Mangroves are a taxonomically diverse group of salt-tolerant, mainly arboreal, flowering plants that grow primarily in tropical and subtropical regions (Ellison & Stoddart, 1991; Duke, 1992). Mangrove distribution is circumglobal with the majority of populations occurring between the latitudes of 32° N and 38° S (Kathiresan & Bingham. 2001; Tomlinson, 1986). Globally, more than 50 species in 16 different families are considered mangroves (Tomlinson, 1986). However, mangrove extent has been significantly reduced due to human activities in the coastal zone. Today, mangrove forests continue to disappear all over the world and a more recent estimate mangrove area to be below 15 million km2 (FAO, 2003). About 90% of the global mangroves are found in developing countries and are under the condition of critically endangered and nearing extinction in 26 countries (FAO, 2003). Mangrove forest cover in Ghana is estimated to be about 10,000 hectares (Babier et al.,1999) and despite their limited geographical range, they are also among the most productive ecosystems in the world (Babier et al.,1999) with a direct economic value of $US200,000 – $US900,000/ha (Mcleoa et al., 2006; UNEP-WCMC, 2007). Generally, some of the ecosystem and economic services provided by mangroves (Alongi, 2002) includes provision of food, construction materials; regulatory—water purification and pollution control by providing important carbon sinks; protection of coastal communities from tropical storms; and ecological benefits like breeding and spawning grounds for fish, nesting sites for important migratory birds, and socio-cultural factors, among others (Kathiresan & Bingham. 2001; Kunstadter et al., 1985). Ghana has extensive mangrove forests, on which local communities depend on it for their livelihoods. The most important resource drawn from this ecosystem in Ghana is wood, used for fish smoking, and the magnitude of mangrove wood exploitation has been identified both locally and regionally as a major threat to this ecotone (Doldman et al., 2006).
1.2 Problem Statement and Justification
The natural ecosystem in the Kakum river estuary of Ghana is made up of forests, water bodies, minerals, plants and animals which provide many ecosystem services to local communities. However, the past two decades have seen severe human-induced threats to mangroves arising out of overexploitation of its resources, expansion of agricultural activities, excessive extraction of salt, excessive cutting trees for charcoal production and rapid conversion of forest lands to residential buildings, which have impacted negatively and affected the effective provision of ecosystem services to people in this area (Ministry of Local Government, 2006). REDD seeks to conserve forest and tree resources but the intended benefits that will come with REDD+ are far more than REDD and therefore when properly designed, REDD+ will contribute to multiple benefits including poverty alleviation, improved community livelihoods, technology transfer, sustainable use of mangrove resources and biodiversity conservation (Murphy, 2011). Apart from trees conservation, REDD+ promotes re-forestation projects in areas with considerable high value for ecosystem services where the vegetation is reduced to shrub, grass and old fallow lands so as to enhance the ecosystem resilience to conserve biodiversity (CBD, 2012). The research problem is that the land cover is altered due to conversions from forests to other activities. These forested mangrove areas have high carbon stock and biodiversity and may be considered high value and suitable areas for REDD (Gibbs et al., 2007). Investigating the effect of land cover changes on the ecosystem service will thus be important. The lack of spatial information about the total value of current flows of benefits from the ecosystem services has also informed this research as cited in Haines-Young (2009) and for this purpose specific emphasis will be placed on provisioning services and carbon. The study therefore seeks to evaluate the spatial distribution of ecosystem services values from community perspective and determine suitable areas where REDD+ could actively support livelihoods, combat climate change, conserve biodiversity and protect other ecosystem goods and services.
