| Options for managing on-farm trees for timber production |
 In the last century Ghana has experienced a rapid decline of its forest resources, particularly timber trees in the off-reserve areas. This is driven partly by unequal rights and access to the economic trees as well as the present inequitable arrangement for sharing timber proceeds. In Ghana people have exclusive rights and access to trees they have planted, but not naturally regenerated trees on farms which have been nurtured, maintained and protected by farmers.
Farmers contest this situation in many ways, including killing trees and conniving with illegal chainsaw operators to fell and process trees on their farms. Many stakeholders believe that the current benefit-sharing arrangement is not only inequitable but also makes timber tree management unsustainable and denies rural people the opportunity to use tree management as a legitimate livelihood strategy. The need to revise the tree tenure system and the present benefit-sharing scheme in favour of more equitable ones is becoming increasingly apparent. However, reliable information or evidence to justify and guide such a review is lacking.
Research will be carried out to provide an objective basis for negotiating a more equitable benefit sharing scheme for timber revenue from off-reserve areas. Objective Duration Expected outputs
National human capacity
Implementing Partners
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