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The main aim of this paper is to examine the effects of peri-urbanization on peri-urban land use change patterns, using a binary logistic regression model, in the Bosomtwe district of the Asante region, Ghana. The decision to convert from agricultural land uses to residential and commercial land uses are driven by a myriad of factors, ranging from social to economic in the Bosomtwe District. A triangulation of qualitative and quantitative design was used. Household questionnaires were proportionately administered to 270 respondents in 14 communities, on the basis of population. The data was subjected to the Pearson's Chi-square, Nigelkerk R 2 and Cramer's V test of strength of association. Astep-wise binary logistic regression modeling was performed using the PASW v.17. Pearson chi-square value of χ 2 = 73.546 at 26 degrees was significant at p< .000,athough the Cramer's V test of the strength of the association was moderate at V = 0.37. The logistic regression model reported an overall significance of the model at p< .000 with χ 2 = 24.453, at 4 degrees of freedom. The confidence intervals of (CIs) of (CI: 1.358-4.517) and (CI: 1.039-11.486) for the two main predictors of the outcome, and a B(Exp) values ranging between 2.477 and 3.455 were also reported. This means the odds of respondents being more likely to change their land uses is about 66%. Increasing rate of peri-urbanization is caused by increasing demand for residential, recreational (Hotels and Guest houses) and commercial land uses at the expense of agro-forest land uses. These have some negative implications on local climate and food security. The District assembly should strictly monitor physical development in line with planning schemes.

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Using Satellite Remote Sensing and Geographic Information System, this paper analyzes the land use and land cover change dynamics in the Bosomtwe District of Ghana, for 1986, 2010 thematic mapper and enhanced thematic Mapper+ (TM/ETM+) images, and 2014 Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager and Thermal Infrared Sensor (OLI/TIS) image. The three images were geo-referenced and processed for classification, using the maximum likelihood classifier algorithm. A Jeffries-Matusita's separability check was used in confirming the degree of spectral separation acceptability of the bands used for each of the land use and land cover classes. The best Kappa hat statistic of classification accuracy was 83%. Land Use and Land Cover (LULC) transition analysis in Environmental Systems Research Institute ESRI's ArcMap was performed. The results of the classification over the three periods showed that built up, bare land and concrete surfaces increased from 1201 in 1986 to 5454 ha in 2010. Dense forest decreased by 2253 ha over the same period and increased by 873 ha by the 2014. Low forest also decreased by 1043 ha in 2010; however, it increased by 13% in 2014. Our findings showed some of the important changes in the land use and land cover patterns in the District. After the urbanization process, coupled with farmland abandonment, between 1986 and 2010, substantial increments in urban land and clear increments in farmland coverage between 1986 and 2014were found to be the reason for vegetation cover decreases. This suggests that major changes in the socio-ecological driving forces affecting landscape dynamics have occurred in the last few decades.

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Abstract:Recently, peri-urbanisation has led to the transformation of the rural landscape, changing rural land uses into peri-urban land uses, under varying driving factors. This paper analyzes the dynamic transitions among identified land use and land cover (LULC) types in the Bosomtwe district of Ghana, from 1986 to 2014. An integrated approach of geo-information tools of satellite remote sensing in Earth Resource Data Analysis System (ERDAS) Imagine 13 and ArcMap 10.2 Geographic Information System (GIS), with Markov chain analytical techniques were used to examine the combined forest land cover transitions, relative to build-up, recent fallows and grasslands and projected possible factors influencing the transitions under business as usual and unusual situations. Statistical analyses of the classified Landsat TM, ETM+ and Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager and Thermal Infrared Sensor (OLI/TIS) indicated that over the period of 24 years, the Bosomtwe district has undergone a series of land use conversions with remarkable forest losses especially between 2002 and 2010. In 2010 dense forest cover was degraded to low forest by 4040 ha indicating 0.40% transition probability in the future. There was a remarkable increase of built-up/bare and concrete area with a 380% increment in the 1986-2002 transition periods. The application of the Markov futuristic land use dynamics by the years 2018 and 2028, projected from the 2014 LULC indicated a future steady decline in the area coverage of the dense forest to low forest category. This is currently being driven (as at the 2017 LULC trends), by the combined effects of increasing build up bare and concrete surface land uses as well as the expanding recent fallows and grassland. The paper concluded that the health of the ecosystem and biodiversity of the lake Bosomtwe need to be sustainably managed by the Bosomtwe district assembly.

Public provision of land information: (a) Large sections of the population do not participate in land administration services (either as providers and users of information) due the large illiterate rate. (b) Access to information on land dependant on status and recognition rather than being a public service to be delivered. Large scale land acquisition: (a) There is need for comprehensive and clear guidelines and standards for investors to follow in large scale land acquisitions as often land deals with transnationals are conducted with chiefs as representatives of their communities but who only seek personal gains in the process of deals negotiation. This often leads to displacement of families from their lands and thereby sources of livelihoods. (b) Attractive corporate social responsibility packages of investor groups are promised communities, but these are often not delivered. (c) Environmental, social and economic impact assessments of large scale land acquisitions for investments are often not carried out and even where they are, monitoring and evaluation procedures and practices are inconsistent and ineffective in application. 1.4 Policy recommendations Based on the above findings the following policy recommendations were agreed on at a policy dialogue meeting between the LGAF team and key policy makers in the land sector in Ghana.

Abstract:A critical issue confronting the mining industry and communities in Ghana is compensation for loss of land rights in mining activities. The 1992 Constitution and the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703) both require compensation for the expropriated to be fair, adequate and promptly paid. However, fairness, adequacy and promptness are normative value judgments predicated on stakeholders' perceptions. This makes controversies over compensation issues inevitable and in mining communities these are rife because of increased competition between mines and communities for land and the legal provision that the payment of compensation rests with mining companies negotiating with the expropriated. Using Newmont Ghana Gold Ltd at Ahafo, we analyzed data from a sample of 120 stakeholders in four mining communities which revealed a wide divergence between communities' perceptions and mining company compensation practices, and weak enforcement of mining legislation. Communities were also not well resourced to negotiate for compensation with the transnational corporation. Also, we argue that the principles applied in compensation assessment as provided by law, especially in the case of common resources, contribute to unfairness and inadequacy in compensation for the expropriated. We conclude that this imbalance has negative implications for community-mining company relations and threatens sustainable mining operations. We therefore recommend the rigorous enforcement of legislation, introduction of appropriate governmental and mining company initiatives in building capacities of communities for improved negotiations for compensation, legal recognition of common resources 2 John Tiah Bugri and Samuel Kumi as valuable community assets for compensation, the application of the investment approach to compensation valuation and improved CSR packages by mines as means of bridging the gap between communities' perceptions and compensation practices and ensuring improved company-community relations in the mining industry.