Assessment of human activities and its effects on forest management: a survey of charcoal producers in the Sekyere Central District of Ghana (2024)

The Sekyere Central District Assembly was created by a Legislative Instrument (LI) 1992 in 2008 from the then Sekyere West District as a result of the high growing population and the need to spread development to other parts of the District. The District is one of the forty-three (43) administrative districts in the Ashanti Region of Ghana with Nsuta as its capital. It is located at the northern part of the region, and shares boundaries with Mampong Municipal, Atebubu-Amanten District, Sekyere East, Sekyere South, and Ejura-Sekyeredumasi (figure 1). According to the (GSS 2014), the land size of the District is 1,631 km² and located within longitudes 0.05 degrees and 1.30 degrees west and latitudes 6.55 degrees and 7.30 degrees north (figure 1). With about 150 settlements, seventy (70) percent is rural in the Afram Plains portion of the district where some communities have less than 50 people. The District has bimodal rainfall pattern with an average annual rainfall of 1270 mm. The major rainy season starts in April, with a peak in May/June. There is a slight dip in July and a pick in August/September, tapering off in November. The dry season is from December to March where the weather becomes dry, hot, and dusty. The average temperature in the district is about 27 °C with variations in mean monthly temperature ranging between 22–30 'C throughout the year.

The frequency method defined as the chance of finding a species in a particular area in a sample, was used to determine the relative abundance of species in the study sites. Two sites each measuring about one hectare were used. The experimental site was a forest area which is used for charcoal production and the adjacent forest area not used for charcoal production served as a control site. In each site an area of 640 meters square was delimited and divided into 64 square plots within each of which four 5 meters' quadrats were marked at random and presence or absence of trees in quadrats were recorded for the individual tree species. The frequencies and the relative abundance of tree species were calculated using the formulae according to Grig-Smith (1983):

Frequency = Number of quadrats with species x/Total number of quadrats used.

Percentage (%) relative abundance = Frequency of species x X 100/Sum of frequency values of all species. These percentages were then expressed as Domin value according to Braun-Blanquet (1932) cited by Dogbe 2001.

The study revealed that a wide range of age groups were involved in the charcoal production business as shown on table 1. The respondents in their teens (16–20 years old) was made up of only 5%, while those from 21–30 years old were about 22% and that of 31–40 years and those above 40 years old formed 28% and 45% respectively. Female producers were 8% as compared to their male counterparts with 92%. This data therefore suggest that more men in the study area are into the charcoal production business as compared to their female counterparts. Seventy-one percent were married as against 24% who were single. In terms of dependents of respondents, the results varied with 47% having between 1–5 dependents, 27% with 6–10 dependents and more than 10 dependents was 26% of the respondents.

Results from the questionnaires showed that majority (46%) of the producers do not have basic education, while 40% have basic education with only 14% having secondary education (table 1). This result affirms a report by Ghana Living Standard Survey (GLSS 2014) that people with low level of formal education are more in the environmental resource exploitation business than those with high level of formal education. It was also established that respondents have varying number of years of experience in the charcoal production business where 42% have 1–5 years of experience, 27% was those with 6–10 years while 26% was those with more than 10 years. Information gathered showed that the industry is very old in the district with the aged deeply involved in it.

The people engaged in the charcoal production activity as shown by the survey indicated that the Sissalas dominated the venture forming 32%, followed by the Akans ethnic group (table 2) More than 50% of the respondents engaged in the venture are Christians followed by those who profess the Islamic faith. The results as presented in table 2 showed that the Sekyere Central District is about 70% rural with agriculture (farming) as the predominant occupation. However other activities are carried out to supplement the income of the people especially during the off-farming season. Majority of the respondents (46%) were farmers and 43% being full-time charcoal producers while 59% are into charcoal production as part-time occupation. Farming and trading had 16% and 25% respectively as part time jobs.

