By Mrs Esther Ekua Amfoa Amoako, University for Development Studies, Ghana
Cohort 1 CIRCLE Visiting Fellow
I am a former fellow the UNU-LRT (United National University
– Land Restoration Training) programme in Iceland. I have a background in
Environmental Management which looks into policies and management of
environmental and natural resources. I was enrolled in the six month UNU-LRT
programme in 2012, which is where my interest in practicing restoration ecology
began. In January 2015 I commenced the one-year CIRCLE Visiting Fellowship to
further develop my research in this field.
Cohort 1 CIRCLE Visiting Fellow
Esther Ekua Amoako |
Ecosystems degradation through deforestation, mining, bush
burning, to mention but a few, create carbon sources that exacerbate the
impacts of climate change. The irony is that while ecosystems degradation is a
major cause of global climate change, the impact of climate change can in turn
result in ecosystems degradation. When ecosystems are degraded the
repercussions are enormous.
My research in the CIRCLE programme is on fire and
terrestrial ecosystems management: The impact of anthropogenic bush burning on
plant species and soils in West African savanna/ parklands. My focus is on the
Northern Region of Ghana which is experiencing significant fragmentation of
vegetation. The region which used to be categorised ecologically as the Guinea
Savanna Zone is gradually transforming into Sudan Savanna (with fewer scattered
trees). The result of human disturbances such as bush burning and deforestation
has implications for both biodiversity and climate change.
My study is focused on measuring the density and diversity
of tree species, soil seedbanks and soil nutrients under different fire management
regimes. The seed bank experiment revealed a potential for natural regeneration
of fire disturbed ecosystems. The soil organic carbon content is also measured
and compared with tree densities on burnt and unburnt areas.
The study is contributing to the knowledge of fire in
savannas in general and specifically to the Northern Region of Ghana, which has
recorded higher occurrences of bush burning than the other nine regions of
Ghana. It will serve as baseline information or reference for further studies,
restoration of degraded lands, policies and advocacy on fire management.
Most Universities in Ghana place emphasis on issues of
sustainable land management, biodiversity and conservation etc. which are more
focused on the science and knowledge of environmental management. Ecological
restoration, however, is the practice of restoring or rehabilitating degraded
ecosystems which is what is needed most in sub-Saharan Africa.
The
satellite images below show the vegetation cover loss between 1973 and 2003 and
anthropogenic fire active zones
Sources:
Global Forest Resources Assessment 2010, Country Report, Ghana MODIS/ NASA 2012
A positive aspect of the CIRCLE programme is its support for
networking with stakeholders: in particular sharing research information with
non-acadamics and policy makers. I think the findings of my research can not be
shelved but must be shared. It has a lot of policy implications for ecosystems magement, which can be tranferred
to all stakeholders. This can only be achieved through collaboration between my
host and home institutions and others like the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
and Environmental NGO’s. This will surely reinforce the leadership enhancement
aspect of the CIRCLE progamme.
In
the long term, it is my hope and desire that indiscriminate burning will be
reduced and more carbon sinks created to ensure healthy ecosystems that will contribute
to mitigating climate impacts. My research is directed toward this objective
and aligns firmly with the goal of the Society for Ecological Restoration.
Esther Ekua Amoako is a CIRCLE Visiting Fellow from the Unversity for Development Studies, Ghana, currently hosted at the University of Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania.
No comments:
Post a Comment