Supporting Just Transitions to Sustainable Land Use in Ghana

Ghana is experiencing some of the highest rates of deforestation in the world. It’s a problem the Ghanaian government has been grappling with for years. Transforming agricultural, mining and forestry practices that are driving deforestation, while tackling the broader context of poverty, food insecurity and rising inequality is a daunting task.

Current practices provide livelihoods for millions of people in Ghana and worldwide, especially in the global south, making change highly sensitive.

At the same time, accelerated change is needed to deliver on global climate goals. Around 25 percent of GHG emissions come from land use and land use change and around half of these emissions come from deforestation and forest degradation.

A CIF study outlines how just transitions to sustainable land use need to be driven by socially inclusive processes to mitigate the potential negative effects of change on people that currently depend on today’s natural resource economies. While also maximizing opportunities to tap into new green economic opportunities, and addressing the environmental legacies of mining, agriculture, overexploitation of timber and other forest resources, and deforestation itself.

The study draws on examples of projects financed by CIF in Ghana, and highlights effective practices that can contribute to just transitions in key sectors that are driving Ghana’s forest loss.