<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>Perceptual studies on the environment and natural resources are important, if unsustainable use of these resources is to be abated. This paper unravels the hitherto unknown drivers of deforestation and/or forest degradation, and the causes of climate variability and change (CVC), by assessing their synergy based on participants self-reported cases in the Ejisu-Juaben Municipality, Ashanti Region, Ghana. Drawing on the criterion and simple random sampling techniques to sample 360 respondents from 4 different communities and adopting the empiricist paradigm to derive trends and patterns in responses, this study demonstrated the bi-directional association between forest degradation and climate change. Results suggested that participants across the various socio-economic status fields were adequately informed, and knowledgeable about changes in climatic variables. Participants’ perceived the loss of forest, extinction of tree species and changing forest to savanna lands as indications of deforestation. Respondents with basic education and/or high school education adequately predicted that CVC factors influence decisions regarding forest removal compared with the uneducated. Removing one hectare of vegetation cover change per year (being it an increase or decrease in the area) (1 ha/year+/-/) or about three hectares (3 ha/year+/-), at a rate of 60%, and forest cover at rates of 57% were perceived as significant drivers of CVC. In recommendation, policies targeted at reducing forest degradation and deforestation and contributing to the fight against CVC in the Municipality should henceforth take into consideration the opinions of the indigenes in addition to scientific evidence in order to ensure the effectiveness of such policies.</p></abstract>

Perceptual studies on the environment and natural resources are important, if unsustainable use of these resources is to be abated. This paper unravels the hitherto unknown drivers of deforestation and/or forest degradation, and the causes of climate variability and change (CVC), by assessing their synergy based on participants self-reported cases in the Ejisu-Juaben Municipality, Ashanti Region, Ghana. Drawing on the criterion and simple random sampling techniques to sample 360 respondents from 4 different communities and adopting the empiricist paradigm to derive trends and patterns in responses, this study demonstrated the bi-directional association between forest degradation and climate change. Results suggested that participants across the various socio-economic status fields were adequately informed, and knowledgeable about changes in climatic variables. Participants’ perceived the loss of forest, extinction of tree species and changing forest to savanna lands as indications of deforestation. Respondents with basic education and/or high school education adequately predicted that CVC factors influence decisions regarding forest removal compared with the uneducated. Removing one hectare of vegetation cover change per year (being it an increase or decrease in the area) (1 ha/year+/-/) or about three hectares (3 ha/year+/-), at a rate of 60%, and forest cover at rates of 57% were perceived as significant drivers of CVC. In recommendation, policies targeted at reducing forest degradation and deforestation and contributing to the fight against CVC in the Municipality should henceforth take into consideration the opinions of the indigenes in addition to scientific evidence in order to ensure the effectiveness of such policies.

Perceived synergy between deforestation and/or forest degradation and climate variability and change in the Ejisu-Juaben Municipality, Ghana

Department of Geography and Rural Development

Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology

Center for Climate Change and Sustainable Development

Environmental & Socio-economic Studies

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Perceptual studies on the environment and natural resources are important, if unsustainable use of these resources is to be abated. This paper unravels the...

Perceived synergy between deforestation and/or forest degradation and climate variability and change in the Ejisu-Juaben Municipality, Ghana

Published Online: Dec 29, 2017

Page range: 40 - 56

Received: Oct 10, 2017

Accepted: Dec 06, 2017

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/environ-2017-0019

Keywords
perception, climate variability and change, deforestation, Ejisu-Juaben Municipality

© 2017 Emmanuel Mawuli Abalo et al., published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Perceived synergy between deforestation and/or forest degradation and climate variability and change in the Ejisu-Juaben Municipality, Ghana

Published Online: Dec 29, 2017

Page range: 40 - 56

Received: Oct 10, 2017

Accepted: Dec 06, 2017

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/environ-2017-0019

Keywordsperception, climate variability and change, deforestation, Ejisu-Juaben Municipality

© 2017 Emmanuel Mawuli Abalo et al., published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Keywords
perception, climate variability and change, deforestation, Ejisu-Juaben Municipality