A LAW AS A REAL LEGAL BREAKTHROUGH FOR WILDLIFE PROTECTION IN GHANA

After years of waiting, Ghana witnesses the approval of the Resource Management Bill

In Ghana, the Wildlife Management Bill was drafted in 2014 to update the current legislation on conservation and wildlife reserves enacted 50 years ago.

The regulations so far in force in Ghana are indeed no longer in line with international best practice. They do not provide an appropriate legal framework for the implementation of the Forest and Wildlife Policy and the Forest Development Management Plan 2016-2036. Similarly, the aims and objectives of wildlife management and the various protected areas in Ghana, as well as the penalties for offences, are not clearly defined in the current legislations.

The draft law thus initiated in 2014 has just been approved by the Council of State and can now be put to a vote in Parliament.

02 December 2021

A PROJECT TO SUPPORT COMMUNITIES

The recently approved bill thus provides legal support for the involvement of local communities in wildlife management through Community Resource Management Areas (CREMAs) and provides for a regime of higher penalties and sanctions for wildlife offences that will act as a sufficient deterrent to protect the country's wildlife resources.

The approval of the Bill means that it is now ready to be submitted to Parliament for consideration and, hopefully, passage. If passed, the bill will support the implementation of several international wildlife conventions to which Ghana is a signatory (RAMSAR, CITES, BONN...).

After all these years of waiting, this approval is a big step forward for biodiversity and ecosystem conservation in Ghana. It gives hope to local stakeholders that the bill will be passed by Parliament in the near future.

AN IMPORTANT TEXT FOR THE WORK OF NOÉ AND ITS PARTNERS

The EconoBio2 programme, funded by the French Development Agency and implemented by Noé, together with its partners A Rocha, Northcode, Wapca and Orgiis, supports 10 CREMAs across the country.

The passage of the law would provide these CREMAs with a sufficient legal framework so that their actions of patrolling and protecting their resources are recognised without question by all the actors on the ground !