Production frequency, source of labor and tree felling methods are crucial in charcoal production and for that matter tree resource utilization and conservation. Fifty-nine percent (59%) of the respondents produce charcoal every two months, while 28% produce occasionally and only 13% produce charcoal on monthly basis (table 3) Cost of labor, contributes to the high cost of the business, and so producers who rely on hired labor formed 13% and those who use family labor constituted 41% with those who combine both family labor and hired labor making 46% (table 3). In terms of tree felling method, 25% of the respondents use chainsaw only while 21% use the axe and cutlass only. Fifty-four percent (54%) use axe, cutlass and chainsaw with a reduction in cost by 50% (table 3).

The method of charcoal production by respondents is very important in commercial charcoal industry, as there are many economic and health implications associated with it. The results indicated that all respondents (100%) use the traditional Earth mound method (table 4). Respondents who produce between 200–500 maxi bags year⁻¹ were 21%, 45% produce 600–1000 maxi bags and those with over 1000 maxi bags were 34%. In terms of average expenditures, 33% spend up to three thousand cedis (GHC3000.00) while those who spend between three thousand one hundred Ghana cedis (GHC3100.00) and five thousand Ghana cedis (GHC5000.00) formed the largest group (50%) and 17% of the respondents spend over five thousand cedis per production. The survey also brought to light that up to five thousand cedis (GHC5000.00) is realized as income per production by 46% of the respondents. Thirty-six percent (36%) get between five thousand one hundred Ghana cedis and ten thousand cedis (GHC 5100-GHC10,000.00) while those who get above ten thousand cedis is made of 18% of the respondents.

The types of raw materials used for charcoal production varied from locality to locality. Sixty-two (62%) percent use live trees while 38% use dead trees. In terms of source of the raw materials, 81% of the respondents use both live and dead trees on fallow lands outside the forest reserves as against 19% who use wood from farms after farmers have burnt the trees for farming.

The information gathered from the charcoal producers and other informants in all the study communities identified some tree species as preferred for charcoal production due to certain qualities as presented on table 5 below.

Sixty-nine percent (69%) of respondents selectively fell mature trees and 16% use controlled burning in order not to destroy the vegetation and 3% adopt fallowing to allow natural regeneration (table 6). This study reveals that natural regeneration is the main strategy of forest conservation which affirms a report on Forest Depletion in Ghana by Amoah and Korle (2020) that land degradation is increasing at alarming rate due to lack of tree planting culture but more reliance on natural regeneration. Eleven percent (11%) of the respondents does not practice any conservation method. In respect of types of degradation in the communities, 43% of the respondents believe deforestation tops all forms of degradation, 29% indicated soil fertility decline leading to low yields of their crops. Eleven percent (11%) complained of drying up of water bodies while 13% recognized soil erosion and 4% acknowledged the presence of all the degradations mentioned above.

Respondents' perception regarding the cause (s) of the degradation showed that 26% were of the view that fuelwood cutting and charcoal production activities contribute to the degradation (table 6). Another 26% perceive annual bushfires are the cause, while 9%, 7%, and 4% of the respondents blamed chainsaw operators, farming activities and timber contractors respectively. There was a last group (28%) that believed all the activities and operations mentioned above cause the degradation. All respondents (100%) confirmed the existence and seriousness of all the aforementioned activities. Charcoal production as a cause of fires was by 6%, while 26% and 37% of them attributed the bushfires to Fulani herdsmen and hunters respectively. Some respondents (6%) believe farming activities is the main contributor to the fires and finally 25% of them say all the activities above are the cause to the bushfires. The respondents suggested measures to reduce/prevent annual bushfires in their communities. Forty-four percent (44%) of the respondents advocated for severe punishment of offenders while 43% and 13% of them prescribed education of the general public and banning of some activities respectively (table 6). Only 7% of the respondents suggested banning of the trade while 3% did not support the idea saying it would bring about increased crime in the villages since charcoal production is a major occupation and a source of income for many.

During the reconnaissance survey in all the communities; the vegetation was predominantly secondary forest with patches of primary forests along some water bodies as reported by Ghana Statistical Service (2014). Other places with primary forests were shrines and sacred groves and the Kogyae Strict Nature's Reserve under the management of the Wild Life Division (WD) of the Forestry Commission (FC). Common tree species in the communities include Anogeisus leiocarpus, Ceiba petandra, Mitrogyna spp, Vitellaria paradoxa, Senna samea, Parkia biglobosa, Bombax brevicuspe, the Albezias, etc. Large portions surrounding the communities were grasses as continuous farming and the exploitation of wood has changed the vegetation. Grasses such as the Elephant grass (Pennisertum purpureum), Spear grass (Imperata cylinderica), Northern gamba grass (Andropogon gayanus), the Seame weed (Chromolaena odorata), etc dominated most places (ibid).

