Poverty Dimensions of Public Governance and Forest Management ...

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In many instances, the relationship has served the migrants well. However, the extensive (and
large unchecked) ‘traditional rights’ of the chiefs do allow them to impose a relationship of
clientage on their migrants, which can lead to some resentment.
4.1.10 Natural Resource Tenure
The 1962 Concessions Act vested all trees in Ghana in the Office of the President, to administer
on behalf of the ‘allodial authority’ (the chiefs). This gives the Ghana Forestry Service control
over all trees (particularly timber trees) whether in forest reserves or on farmers’ fields. In the
latter case, farmers have no right to any royalty payments, although royalties are paid to the chief,
the stool and to the district authority.
While in the past, the timber industry was interested only in redwoods and the like, with export
potential, increasing scarcity of timber trees and diversification of exports has increased its
interest in what were hitherto unconsidered species. A formal ban on chainsaw production has
further shifted access to timber away from farmers to the industry.
For these and other reasons, production for local livelihoods has increasingly focused on
charcoal, using species without potential as timber. As will be later discussed, this has brought
small producers into increasing conflict with chiefs and district authorities (to whom charcoal
represents a potentially lucrative source of income), as well as the environmental lobby, for
whom charcoal is a major emblem of environmental degradation, even ‘desertification’.
4.1.11 Supplementary livelihoods
Around 46% of all men and 56% of women have supplementary off-farm incomes. In the case of
men, these include natural-resource based (e.g. charcoal) and artisanal (e.g. tailoring) activities,
and petty trading. For women the main income sources are petty trading (e.g. dressmaking),
preparation of cooked foods, and (in the case of Dagaaba migrants), brewing of pito (sorghum
beer). Table 4.4 gives a breakdown of off-farm income sources.
Charcoal production is the only developed source of natural-resource based off-farm income for
men, although in some areas, it is largely produced by specialist (non-farming) Sisala migrants.
This lack of developed crafts based on natural resource utilisation is at odds with a common
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