Ghana’s Landscape Approach to REDD+: Is it decentralizing or recentralizing power?

Since 1889, local communities in Ghana have been struggling to achieve equitable control over their land and forest resources. Community Resource Management Areas (CREMAs) — introduced in 2000 — along with the ongoing Hotspot Intervention Area (HIA) governance mechanism (since the late 2010s), are seen as pivotal not only for unlocking international carbon finance, but also improving communities’ involvement in conservation and sustainable cocoa production.

Our recent publication in Geoforum critically examines whether HIAs are decentralizing or, conversely, recentralizing power among competing land governance actors in Ghana. While we acknowledge that the HIA mechanism has contributed to the creation of nested, multi-tiered institutions that facilitate the flow of carbon finance from the World Bank, we also identify several key challenges. One notable paradox is that, although the HIA has opened avenues for decentralizing access to carbon finance, it has simultaneously reinforced centralized state control over the administration of carbon resources. This is particularly problematic in a country where the legal framework for carbon management is still under negotiation. Furthermore, the establishment of higher-level decision-making bodies has, in some cases, weakened some stakeholders’ engagement with CREMAs, which continue to struggle despite their potential to empower local communities and support the genuine devolution of power over their resources.

This dual movement, decentralization of finance alongside centralization of authority, raises important questions about how we govern land use and drive transformation. At the forest-farm nexus, there is a pressing need for more organic, locally embedded institutions that can truly foster transformation.

We invite you to engage with our work and look forward to continued discussions in the coming days and months.