The land use systems in the studied communities and for that matter the district are similar in all aspects as there is migration of people between these communities and other settlements in the area by settler farmers and even the indigenous people (ibid). The main land use system is agriculture as it is the major occupation of the people in the district (ibid). The Kogyae Strict Nature's Reserve occupies a significant land that is protected. There are also a number of public and private forest plantations of teak (Tectona grandis) in all these communities. Woodlots were also established in some of the communities with the support of some Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) such as ADRA-GHANA and the WORLD VISAON-GHANA. The other important land use system identified during the reconnaissance survey is pastoralism in all the communities practiced by Fulani herdsmen who have migrated from the northern part of Ghana and even Burkina Faso. Few indigenous people do own cattle but their grazing is restricted to along the main roads and farm tracks. Finally, charcoal production has also taken roots in these communities by the Sissala ethnic group, other migrant farmers and some indigenous people. Felling of tress such as Potrudum (Erythrophleum ivorensis), the Dawadawa tree (Parkia biglobosa), the shea nut tree (Vitellaria paradoxa), etc for charcoal is common in these communities appendix A (figures A2 and A5). The frequency or otherwise of tree species in the study sites showed that the control plots had more tree species as opposed to the experimental plots as shown as domain values in figure 2.

It has been found out from the study that unlike in the previous times, the Akans are now into the charcoal production seriously as they formed 30% of all respondents. This is an indication that the business is no more Sissalas' or migrant farmers' affair as was in the past (Nketia et al 1988, World Bank 2022). The implication here is that since indigenous people are now involved, and have relatively easy access to land, adopting measures to maintain the tree resource base by way of replanting trees or observing other conservational practices should not be a problem. They need encouragement and motivation to ensure the adoption of forest vegetation conservation. The Sissalas still make a significant portion of the charcoal producers especially those who produce hundreds of bags and cart to the urban centers for sale. According to Agyei et al (2018), charcoal production was historically dominated by people of the Sissala ethnic group from Upper West Region of Ghana , who moved from village to village to produce charcoal. Anecdotal reports from Kintampo South district of the Bono East region of Ghana indicates that charcoal even became known as 'Sissala cocoa' (UDS Survey, 2022 cited in World Bank 2022). Other ethnic groups mostly settlers are also into the business and hence the high proportion of non-indigenous people of 70% of the respondents which have negative implications since these people do not own land and may not make any serious efforts to conserve the vegetation as reported by Nketia et al (1988). Mensah and Agyare (1994) have stated that settler/migrant farmers or producers do not have interest in planting trees after extraction and production of charcoal which is impacting seriously against the forest cover. The study revealed that majority (53%) of the respondents was Christians and 38% Moslems whereas only 9% were Traditional believers. It has been found that Sissalas and other migrant settlers involved in charcoal business are predominantly Moslems, while Akans are also predominantly Christians. What it means is that certain cultural believes such as taboos which were used as measures for the conservation of natural resources in the past may not be well observed now.

The importance of the faith professed by these ethnic groups may be enormous in respect to the conservation of the forest resources. For example, the adherents of the Traditional religious faith conserve portions of forests as fetish groves while Christians especially the Charismatic, consider such sacred areas as fetish and must be destroyed. Forests were regarded as sacred natural endowment with all its life forms, playing significant cultural and religious functions with intrinsic right to exist (Abenney 1999). As a result, appropriate sacrifices were performed to honor the ancestral forest deities during festivals, and also to pacify them when the ecosystem was disturbed by removal of trees like Milicia excelsa,, Adonsonia digitata, etc (ibid). The use of cultural symbols as a way of traditional conservation (Mpereh 1992), may not be observed by migrants who do not have knowledge or appreciate it because of cultural differences and believes. Unfortunately, with the gradual decline of faith in the traditional religion, some believes and practices are not observed by today's Christians and Moslems which also have negative effects on traditional conservation methods.

