in the forest fringe communities regardless of the level of interaction with the forest reserve. Once a community is regarded as a forest fringe community, there should be measures to engage community members even if their activities do not directly impact the well-being of the forest reserve. Forest policy and management initiatives should be tailored towards improving the lives of community members whose livelihoods have been impacted by the implementation of land use and forest reserve regulations. Most importantly, how regulation is understood is likely to influence how it would be identified and thus, this would impact its enforcement. For this reason, issues such as a clear definition of resource ownership, resource access, land use rights, and land use jurisdiction under regulations would be necessary to ensure smooth enforcement of the forest reserve regulations.

The study findings show that diverse factors influence the perception about enforcement of forest reserve regulations. These findings may be necessary for further improvement in the enforcement of forest reserve regulations. With these findings, the forest managers (in this case the Forest Services Division) can target and conscientise sections of the community members regarding what constitutes regulation enforcement. Finally, we argue that a positive perception of forest reserve laws would likely result from the Forest Services Division doing its tasks to a high standard and community residents being aware of what constitutes regulatory enforcement.

Compliance with ethical standards

Our study involved human participants. The participants were assured of strict confidentiality of the information they provided. Again, the participation in the study was voluntary and for that matter participants were able to withdraw at any time. We further obtained consent (both written and oral) from the study participants involved in this study.

Correction

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The authors received no direct funding for this research.

Notes on contributors

Augustus Kweku Sobeng

Augustus Kweku Sobeng holds a Master of Science degree in Environmental Change, Impact and Adaptation from the Department of Geography and Earth Sciences at Aberystwyth University, United Kingdom. His research interest includes environmental management, natural resource management, social dimensions of biodiversity conservation, and conservation mechanism.

Joseph Oduro Appiah

Joseph Oduro Appiah is an Assistant Professor of Geospatial Analysis at the Department of Geography, Environment & Spatial Analysis, Cal Poly Humboldt, United States. Joseph’s research interests are human-environment interactions, sustainability, land change, environmental change, and the human dimension of natural resource management.

Dina Adei

Dina Adei is an Associate Professor at the Department of Planning, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana. Dina’s research interests are occupational health and safety, health services planning, macro-economic policy and planning, and human-environment interactions.

Janet Adomako

Janet Adomako is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Geography, Rutgers University. Janet uses ethnographic research methods to study the intersection between gender and resource extraction, peri-urban land uses and livelihood activities.

Williams Agyemang-Duah

Williams Agyemang-Duah is a Ph.D. candidate at the Department of Geography and Planning, Queen’s University, Canada. His research interests include population ageing, public health, healthcare services, informal care, and human-environment interactions.

Prince Peprah

Prince Peprah is a Ph.D. student at the University of New South Wales, Australia. His research interest covers resource management and livelihoods, population health, health services research and refugees and Asylum health. The authors collaboratively examined the spatial, socio-economic, and demographic factors influencing the perception of community members about enforcement of forest reserve regulations in Ghana.