Avu Lagoon CREMA Partnership Project

Background

Wetlands play an important role in conserving the environment. Aside from providing essential services such as flood control and water purification among others, it has a lot of potential in promoting ecotourism. Inhabitants of communities found within wetlands in Ghana usually engage in activities such as fishing, farming, hunting and so on; these activities however sometimes impact the environment negatively. The Avu Lagoon is part of a larger wetland, the Keta Lagoon Complex Ramsar site. Apart from its ecotourism potential, it is also believed to be a habitat for a small population of the Western Sitatunga, the world’s only aquatic antelope which is going extinct in Ghana mainly due to habitat loss and hunting. There is an urgent need to protect the small population that still exist as well as conserve the ecosystem for other purposes such as ecotourism. This goal can only be achieved through sustainable management of the resource which is only possible through the collaborative efforts of all relevant stakeholders.

About the Avu Lagoon

The Avu Lagoon can be found within the Keta Lagoon Complex Ramsar site in the Volta region of Ghana. The area comprises a permanently flooded 2.8 km2 freshwater lagoon surrounded by largely impenetrable, permanently or seasonally flooded habitats densely vegetated by a mix of marshy grasses and fig trees Ficus species; and sometimes seasonally cultivated to grow sugar cane. Inhabitants of the surrounding villages access the area by dugouts on channels cut into the floating vegetation to fish, farm, hunt and collect water, wood as well as weaving materials.

Challenges in the Area

There are a number of challenges in the area mainly caused by human activities. Some of these challenges are:

• Encroachment of inhabitants in the core zone (protected area where the Sitatunga is likely to be found) for activities such as farming, hunting etc.
• Littering of waterbodies and areas close to the waterbodies, mostly by communities living within the area
• No proper governance structure in place to ensure sustainable management of the core zones and areas outside these zones

The Avu Lagoon CREMA project

The Avu Lagoon CREMA project is a partnership between Wildlife Division of the Forestry Commission, Calgary Zoo, Avu Lagoon CREMA and The Development Institute for the sustainable management of the Avu Lagoon Community Protected Area. In 2006, 15 communities in the Avu Lagoon Enclave initiated a community protected area (CPA) designed to safeguard Sitatunga; these protected areas where hunting and other activities are prohibited still exist. The Avu Lagoon CREMA project will help sustain this initiative through various activities as well as build capacity where needed. The main goal of the Avu Lagoon CREMA project is to provide technical assistance to CREMA community stakeholders for successful management of the Avu Lagoon wetland ecosystem and in particular ensure the survival and population growth of the remaining population of the Western Sitatunga in Ghana. The long-term goal however is to be able to assist Avu Lagoon communities in identifying ways to make conservation pay for itself through eco-tourism and commercialization of Sitatunga-friendly crops.

Our Strategy – The CREMA Approach

The CREMA approach will be employed for this project. The CREMA (Community Resource Management Area) mechanism which was developed by the Wildlife Division, is an innovative natural resource management and landscape-level planning tool for community initiatives. CREMAs fill a critical gap in the management process by giving communities the right to manage and benefit economically from their natural resources. The goal of this project will only be achieved when communities are involved in managing the area because of the major role they play. Sustainable management would only be possible when communities put a stop to unsustainable practices and get involved in conserving the area as effective conservation can only be done collectively.

The CREMA model will ensure that communities have the opportunity not only to conserve the area through proper land use planning but also fully benefit from the natural resources in the area such as reeds etc.

Interventions include:

• Capacity development in various aspects such as tour guide training
•  Frequent clearing of floating vegetation on channels leading to the main lagoon
•  Promotion of ecotourism in the area with the people and for the people
• Engaging Community Rangers for the protected areas
• CREMA Board Constitution
•  And introducing sustainable forms of livelihood amongst others

Project Duration: July 2018 to 2023

Donor: Calgary Zoo