Ghana Environmental Management Project

Results as of the end of the project (January 2015) include: (1) 105 694 community members (41 313 women 61 157 men 3 224 children) participated in 2 340 sensitization forums and have better awareness of the effects of drought and desertification and the importance of environmental protection and bushfire prevention; (2) 71 107 farmers (39 865 women 31 242 men) have been trained on environmentally friendly alternative livelihood options; (3) 9 571 students (4 128 girls 5 443 boys) participated in 113 school environmental clubs and bi-weekly environmental education programs are broadcasted by radio stations; (4) 874 communities have been trained on proper use of chemicals and fertilizers which has reduced reported chemical-related deaths and ailments to zero during 2011-2014; (5) 9 802 community volunteers (2 372 women 7 430 men) were trained to prevent and fight fires reducing the number of reported bushfires in participating communities from 79 in 2010 to a single case in 2014; (6) increased adoption of low-cost sustainable land and water management practices (including improved planting and composting) by rural communities; (7) strengthened well-performing communities 40 Village Savings and Loan Associations were introduced to provide financial support and to reduce financial need to cut trees for charcoal; (8) increased revenues and food production contributed to wider improvements in Northern Ghana declines were observed in both the incidence of poverty (72.9% in 2005 to 44.4% in 2013) and under-five stunting (36% in 2008 to 14.4% in 2014). These contribute to improve the food security of people living in Ghana’s poorest northern rural communities by building their capacity to manage their land more sustainably and to rehabilitate highly degraded lands.