Aspects of resource tenure that conserve biodiversity: The case of southern and northern Ghana - Managing Agrodiversity the Traditional Way - page 225

relating to trees, which are highly valued because of their religious significance
and utility as a source of the following items, among others:
•

condiments and oil for cooking and other purposes

• energy for cooking

• income for especially females

rafters for construction.
According to Agyepong et al ., customarily, “the right to harvest, collect, fell,
and otherwise use trees generally rests with the custodian, who is the chief or the
tindamba , except in the case of firewood and certain fruits from naturally prop-
agated trees, which may be harvested by anybody from the community. In some
cases, fruits may be shared between the custodians or the chief and the farmer
who works on the land.” (Agyepong et al ., 1999: 256-257; see also, Agyepong
et al ., 1993)
In Bongnayili-Dugu-Song, there is a custom whereby “chiefs” are specially
appointed purposely to oversee exploitation of exceptionally useful trees, for exam-
ple the dawadawa , Parkia sp., a popular source of condiment and female income,
whose chief is called Dawadawa Chief. Fruits of the dawadawa are harvested only
with permission of the chief. By facilitating policing of trees, the custom of “Tree
Chiefs” helps to conserve floral diversity. In Nyorigu-Binguri-Gore the relevant
authority is vested in the tindana .
Tenurial norms also require the retention and nurturing of economic trees
that sprout naturally in farmlands. In 2000, in a survey of 30 households in
each of the two demonstration sites, four endemic tree species were consis-
tently found to be retained in farming fields averaging 2.8 ha (seven acres) per
household (Table 18.3).

•

Table 18.3 Endemic economic tree species retained in farms in Bongnayili-Dugu-Song
and Nyorigu-Binguri-Gore

Tree species Average number per household

Site 1: Bongnayili-Dugu-Song Site 2: Nyorigu-Benguri-Gore

Shea, Vitellaria 64 9

paradoxa
Dawadawa , 10 4

Parkia biglobosa
Baobab 1 1

“Kapok”, Ceiba 1 1

pentandra
Average 19 3.8

Note: The far smaller number of trees per unit area in Nyorigu-Benguri-Gore is indicative
of the severe population-induced deforestation there and in the Bawku area and the Upper
East region as a whole.