Developing A Framework For Land Management Based On Community Involvement In Ghana

Since the discovery of oil in commercial quantities in the Western Region of Ghana and the attendant media reports of some traditional leaders rushing to sell land, there has been a renewed interest in land management in the area. This paper investigated the involvement of traditional leaders in land management in the Western Region of Ghana and explored with participants possible ways of enhancing land management in Ghana. The study was conducted in the Districts and Municipal Assemblies along the coast of the Weston Region of Ghana using fifteen traditional leaders or Chiefs as the participants. A desk review of national policy documents on land management accompanied by interviews with the traditional leaders, show that Ghana abounds with laws and policies on land management as well as land use plans that provide for the involvement of traditional leaders. However, the results from our interviews with the selected traditional leaders mandated to be custodians of customary lands and by extension agents of lands management suggest that 92% are either unaware of the laws, policies, and plans or have limited knowledge about them. As a direct consequence of the lack of knowledge or paucity of knowledge about land use plans, these traditional leaders are not able to discharge rightfully their duty. The paper therefore concludes that traditional leaders require education on the national framework for land management in order to enhance their capacity for land management. It is therefore recommended that a centre should be established to provide relevant training and education to traditional leaders on land administration and management issues on a continual basis in the form of non-formal education.