By: Emmanuel Akayeti
A Theory of change workshop has been organized for players in the Western Wildlife Corridor (WWC) landscape, by the “Collaborating to Operationalising Landscape Approaches for Nature and Development Sustainability” (COLANDS) project in the Upper East Region.
The program is being led by the Centre for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF) in partnership with Amsterdam Institute for Social Science Research (AISSR) from the University of Amsterdam (UvA) and the University of British Columbia (UBC), with local and political implementing partners in three countries, i.e. Ghana, Indonesia, and Zambia.
The COLANDS initiative is sponsored by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV). The Project focus in Ghana is on the Western Wildlife Corridor.
By bringing together different stakeholders in this landscape to develop a shared vision for the future of the WWC, the project would like to facilitate a process where stakeholders with conflicting interest over the natural resources can openly discuss and find trade-offs so that their interventions in the landscape ultimately result in “a resilient and multifunctional landscape sustaining diversified livelihoods, biodiversity, and green value chains through inclusive and equitable governance”.
In an interview with our Correspondent Emmanuel Akayeti in Bolgatanga, the Project Coordinator, Dr. James Reed, explained that COLANDS focuses on bringing together stakeholders that rarely have the opportunity to share their concerns and objectives.
He indicated that COLANDS attempts to engage stakeholders in the agricultural sector, mining, forestry, wildlife division, Traditional Authorities, state actors, and Non-Governmental Organizations.
At the ministerial level he added, different ministries operate with specific mandates, with limited inter-ministerial dialogue that can result in poorly coordinated landscape management. Dr. Reed stated that COLANDS seeks to iron out this trend through an integrated approach that connects stakeholders across sectors and decision-making scales so that, there will be greater awareness of different competing stakeholder objectives and result in a more integrated management plan.
The Kayoro Pe Oscar Batabi Tiyiamu II, Paramount Chief of the Kayoro Traditional Area, called on the government for more collaboration to ensure sustainable landscape restoration.
