Forest and agroecosystem fire management in Ghana

Abstract

The threat of wildfires to the economic potential of forestry and agriculture is one of the persistent national and international concerns. Improving and applying indigenous wildfire management (IWM) approaches is seen as one of the main hopes for mitigating and adapting to this threat to rural forest communities. Identifying the contextual causes and adaptation measures practiced by local people is essential for planning an appropriate mechanism for IWM. Yet only limited studies are available on IWM practices and most of those studies were conducted outside of this study region. To fill this gap, this study examined the wildfire mitigation and adaptation methods of forest communities in Ghana using interviews with 266 farming households. Their perceptions of the causes, cost and risk factors were also examined. The result suggests that wildfires are annual events. More than half of the wildfires reported were caused by slash-and-burn land preparation, with hunting-related fires in second place. Forest households loose about 208 Ghana cedi (US$ 231 in 2006) in value due to damaged crops and tree seedlings annually (i.e. about 50% of annual income of a Ghanaian farmer). The respondents had the operational skill and co** abilities to deal with small-scale wildfires and were supported by well-established local arrangements, community rules and silvicutural techniques. In addition, they were well informed about the basic risk factors (e.g. fuel load, climate, and presence of ignition triggers) and how these can interact to cause devastating wildfire. Therefore it is critical that policies and institutions that promote IWM initiatives build on the strong underlying community knowledge and local networks to enhance their effectiveness.

Appendix 1

1.1 Survey questions used to extract traditional fire management practices

1.1.1 Background information of respondents

• 1 Name of district (administrative). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• 2 Name of village/community. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• 3 Name of head of household. . . . . . . . . . . . . .Household size. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• 4 Gender. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• 5 Level of education. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• 6 Age. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• 7 Migrant. . . . . . . . . . . .Native to area. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• 8 Main occupation?

• 9 Land holding: a) own------, b) rented------,c) share crop**… d) other--------

• 10 Land size: a) total---- b) under cultivation----- c) under fallow-----d) under forest----

1.1.2 Use of fires, causes, frequency, and economic cost of wildfires

• 11 Do you use fire outside of the home? 1. Yes. . . . . 2. No. . . . . if yes, for what purpose?

• 12 Do you experience wildfires in this area? 1. Yes. . . . . 2. No. . . . .

• 13 How often does wildfire occur (looking10 years back)?

  a) Once every year--- b) Twice every year--- c ) Every two years--- d) Others (specify)---

• 14 How do you recall the incidence of forest fire? (e.g. Location, time, day of occurrence, cause of fires, months of most fire hazards, financial losses incurred etc)

• 15. What do you think are the causes of wildfires? Indicate by writing Yes (1) or No (2)

  Slash and burn land preparations------------------------

  Hunting-------------------------------

  Misuse of fire (e.g. Smoking, cooking on farm etc.) --------------

  Lightning------------------------------

  Others: ---------------------- (list them)

• 16. Have you or any member of the household been affected by wildfires in term of loss of farm products and tree resources? 1. Yes……. 2. No--------------

• 17. If yes, indicate the types of loss, quantity (size) and the value in cash terms if possible

	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2001-2005
	Qty (size) and value	Qty(size) and value	Qty(size) and value	Qty (size) and value	Qty (size) and value	Total value
Crops
Maize
Plantain
Cassava
Cocoa
Groundnuts
Yam
Others (specify)
Tree resources
Tree plantation
Tree products e.g. rope, poles, etc
Others (specify)

Unit prices of items to be obtained from market to compare with respondents’ estimates.

1.1.3 Local mitigation and adaptation methods

• 18 Has fire ever escaped from your field to others areas during use? 1. Yes-- 2. No---

• 19 If yes, how did you deal with it? How can fire be prevented from esca**?

• 20 If no, how do you prevent fires from esca** during use on farm?

• 21 Are there any traditional rules and regulations that help to prevent wildfire? 1. Yes-- 2. No--- (if Yes, please mention them-----------)

• 22 Are there traditional rules for deal with fire outbreaks? 1. Yes-- 2. No--- (if Yes, please mention them-----------)

• 23 Who enforces the rules?

• 24 How are the rules enforced?

• 25 What are the locally held values that helps prevent wildfires?

• 26 What are the indicators of the periods of high fire risk in your community?

• 27 How do you notice or detect wildfires?

• 28 What is your initial response to wildfires?

• 29 What is the community’s response to wildfires

• 30 What are the equipment often used for suppressing or fighting fires?

• 31 What kind of fires are you able to use that equipment for?

• 32 Are you willing to be part of a fire monitoring group in your community should the government want to develop local fire stations? 1. Yes-------- 2. No. . . . . . .

1.1.4 Fire education

• 33 How do you want to receive information about wild fires? (e.g. radio, TV, newspapers, workshops, churches, community meetings, brochure, videotapes, etc ) Please, mention and arrange them in order of importance.