Many of the producers either depended mainly on charcoal production as their major income activity or as a supplementary income activity which is in keeping with Anang et al (2011), where producers said they will starve if charcoal production was to be banned in the area. Most of the Sissalas and some of the young Akan producers have charcoal production as their main occupation with farming as a supplementary income or food source as reported in earlier findings (Brefo et al 2012, Ahmed et al 2021, World Bank 2022). Others do petty trading such as sale of provisions, drinks, etc. It has been established that over 80% of the respondents especially the youth wished they had something else to do either than charcoal production. This means if the economy improves and there are jobs, a good number of the youth in the industry would greatly decline as found at Gishiegu in northern Ghana (Anang et al 2011).

The frequency of charcoal production depends on the availability of raw materials, availability of labor and market of the produce. It was realized that 59% of respondents produce charcoal every two months and depend on the industry for a living especially the Sissalas, and any break in the production cycle means no income for the family for that period as reported by Brefo et al (2012). The producers use different sources of labor such as family labor and hired labor for the production of charcoal. Hired labor formed a large proportion of the respondents' labor source followed by the family labor. Majority of the respondents depend on both family and hired labor since according to Nketia et al (1988) labor contributes 50% of the total production cost. That is probably why producers supplement hired labor with family labor to reduce cost so as to maximize profit.

The bulk of the labor is used on tree felling, cutting of trees into billets and packing of the billets in pit to form the Earth mound. Again, due to high cost of hiring the chainsaw, producers often use axe and cutlass after felling to chop smaller trees and branches. Others use axe and cutlass especially on farms where trees are smaller in size. Since chainsaw is fast and capable of felling larger trees with ease, the implication is that large scale producers would obviously depend on it. Nketia et al (1988) have observed that a production gang of 10 men could exploit an area of 260 acres of land of its suitable tree species in 12 months using chainsaws. It is therefore worrying for the fast depletion of tree resources without serious efforts put in place for the continuous use of this resource. The use of axe and cutlass even though primitive, is less destructive as bigger trees are slowly removed and the general speed of tree removal is slower than chainsaw. The traditional Earth mound is the only method known and used by the producers in the district confirming similar finding by Nketia et al (1988) and Mensah and Agyare (1994). About 5% of the respondents either read or heard about the improved methods but said they have not had the opportunity of seeing how it is done. There are three groups of charcoal producers in the district. The first group which could be considered as small scale ranged from 200–500 maxi bags of 50 kg. The majority of the respondents produce between 600–1000 maxi bags and considered as medium scale, while the large scale producers of charcoal are those who produce over 1000 maxi bags. With these huge volumes produced from the forests in the district, one may be concerned about its impact of the forest vegetation.

The type of raw materials and their sources for charcoal production according to majority of respondents are from both dead and live trees farms, fallow lands and forests confirming earlier reports (Lurimuah 2011, Riçerca Cooperazione 2011). It was revealed by informants that some producers even cart over 1000 bags of charcoal per trip to Accra. It is therefore significant to note that a large volume of trees (wood) are being used to produce the charcoal in the district and if measures were not taken the resource base would be endangered. A study conducted in the then Sekyere West district which this district was part by Kass-Yerenchi (2002), indicated that about 2,070 maxi bags per day were carted from Mampong alone to the cities. It did not include figures for local consumption within the district. As an industry where entry and exit are not regulated and does not need so much know-how or training to start, one cannot deny that it plays a major socioeconomic role in the district as it employs a lot of young men and women especially those selling at the markets. The life wire of every industry is marketing of its products, and the charcoal industry in the district has no problem with marketing. Unlike agricultural commodities with post-harvest problems, charcoal has no shelve life and is also enjoying a favorable demand as a result of the current price hikes of crude oil internationally and locally. It is easy to store and handle for long distances without losing its quality. Therefore 33% of the producers interviewed cart the charcoal to the cities where market is higher than at the local level. This is keeping with Nketia et al (1988) and Anang et al (2011) where they reported that the bulk of the commodity sold in Accra, Kumasi, Obuasi, Tema, etc are from the Savanna and the transitional zones. The local demand is now higher since many workers cannot afford the continuous use of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) and have to totally depend on the charcoal for domestic use. For the industry to remain viable, to meet the needs of the increasing population in the district and the country as a whole, stakeholders must ensure the sustainable wood exploitation for the production of charcoal.

