Wildfire incidence and management in the forest transition zone of Ghana: Farmer’s perspectives

Abstract

Forests in Ghana are increasingly being influenced by man-caused fires. Most of these fires have been blamed on farmers practicing slash and burn agriculture. In addition, many critics have assumed that farmers have very limited knowledge of fire management and therefore do not manage farming-related fires. A survey was conducted in eight communities in the forest transition zone to assess the perceptions of farmers on farming-related wildfire incidences, specific activities in farming associated with incidence of wildfires and coping measures being used by farmers to manage wildfires. Farmers in the studied settlements hold the view that there are presently certain cropping practices that are closely associated with wildfire incidence. These include early vegetable and yam cultivation whereby the burning of slash takes place between December and February when fire risk is high. The study also found that farmers have useful knowledge in wildfire management and are applying it to cope with the impacts of wildfires. Some of the important coping strategies are farm maintenance practices, fire prevention education and precautionary measures during land preparation. Adopted measures by farmers need to be supported by research and agriculture extension to remove weaknesses in farmers' efforts.

Vegetation assessment of native tree species in Broussonetia papyrifera‐dominated degraded forest landscape in southern Ghana

“…; Amissah et al. ). These activities have also favoured the colonization and spread of two invasive plant species, B. papyrifera and Chromolaena odorata (Apetorgbor & Bosu ; Castel ).…”

Limited erosion of genetic and species diversity from small forest patches: Sacred forest groves in an Afrotropical biodiversity hotspot have high conservation value for butterflies

“…This general setting, whereby the forest reserves stand out in sharp contrast to the surrounding matrix, has almost certainly been in place since the early 1900s, when the reserve system was established to protect any large blocks of forest that remained. Destructive wildfires that swept across the semi deciduous forest zone in the early 1980s (Amissah et al, 2010), would have further altered the extent and condition of any forest habitat remaining both within and outside of reserve boundaries, and further isolated any remaining forest fragments. Although no exact records exist, most of the country's sacred groves likely also date to at least the early 1900s, given the broad scale fragmentation that characterized the landscape.…”

Review of Catastrophic Fires and Risk Communication, Ghana

“…Papers that dealt with disasters or considered the preparedness of disaster management organizations in general, but which did not address fire incidence and prevalence on the national level were not included (Holloway & Roomoney, 2008;Pelling & Wisner, 2008;Oteng-Ababio & Sarpong, 2013). Amissah et al (2010) was about forest fires in Ghana and so were Hawthorne (1994); Chandler et al (1983); Korem (1985). Ghana, like most nations, is prone to many types of emergencies each year and a few incidences of disasters about every decade (Coppola, 2012).…”