Working Landscape Ghana

Tropenbos Ghana (TBG) will implement the Working Landscapes programme in the JB and SW landscapes with the following rationales. First, both landscapes are part of the nine Hotspot Intervention Areas (HIA) identified through the Ghana Cocoa-Forest REDD+ programme as areas where interventions for halting deforestation and restoring degraded forest are prioritized nationally. Second, the Cocoa and Forest Initiative (CFI) identified the same landscapes as relevant for piloting cocoa companies’ corporate efforts to curtail cocoa-related deforestation. Third, the landscapes have relatively good forest cover and scope for crop diversification, making them suitable for developing and upscaling integrated climate-smart models. Last but not least, support from other Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and LBCs active in the landscapes can function as leverage to synergize interventions to move towards deforestation-free cocoa production and ensure living wages for cocoa farmers. TBG believes that halting deforestation and degradation in combination with climate-smart land-use and restoration, through inclusive decision making and sustainable incentives, will lead to resilience of the JB and SW landscapes, guaranteeing sustainable livelihoods of smallholder cocoa farmers. As such it will be possible to transform JB and SW to resilient climate-smart landscapes. TBG envisages JB and SW as climate-smart agriculture-forest mosaic landscapes with deforestation rate reduced to zero, where cocoa farmers halt encroachment of farms into forest reserves, and cocoa beans buying companies are committed to excluding beans from illegal cocoa farms in forest reserves. Degraded forests are restored and tree cover on farms is increased through agroforestry, reducing climate change risks for smallholders. Tenure rights to land and trees is secured for farmers. Farm productivity is increased through crop diversification and integrated agriculture, including adoption of improved crop varieties. Smallholder income from diversified and integrated agriculture is sufficient and secured, and food security enhanced. The landscape will have no illegal mining in forest reserves, limited responsible mining in off-reserve areas, and exploitation of timber following sustainable standards. There will be inclusive decision making that takes into account the needs of smallholders, and particularly of youth and women, regarding sustainable land use and climate-smart options.