Sustainability Assessment of Community Resource Management Areas (Crema) in Ghana: The Case of Adwenaase Crema in the Assin Foso Municipality

Abstract

There are over 40 CREMAs at various developmental levels in Ghana based on existing records, which portray varying outcomes in terms of their intended purpose, yielding some uncertainties about sustainability of CREMAs in the country, with Adwenaase CREMA in focus. This thesis sought to assess the sustainability of Adwenase CREMA based on ecological/environmental, economic, and the socio-cultural dimensions. The assessment seeks to inform actions towards making CREMAs resilient and sustainable. The study communities were Assin Akropong, Subinso No.1 and Agyalo, all in the Assin Foso Municipality in the Central region. Both structured and open-ended interview schedule were employed. A total of eight hundred and fourteen (814) were reached in the selected communities to persons 18 years of age and above. The 13 open-ended interview schedules targeted the reserve management team, the local opinion leaders and the management of the Forestry Commission, Assin Central Municipality. The hypotheses that “there exists significant positive economic impact of CREMAs on indigenous communities”, “there is a significant positive trend of resource condition in the Adwenase Community Resource Area”, “there is a significant positive ecological/environmental impact of indigenous communities on CREMAs”, and “there is a significant economic impact of CREMAs on indigenous communities” are all rejected. Thorough media drives are required to create community alertness on forest resource conservation missions; CREMAs should be developed into tangible employment and income generating opportunities for indigenous communities.