Mangrove Conditions as Indicator for Potential Payment for Ecosystem Services in Some Estuaries of Western Region of Ghana, West Africa - The Land/Ocean Interactions in the Coastal Zone of West and Central Africa - page 158

Table 5 First-level institutional and stakeholder analysis for mangrove management
Institution/
stakeholder

Roles/responsibilities Assessment/remarks Strategies for improvement towards sustainable

mangrove management

Central
government

Policies, treaties and laws
(forestry and wildlife
policy 1994, Ramsar
treaty 1971, etc.)

Laws in place, but enforcement is weak There is need for legal reforms that harmonize

existing laws/acts to reduce overlap and
promote their enforcement

Departments/
agencies

Implementation,
regulation, enforcement,
compliance, monitoring
and evaluation

Structures in place, but are not
functioning well due to severe
limitations in logistics (vehicles,
communication for field monitoring
operations)

More training needed (on efficient use and
maintenance of logistic equipment) and more
resources to be provided by central
government. Mangrove conservation objectives
need to be emphasized and integrated with
wildlife reserve objectives as an integrated
ecological framework. This means that
protected areas containing mangroves should
specifically state in one of their objectives that
it will ensure protection and sustainable use of
mangrove forests as fisheries nurseries grounds
and protection against storms

Wildlife division is
present in the region but is
largely focused on game
reserves, e.g. Ankasa

Regional
administration

Complementary and
supervisory

Does have capacity needed for
mangrove management. Recently efforts
are being made by some NGOs to
sensitize them

Its role is important and needs to be involved at
the policy and implementation levels

Academic and
research
institutions

They are to provide
research information on
state of wetlands and
conditions of mangroves

There have been research efforts by
some academic researchers from
University of Ghana and some NGOs
such as Wildlife Society and others.
However, the research findings are
difficult to come by except on the
Internet sometimes and some foreign
journals

There is the need to coordinate the process of
sharing research findings for wider
dissemination of information and in order to
avoid duplication of efforts

Local government Regulation, enforcement

and implementation

With respect to mangrove and wetland
management, the six coastal districts
have not done much. The laws have not
been enforced due to the general poor
attitude towards wetlands. The weak
presence of the Wildlife Division in the
region has also contributed to this poor
state of affairs

Local government structures need to be
equipped with adequate knowledge on the
importance of wetlands in addition to resources
to be able to support the division and other
NGOs to protect and conserve the mangroves

Donor/funding
agencies

Provision of funds and
technical advice

They have been providing funds for
long time now, e.g. WB, EU countries
and other bilateral donors. Some of
these funds addressed the problems in
the short-to-medium terms. In most
instances, the projects stalled as funding
dried up and this has created more
problems for resource management

Project planning and funding should be
oriented towards long-term goals to ensure
sustainability. All partners need to work
together to achieve this. The Ghanaian
government has a role to play by factoring this
into annual national budgets. It should not be
the sole responsibility of outside donors.
Commercial bodies whose actions impact on
the wetlands should also be brought on board,
e.g. hard and soft mineral producing
companies. Possibilities of a carbon tax/green
tax may be explored

• Conservation should be the focus in sites with signifi-
cant peat/swamp forests, especially Ekumkpole and
Amanzule, and significant healthy mangroves, especially
Alengezule, Domunli, Kikam, Ankobra, Awhuele, Ez-
ele, Butre, Ndabelah and Ampain.
• Potential areas for restoration include the following:

- Hydrological restoration with replanting. For sites
with mouth closure due to sedimentation through
channel opening to allow normal tidal exchange with
mangrove areas or badly degraded sites especially

Amanzule and Effasu.
- Waste removal. Particularly for urban and peri-urban
polluted sites that include Yan and Awine-anloa areas.