It is worth saying that field observations during the study period, revealed that charcoal producers use more of the live trees (Lurumuah et al 2012) than dead trees since dead trees are scarce except where the trees are burnt for farming purposes. However, producers knowing the adverse effects of their activities would deny using live trees including economic and fruit trees. It was realized that trees such as the mango, the dawadawa, the sheanut, etc and other timber species were being used secretly by producers as reported by Nketia et al (1988) and Obiri et al (2014). In the present study, majority of respondents get their raw materials from fallow lands. Again, observations and information from the Forest Service Division suggests that some producers illegally fell trees in the reserves and are sometimes arrested and their produce seized and auctioned to the public. Nketia et al (1988), Owusu et al (1998) and Mensah and Agyare, (1994), and World Bank (2022) confirmed this practice by charcoal producers.

According to the producers, suitable tree species used for charcoal production must have some qualities including but not limited to the ability to catch fire easily, high calorific value, produces less ash, produces less smoke and does not explode as was reported by the Ministry of Energy (2019a). Some of the trees these produce high quality charcoal and are mostly fruit and/ or timber species which are protected by national or traditional laws (Lurimuah 2011, Lurumuah et al 2012) . Producers in the district interviewed listed some of the common trees they use for the charcoal production as shown in table 5.

All land users whether farmers or charcoal producers have some level of knowledge of conservation practices that replenishes the used tree resources. It is therefore not surprising that 67% of the respondents claimed they practice selective felling of mature trees. Controlled use of fire is adopted by some respondents (13%) and fallowing by 9%. Unfortunately, 11% said they do not practice any of these consciously with the aim to conserving the resources. This is in keeping with Nketia et al (1988) who reported that tenants do not want to spend money on conservation practices on land which their continuous stay is not guaranteed. Again as said earlier, because farming is quite becoming unpopular in the district due to poor yields, poor prices of farm produce and high production costs, in addition to the ever increasing rate of unemployment in the country many people in the communities resort to charcoal production since it does not need so much capital to start and has less risks. Observations and responses from informants indicate a low farm output in recent years due to soil degradation. The emergence of notorious weeds such as the spear grass (Imperata cylindrica) is a clear manifestation of fertility decline in most parts of the district. Water bodies continue to dry every dry season as riparian vegetation has been removed thereby accelerating soil erosion leading to siltation of these water bodies. Its consequence has been shortages of water for the rural people and their livestock.

There are certain perceived causes of these degradations as given by the respondents in the district. Charcoal production and annual bushfires were identified by 52% of the respondents as the main causes of these degradations as presented on table 6. Chainsaw operation, farming activities and timber logging were perceived to be the cause of degradation by few respondents (20%). There was a last group (16%) that believed all the activities mentioned contribute much to the forest degradation. They attributed annual bushfires as a menace throughout the district and that charcoal production is the principal cause of these fires which agrees with earlier reports which identified charcoal production as one of the main causes of bushfires and nutrient depletion in Ghana (Anang et al 2011), and deforestation in Ethiopia (Damte and Koch 2011). Some respondents (12%) accused Fulani herdsmen (nomadic herdsmen) and hunters as the cause of most bushfires with only a few (4%) of the respondents blaming farming activities. However, Nketia et al (1988), Mensah and Agyare (1994), and Kass-Yerenchi (2002) in their earlier works blamed charcoal producers for the bushfires menace. In the present study during personal observations and from informants it could be concluded that charcoal producers and hunters are the key starters of bushfires. For instance, carbonization of the wood in the Earth mound sometimes take two to three weeks and strong harmattan winds in the dry season could carry the fire from the Earth mound to any nearby vegetation. The measures to prevent or reduce the annual bushfires varied among respondents as indicated on table 6. Majority (50%) of the respondent prescribed severe punishment for offenders while 43% believed education of the general public could help solve the problem. Some even advocated for the banning of certain activities such as group hunting. In respect of banning commercial charcoal production, majority (93%) did not subscribe to that as earlier reported by Anang et al (2011), while only 7% of the respondents agreed to the banning as a measure to reduce bushfires and further degradation of the forest.

