An environmental education centre and forest conservation tracks in Sui - Ghana.

Short description of Project:


This project aims to upgrade and refurbish a hall in Sui to host a permanent exhibition on forest conservation activities. The project will equally establish 2 educational forest conservation tracks throughout the logged forests to facilitate the observation of ecological values. The third component entails the organization of four workshops. The project targets capacity building on tropical forest conservation of both local stakeholders and eco-tourists. The project dovetails into an existing project on sustainable food production, income generation and poverty reduction in the wider Sui area.

Objectives:

General objectives:

The project general objectives are:
- to refurbish an existing hall and equipping it as an environmental information and education centre.
- to support the local farmers, women organizations and schools in their strategies to conserve the forest.
- to support eco-tourism promotion and development in the district.

Specific objectives:

- Establishing a permanent exhibition in a local information and education centre on the relationships between local people and the tropical forest.
- Development of two walking paths (eco-tracks) through the logged forest, illustrating its biodiversity value and pointing out the importance of non-timber forest resources (NTFR)
- Capacity building through the organization of four workshops on:

a) Developing educational material and two walking tracks in the tropical forest in Sui and mounting a permanent exhibition on biodiversity and conservation methods and techniaues.
b) Training of the local guides and teachers of the schools on the use of the educational instruments.
c) Non-timber forest resources and their potential for forest conservation.
d) Agro-forestry, forest conservation and poverty reduction.6. Justification

Needs and constraints:

In Sefwi Wiaswo the virgin forest is exceptionally rich in timber species of high economic value. The Ghanaian authorities provide long-term concessions for selective logging which has resulted in the over logging of the forests that gradually are replaced by agricultural activities based on slash and burn methods.

The logged forests undoubtedly have biodiversity value. However, in Sefwi Wiaswo this has been described to only a limited extent. In the past, donor projects (e.g. by the EU and CIDA) have introduced sedentary agro-forestry, but its application is still limited. Non-timber forest resources (NTFR) are important alternative sources of livelihood in this district. Three ICED-VUB projects have focused on the introduction of honey, snails and grass-cutters as important elements of additional income and poverty alleviation for the farming families.

The regional authorities opted also for the development of eco-tourism in the area. For tourists the area allows a direct comparison between three main ecosystems: the virgin tropical forest, the secondary forest and the agricultural systems. The stresses on these ecosystems (logging, slash and burn) and possible solutions (agro-forestry, NTFR) can equally be shown.



Working on this Project is:

The project will be executed by the Accra based NGO: International Centre for Enterprise
and Sustainable Development (ICED) in association with the Human Ecology Department
of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel.