Project Cost: $60, 500
Donor: Global Environment Facility SGP, Ghana
Project Period
The project was successfully implemented over a 24-month period, from November 2019 to November 2021.
Overview
The “Restoring Sacred Groves within the Afadzato South Landscape” project is focused on the conservation and sustainable management of sacred groves in the Weto Landscape, located within the South Afadzato socio-ecological production landscape of the Volta Region, Ghana. Supported by a grant from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) through its Global Environment Facility Small Grants Programme, this project aims to enhance biodiversity conservation, promote sustainable livelihoods, and restore degraded sacred groves. The project builds on previous efforts in the region, contributing to the larger goal of environmental stewardship and sustainable development.
Project Objectives
The project aimed at achieving the following objectives:
- Document and characterize the sacred groves within the South Afadzato socio-ecological production landscape for policy formulation and management.
- Promote the enrichment planting and natural regeneration of sacred groves that are severely degraded.
- Enhance the capacity of Traditional Health Practitioners (THPs) to improve their practices, including the processing, packaging and certification of their medicinal products.
- Support smallholder women farmers in the Weto Landscape to improve their economic wellbeing through livelihood enterprises such as beekeeping, small ruminant rearing, and piggery.
Key Achievements
i. Sacred Grove Mapping and Documentation:
The project successfully mapped and documented all sacred groves within the South Afadzato socio-ecological production landscape. Through collaboration with traditional leaders, landowners, women, youth, and traditional health practitioners, the sacred groves were profiled, and traditional norms governing their management were identified. The documentation has been prepared for policy formulation and restoration, which will guide future conservation efforts.
ii. Indigenous Seedling Planting:
In collaboration with local communities, a total of 100,000 indigenous seedlings were raised and planted to enrich 13 sacred groves and four herbaria along the Weto landscape. This effort helped restore biodiversity, including near-extinct medicinal species, contributing to the regeneration of the sacred groves.
iii. Capacity Building for Traditional Health Practitioners:
Twenty traditional health practitioners (THPs) were trained and supported to meet the requirements for certification by the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA). This capacity-building effort has enhanced their ability to sustainably manage medicinal herbs, process them according to FDA standards, and package and label their products for marketing.
iv. Livelihood Support for Smallholder Women Farmers:
The project provided livelihood support to 100 smallholder women farmers through the establishment of sustainable enterprises, including beekeeping, small ruminant rearing, and piggery. Additionally, a Village Savings and Loan Scheme was implemented to help these farmers increase their economic resilience and savings habits. Climate-smart agricultural practices were also introduced to help increase farm productivity and ensure long-term food security.
Lessons Learned
This initiative highlighted the importance of meaningful community participation in the conservation and sustainable management of natural resources. The active involvement of traditional leaders, women and youth strengthened local ownership of the project and contributed to the long-term protection of sacred groves and biodiversity.
The project also demonstrated the value of integrating traditional ecological knowledge with modern conservation approaches to enhance the effectiveness of biodiversity management strategies. In addition, it underscored the importance of promoting sustainable livelihood opportunities, particularly for women, as a means of reducing pressure on natural resources while improving household incomes.
Furthermore, the initiative reaffirmed the need for continuous capacity building among traditional health practitioners, farmers and other community stakeholders. Strengthening local knowledge and skills equips communities to manage natural resources more sustainably and improve their social and economic well-being.
Beneficiary Communities
The project benefitted the following communities within the Weto landscape:
- Afadzato South District
Photo Highlights
Ghana delegation
