Year: 2017/2018-2018/2019
Funder: International Tree Foundation
The goal of this project was to further enhance the biological stock of the Montonnso Sacred Forest in Wassa Amenfi East District in Western Ghana and to eliminate encroachment by neighbouring communities to augment conservation. It also targeted the education of school children on tree planting and forest conservation and related ecological and socio-economic benefits for the present and future generations.
By the end of the project, more than 20,000 trees of short, medium, and long-term ecological and socio-economic benefits were planted through enrichment planting in the sacred forest, private forest plantations, and cocoa-agroforestry systems in Saamang stool land and neighbouring communities. The cocoa-agroforestry benefited more than 100 smallholder farmers. In Addition, a total of 200 citrus fruit trees were planted on the compounds of six basic schools. This was intended to contribute to environmental protection, improve food and nutrition and enhance the consciousness of the school children in relation to forest creation, conservation, and contribution to climate change mitigation as carbon sinks. A total of 690 school children (45 % females) were thus trained on fruit tree planting, forest management, and associated environmental and socio-economic benefits. The project further educated four communities bordering Saamang on the conservation status, rules, and regulations governing the Sacred Forest and the national forest and wildlife policies focused on forest and wildlife protection.
