The Western Wildlife Corridor (WWC) in Ghana’s Northern Savannah ecological zone is a contested landscape where efforts to reverse widespread environmental degradation often conflict with local livelihood concerns and broader development objectives. Despite policy measures to devolve natural resource decision-making authority, poor environmental management, persistent socioeconomic challenges, and increasingly limited livelihood opportunities for people living within the corridor prevail. This study investigates environmental degradation in the WWC and natural resource governance using information on stakeholder perceptions from stakeholder workshops, focus group discussions, and key informant interviews. We also explore how natural resource management might be strengthened to better deliver social, economic, and environmental goals. We found that despite a history of contestation, stakeholders were able to agree upon specific issues of common concern and generate a collaborative vision for the WWC landscape. Transitioning toward such a vision requires significant investment in strengthening current governance structures and building natural resource management capacity within the corridor and beyond. Furthermore, persistent challenges of conflicting stakeholder objectives and issues related to coordination, corruption, and non-inclusion in decision-making about natural resources must be addressed to advance progress. Stakeholders were able to formulate specific recommendations and a participatory theory of change to inform the development of a sustainable landscape management plan and future evidence-based policy that could steer the WWC toward a more resilient and multifunctional system that equitably supports livelihoods, biodiversity, and wider economic development. The methods for inclusive engagement in environmental decision-making are extrapolatable to other contexts facing similar social-environmental challenges.

中文翻译：

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通过包容性景观治理从冲突到合作：来自加纳有争议的景观的证据


加纳北部萨凡纳生态区的西部野生动物走廊（WWC）是一个有争议的景观，扭转广泛的环境退化的努力常常与当地的生计问题和更广泛的发展目标发生冲突。尽管采取了下放自然资源决策权的政策措施，但环境管理不善、社会经济挑战持续存在以及走廊内居民的生计机会日益有限仍然普遍存在。本研究利用利益相关者研讨会、焦点小组讨论和关键知情人访谈中的利益相关者看法信息，调查了 WWC 中的环境退化和自然资源治理。我们还探讨如何加强自然资源管理，以更好地实现社会、经济和环境目标。我们发现，尽管存在争议，利益相关者仍能够就共同关心的具体问题达成一致，并为 WWC 景观制定合作愿景。向这一愿景过渡需要大量投资，以加强当前的治理结构并建设走廊内外的自然资源管理能力。此外，必须解决利益相关者目标相互冲突的持续挑战以及与协调、腐败和不参与自然资源决策有关的问题，以推动进展。利益相关者能够制定具体建议和参与式变革理论，为可持续景观管理计划和未来循证政策的制定提供信息，从而引导 WWC 走向更具弹性和多功能的系统，公平地支持生计、生物多样性和更广泛的生态系统。经济发展。 包容性参与环境决策的方法可以推广到面临类似社会环境挑战的其他环境。