The Forestry Commission through the Mole National Park, has inaugurated the Kapite Naboose Community Resource Management Area (CREMA) Committee at Jentilpe in the Sawla-Tuna-Kalba District of the Savannah region.
This is in furtherance of efforts to support the restoration of 200,000 hectares of heavily degraded forest and grassland through sustainable forest management.
21 executives made up of 16 community members, two traditional authorities and two institutional representatives and one NGO representative will help beneficiary communities to adopt improved fire management techniques to reduce emission.
Addressing a gathering of chiefs and people of the Jentilpe CREMA zone, the Director of Stakeholders and Eco-tourism, Wildlife Division of Forestry Commission, Dr Richard Gyimah noted that, the CREMA mechanism is a decentralized community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) framework that enables local people to manage their natural resources.
“The CREMA leadership will be accountable for the protection, conservation and sustainable use of all wildlife in its own area of jurisdiction.”
He added that “The CREMA approach gives greater opportunity for local people to manage their natural resources for economic and socio-cultural benefits, in addition to other donor supported livelihoods activities.”
Dr. Gyimah, underscored the associated benefits of CREMA in the Country.
“The government of Ghana has further demonstrated its commitment to community led environmental governance with the passage of Wildlife Resources Management Bill which strengthens the legal authority and scope of CREMAs to administer, manage and share the benefits of managing natural resources, including both fauna and flora, at the local level”
He appealed to traditional authorities to support the CREMA executives to work effectively and efficiently towards attaining the set objectives of CREMA.
Support
According to Dr. Gyimah, Stakeholder and Ecotourism Directorate of Wildlife Division in collaboration with Ghana Shea Landscape Emission Reductions Project will support the eight constituent CREMA communities with the appropriate technology to restore and sustainably manage the estimated landscape of over 100,034 hectares (ha) to ensure associated benefits for the fringe communities.
“The Wildlife Division, in partnership with the GSLERP is committed to the development of respective green business value chains especially the Shea industry known as the northern Cocoa. Farmers and beneficiaries will be supported to plant millions of hybrid shea seedlings in the coming season to ensure early maturity of the trees to boost the raw materials for the Shea butter processing”
Background
The establishment of Community Resource Management Areas by the Wildlife Division has been helpful towards the sustainable management of natural resources in the Mole Ecological Landscape (MEL).
The model has helped in decreasing the negative impacts of environmental degradation while supporting the improvement of the living standards of the local people.
The Ghana Shea Landscape Emission Reductions Project (GSLERP) which seeks to support the reduction of emissions through forest restoration using Modified Taungya Systems (MTS) and the establishment of Community Resource Management Areas (CREMAs) is supporting the Mole National Park in the establishment of a CREMA in the Jentilpe-Nasoryiri stretch.
This is expected to help the park, draw closer towards the ultimate goal of a three hundred- and sixty-degree (360°) buffer of functional CREMAs for the Mole National Park.
The project has so far helped in the sensitization and profiling of the communities, creation of the Community Resource Management Committees (CRMCs) and ultimately a CREMA Executive Committee (CEC) that will govern the CREMA.