Rights and Responsibilities: The Reality of Forest Fringe Communities in the Northern Region of Ghana

Abstract

The goal for collaborative forest management (CFM) is to attain sustainable management of forest resources for sustainable development. Securing rights and responsibilities of forest fringe communities is central to achieving effective and sustainable management of forest reserves. This article discusses the rights and responsibilities of the forest fringe communities under Ghana's collaborative Forest Management (CFM) in the Northern region and explores the levels of awareness of communities of these rights and responsibilities. The survey employed a mixed method research design with community members and forestry staff as key respondents. We found that although Forest fringe communities are entitled to some admitted rights including access to the reserves and the right to harvest nontimber forest products such as thatch, medicinal plants, dry wood for firewood and edible fruits mainly for domestic use; in reality, access to such rights is somehow restricted by the forestry staff. Fringe communities have limited knowledge about their rights and responsibilities to the forest reserve. For sustainability, educating fringe communities on their rights and responsibilities to forest reserves and involving them in management decisions is recommended as the surest ways of securing their interests in CFM.