1.3 Research Objective
The main objective of the study is to assess and map spatial ecosystem services value for identification of suitable areas where REDD+ could actively support livelihoods
1.3.1 Specific Objectives
1. To assess and map the spatial variations of the value of provisioning ecosystem services from community perspective.
2. To analyse income levels in relation to the value local people put on ecosystem services.
3. To determine the amount of mangrove loss due to land cover conversions.
4. To identify areas that could be suitable for REDD+.
5. To analyse the effect of accessibility on the value of ecosystem services.
1.4 Research Questions
1. What kind of services/resources does the ecosystem provide to the communities?
2. What is the relation between economic status and value of ecosystem services?
3. What are the spatial variations of the ecosystem service value in the study area?
4. How much Mangrove is lost due to land cover conversions?
5. Where are the suitable areas for REDD+ implementation?
6. What is the effect of accessibility on the value of ecosystem services?
Chapter two
2.0 SUMMARY LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Valuation of Ecosystem Services
Recent studies have shown that ecosystem and biodiversity valuation has received a lot of attention as a result of a broader search for arguments in support of conservation policies. According to Salles (2011) values are basically judgement made individually or collectively about whether something is useful and morally upright (Salles, 2011). In some field of study valuation studies are needed in order to promote understanding of the biophysical mechanisms that underpin ecosystem services so as to make better analysis of the marginal changes in value that occur in ecosystems as a result of the different pressures and interventions (Haines-Young, 2009).
As a result many valuation techniques have been developed to set the framework in which benefits and costs can be compared. An example is Pagiola et al (2007) and Haines-Young, (2009) that suggested four broad areas in the context of valuing ecosystem services. According to Pagiola et al., (2004), the formost point is determining the total value of the current flow of benefits from an ecosystem, to better understand the contribution that ecosystems make to society. Secondly the ascertain the value the costs and benefits of interventions that modify ecosystems so as to determine whether the intervention is economically useful. The thirdly examining how the costs and benefits of an ecosystem (or an intervention) is distributed across society over time. The aim here is to explore social equity issues for ethical and practical reasons and finally, identifying potential financing sources for conservation so as to make ecosystem conservation self-sustaining in financial sense.
2.2 Provisioning Services
Provisioning services represents a wide range of products obtained from the ecosystem which are often directly consumed to enhance human wellbeing (Millenium Ecosystem Assessment, 2003).
Provisioning services represents the collection from a wide range of ecotypes such as high forest, fallow lands and farmlands for use as food, medicine and trade and include bush meat, mushrooms, snails, medicinal bark ad roots of trees, honey, fungi and animal products (Ndoye, 2006). In Ghana these provisioning services plays a potential role by contributing to alleviate poverty through the improvement of nutrition, health and food security (Ahenkan & Boon, 2011). Thus it is in the light of this that the study seeks to value these key ecosystem services using participatory tools to contribute local spatial knowledge to the proper management of them.
2.3 Participatory GIS
Participatory GIS (PGIS) simply means community application of geographic information technology and is used to refer to the practice of employing geo-spatial information management tools to show indigenous knowledge spatial knowledge in the forms maps.
PGIS practice takes a multidisciplinary approach and relies on ‘experts’ with differentiated indigenous knowledge which builds on high levels of stakeholder participation in the processes of spatial learning for decision making and action (IIED, 2009). Thus a system developed out of participatory approaches to generate and communicate spatial information to enhance the capacity of groups in society. McCall (2004) observed that, indigenous technical knowledge is normally more reliable and sometimes accurate because it embodies generations of practical essential knowledge and operates in an interactive and holistic system.
2.4 REDD+
Reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation with sustainable management of forests and the enhancement of forest carbon stocks (REDD+) is an initiative of the United Nations Frame work Convention on climate change that seeks to provide economic incentives to help developing countries reduce deforestation and carbon emissions (Gibbs et al., 2007).
As a result of these, Ghana was selected to be a REDD country participant in 2008 and has since been receiving financial assistance from the Readiness Fund of the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility to prepare its Readiness Plan. Ghana has already embarked on a series of forest and natural resource governance initiatives to address these challenges. As such Ghana seeks to explore REDD+ as a potential additional reward mechanism for sustainable forest protection and land use, in support of existing policies (FCPF, 2012).