A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, in fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Johannesburg, 2013 / Deforestation is a growing environmental concern in tropical areas of the world where it is believed that the increase in human population and associated land use practices are the key drivers of this land cover change transition. This research tests these hypotheses in the Ho Municipality of Ghana and aims to predict future land cover change by assessing remote sensing images and considering the complex interrelationships and synergies of multiple driving forces. The study specifically examines how multiple driving forces of land cover change transition have contributed to the accelerating pace of deforestation in the last 25 years based on observed trends in land use and remotely sensed land cover change data. The study looks at the future prospects for Ghana’s forests.
The field study was carried out in four settlements of the Ho Municipality namely Wumenu, Agbokofe, Abutia Kloe and Takla. The data collection was done using structured questionnaires administered to 376 households to investigate their opinions regarding the driving forces of deforestation in the area. The analysis of questionnaire data involved the use of descriptive statistics and factor analysis using the Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS) software. Satellite images comprising, Landsat MSS 1975, Landsat TM 1991 and Landsat ETM+ 2001 were classified using the maximum likelihood algorithm supervised classification to determine the extent and nature of vegetation cover change and to assess the potential of using a Markov model to predict the future state of forest cover.
The research concludes that the municipality lost forest cover from 1975 to 2001 based on satellite and questionnaire data analysis which suggests that the following are the key underlying drivers of deforestation: demographic pressure, poverty, institutional factors, policies, technology and attitudes. Proximate drivers of deforestation are agricultural expansion, illegal logging and wood energy exploitation. The Markov models showed that in the next 25 years various probabilities of change are possible, such as no change in forest cover, forest cover loss and some probabilities of increase in forest cover. These predictions illustrate the need to study the complex driving forces of change to interpret models that are solely based on past land use change transition. Based on the results of the household surveys, current drivers are unlikely to change. Land use planners should thus be aware that deforestation in Ghana is most likely going to continue.
On the basis of these findings the following recommendations have been made. There is a need to intensify tree planting activities in the municipality to increase forest cover. Planting of fast maturing trees for woodlots will reduce pressure on the forest for wood energy. Public education on the advantages of family planning should be undertaken by the Municipal Assembly and NGOs working in the area to reduce population pressure on forests. Poverty reduction strategies should focus on alternative livelihood opportunities to divert attention from forest goods while also increasing the protection of remaining forests. Lastly, community participative approaches to forest management could mitigate both underlying and proximate causes of deforestation.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:wits/oai:wiredspace.wits.ac.za:10539/12973 |
| Date | 02 August 2013 |
| Creators | Adanu, Selase Kofi |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | application/pdf |
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