The vegetation in the study area has virtually turned to secondary forest as a result of over exploitation of the forest, and other land uses such as agriculture, pastoralism, etc (GSS 2014). The effects of these activities could have been exacerbated by the rapid increase in population due to migration, increase in birth rate, etc (ibid). The vegetation is dominated by grasses, due to the persistent fires and the removal of trees thereby making conditions favorable for the pioneer species to invade the area (figure A5). As indicated by the respondents, the decline in soil fertility encourages noxious weeds to take over many of the lands in the district. Trees like Anogeisuss leiocarpus, Erythrophleum guineense, Mitrogyna spp., etc are common but under pressure as charcoal producers over exploit them as earlier reported by Chidumayo and Gumbo (2012) and Adeniji et al (2015). In the Afram Plains part of the district, yam farming is on very large scale, and when the vegetation cover is cleared to give way for the yam fields charcoal producers take advantage and cut down all dead trees as revealed during the study. As indicated by Hall and Swaine (1981), a notorious weed, Chromolaena odorata, a wind dispersed plant colonizes the vegetation; smother seedlings and saplings of trees and serve as a fuel during the dry season for bushfires. This impedes natural regeneration of the suitable tree species that are heavily exploited for charcoal.

The land use systems that have negative implications for forest management in the district are farming, charcoal production and group hunting commonly called 'floata'. Farming systems throughout the district as are generally similar. As a rural district, farming is the major occupation with shifting cultivation as a common system aimed to replenish soil nutrients during the fallow periods. The study revealed that due to population pressure on the fix land as a result of migrants to the area, per capita land size has decreased, fallow periods reduced. Earlier works suggested that in Ghana, fallow periods have reduced from 20 years after World War II to 10 years or less in the 1970s and more recently to as little as 2–3 years in many localities (Persson 1997, Ministry of Food and Agriculture 2021). The private tree plantations and woodlots have positive implications as it contributes to the soil and water conservation through the reduction of erosion and serves as a habitat for wildlife. The few Non-Governmental Organizations that are into woodlots demonstrations for their clients if well taken by the farmers would contribute to biodiversity conservation.

From the reconnaissance survey in all the communities and what was found at the experimental plot where trees were exploited for charcoal production, there were fewer number of tree species than the control plot (which was fallow for several years). The species such as Verbanaceae, Miliaceae,, Guttiferaceae and Erythroxylaceae were scarce as they are suitable timber species and at the same time illegally used for charcoal production. In all, the tree species on the control field were more than that of the experimental field which can be attributed to the extraction of these tree species for charcoal production.

Since charcoal continuous to be the major source of fuel for the majority of Ghanaians, its production especially in the rural areas will persist so long as there is demand for it. For the sustainable exploitation of our tree resources the following recommendations are made:

The District Assembly and the Department of Cooperatives should collaborate and register all producers in the district and issue them with production permits or licenses which are to be renewed yearly. This will ensure the smooth monitoring of their activities and provision of technical and financial assistance. There should be collection of fees (royalties) for trees felled, whether on-reserve or off-reserve by the Forest Service Division and a percentage paid to a reforestation fund to be established by the District Assembly which would be used to promote community woodlots/ plantation projects. Tree planting using fast growing tree species with high quality wood for charcoal production should be promoted. Agroforestry practices that would replenish declined soil fertility and at the same time provide wood for charcoal should be introduced to the communities by Ministry of Food and Agriculture.

Chiefs and land owners should be encouraged to release land readily and at concessionary terms to groups and individuals to establish these woodlots. The District Assembly should launch an anti- savannization program in the district and seek funding from NGOs and development partners to supplement the Assembly's share of the royalties collected by the Forest Service Division to assist in the promotion of reforestation. The use of timber and fruit trees for charcoal production should be outlawed with severe sanctions to offenders. Finally, there should be further research on the impact of heat on soil microbes and soil nutrients such as macro and micro soil elements at charcoal production sites as well as total ecosystem functions in the production sites.