Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share When Trees Meet Equity: How Ghana is Making Forest Restoration Inclusive
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
When Trees Meet Equity: How Ghana is Making Forest Restoration Inclusive
The complex intersection of gender equity and environmental restoration takes center stage as Dr. Hannah Nyamekye unpacks Ghana's groundbreaking approach to forest and landscape restoration. At the heart of Ghana's strategy lies a commitment to restore 2 million hectares of degraded land by 2030 under the AUDA-NEPAD AFR100 Initiative—but with a crucial difference. Unlike traditional restoration efforts, Ghana has intentionally woven gender inclusion throughout its policy framework and implementation strategies.
Dr. Nyamekye reveals how Ghana's Forest and Wildlife Policy, Forest Landscape Restoration Strategy, and Forest Plantation Strategy all explicitly mandate gender considerations, reinforced by the National Gender Policy affecting all development initiatives. This integration acknowledges a fundamental truth: historical disadvantages in land access for women and youth directly impact food security and community resilience. By addressing these inequities, Ghana's approach serves dual purposes—environmental restoration and social transformation.
On the ground, this philosophy translates into practical innovations. Annual nationwide tree planting events mobilize citizens across demographics. The modified Taungya system allocates forest reserves to community members regardless of gender, while training in alternative livelihoods like beekeeping and soap-making reduces forest dependency. Perhaps most impactful are the women-focused woodlots providing accessible firewood, eliminating long journeys previously required for cooking fuel. Community natural resource management groups with female leadership help monitor illegal logging, giving women agency in forest protection. As climate change intensifies pressures on land resources, Ghana's gender-responsive model offers valuable lessons for restoration efforts worldwide. Have you considered how gender dynamics might impact environmental initiatives in your community? Join the conversation by sharing your thoughts or experiences with gender-inclusive sustainability approaches.
View all episodes
By African Union Development Agency-NEPADThe complex intersection of gender equity and environmental restoration takes center stage as Dr. Hannah Nyamekye unpacks Ghana's groundbreaking approach to forest and landscape restoration. At the heart of Ghana's strategy lies a commitment to restore 2 million hectares of degraded land by 2030 under the AUDA-NEPAD AFR100 Initiative—but with a crucial difference. Unlike traditional restoration efforts, Ghana has intentionally woven gender inclusion throughout its policy framework and implementation strategies.
Dr. Nyamekye reveals how Ghana's Forest and Wildlife Policy, Forest Landscape Restoration Strategy, and Forest Plantation Strategy all explicitly mandate gender considerations, reinforced by the National Gender Policy affecting all development initiatives. This integration acknowledges a fundamental truth: historical disadvantages in land access for women and youth directly impact food security and community resilience. By addressing these inequities, Ghana's approach serves dual purposes—environmental restoration and social transformation.
On the ground, this philosophy translates into practical innovations. Annual nationwide tree planting events mobilize citizens across demographics. The modified Taungya system allocates forest reserves to community members regardless of gender, while training in alternative livelihoods like beekeeping and soap-making reduces forest dependency. Perhaps most impactful are the women-focused woodlots providing accessible firewood, eliminating long journeys previously required for cooking fuel. Community natural resource management groups with female leadership help monitor illegal logging, giving women agency in forest protection. As climate change intensifies pressures on land resources, Ghana's gender-responsive model offers valuable lessons for restoration efforts worldwide. Have you considered how gender dynamics might impact environmental initiatives in your community? Join the conversation by sharing your thoughts or experiences with gender-inclusive sustainability approaches.