1. PROJECT OBJECTIVES AND INTENDED RESULTS
1.1 GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT AREA

BROFOYEDUR, a Community in the Gomoa District of the Central Region is situated about 10 km West of Apam, the district capital. It is about 2 kilometers off Apam, Mankessim road. The village was founded about 100 years ago on a hill. With a population of about 2,000 inhabitants, the residents are predominantly peasant formers. They cultivate mainly maize, cassava and vegetables. They use the traditional method slash and burn, sow and plant or broadcasting. They depend solely on rainfall.

Brofoyedur is a village that has electricity, 2 primary schools and a J.H.S. 1 pipe bone water. It has no health post, postal services and no tarred road linking the community to the neighbouring communities. Like its nearby villages, Brofoyedur has and annual festival known as ?Gomoa Two Weeks?. During this period the citizens get the opportunity to interact with friends and relatives whom they have missed for a long period of time. The chiefs and elders pour libation to their ancestors and weed paths leading to their shrines and other major roads. The festival is usually crowned with open ?durbar where the community assesses previous years developmental activities and plan for future. They entertain themselves in the evenings and have sporting activities in the afternoons. Church services and Moslem prayers are offered for God?s blessings during the coming year.

1.2 PROBLEM DEFINITION

The Amoaba sacred grove is one of the few remaining virgin forests in southern dry marginal forest. It was conserved by the ancestors as a sacred grove, a point of contact to the spiritual world. The chiefs and elders go there to offer sacrifice each year and ask the gods for good crop yield, prosperity and fertility for their spouses. Fishermen from the coastal and villages near-by use the Amoaba Forest as a landmark to guide them to trace their destination down shore, when they are at sea.

Inside this forest are important medicinal plants, which are near extinction due to excessive farming. Other important species of trees like Odum, Wawa, Sapele, Edinam, etc. are also found in the Amoaba Forest. It also serves as a habitat for diverse kinds of mammals, birds, reptiles, bush pigs, antelopes, deer, eagles, hawks, vultures, snakes and many others. Due to its largeness and the density of the fauna and flora, it attracts a lot of people to the area.

Unfortunately, the forest has been under abuse. Chain saw operators have invaded the area creaming for the best timber. The place has become a hunting ground for the youth around the area who sell the meat along the roadside. The boundary of the reserve continues to be pushed inwards every year as farmers scramble for new fertile lands. The once beautiful pristine forest is gradually losing its biodiversity and importance. The traditional norms and regulations alone are unable to keep the place away from encroachers.

1.3 Project Goal

The main goal of the project is to conserve and restore biodiversity in the Amoaba Community Protected Forest Area of Gomoa Brofoyedur in the central region.

1.4. Objectives of the Project

To achieve the goal the following objectives would be pursued:

1. Create awareness and develop capacity to the local people in Brofoyedur on biodiversity conservation and improve soil fertility.
2. Conserve the biodiversity of Amoaba Community Protected Area.
3. Introduce agro forestry and soil fertility improvement techniques
4. Introduce livelihood support
5. Develop the tourism potential of the forest. .

1.5 Project Rationale

In spite of the environmental, economic social and spiritual significance of the traditionally protected lands, these last refuges of animal and trees habitat have come under intense pressure leading to a massive degradation and total destruction. The areas are being encroached for farming purposes whilst gang hunters and bushfires are allowed to sweep through every year. Farmers farm very close to the ponds, burn charcoal near to the sacred groves, and harvest firewood without due regard to the resources being destroyed. The destruction of these resources has affected the wildlife and medicinal plants in the area which undermining the biological diversity of the community. The traditional authorities and other opinion leaders of the community have become worried due to the destruction of the sacred groves affecting the social, economic and spiritual wellbeing of the people.

The project falls under the biodiversity conservation focal area of GEF / Small Grant programme. The people of Gomoa Brofoyedur are committed to implement the project through communal labour and provision of local materials like land water and others for the project.

1.6 Expected Project Outputs and Results

Outputs 1. Capacity for of the people of Gomoa Brofoyedur in sustainable management of biodiversity conservation developed.

The expected results of this outcome are:

a) 30 volunteers trained in sustainable management of community protected area
b) Establishment of 40 ha Community Protected Area outside Amoaba protected area.
c) An ecological centre owned and managed by the people of Gomoa Brofoyedur established and maintained
d) Community Natural Resource Management Group for land, forest and wildlife management and biodiversity conservation formed and trained in Gomoa Brofoyedurs
e) Community byelaws on wildfires, commercial tree harvesting, wildlife management and land degradation revised, enacted and enforced

Outputs 2. Degraded lands and denuded forests within the Amoaba Sacred Grove regenerated.

The expected results of this outcome are:
a.) Community agreements on participatory landuse plan and community based land and forest restoration plans formulated and implemented.
b.) 10 ha of denuded forestlands within the sacred groves replanted with indigenous species.
c.) Water conservation and soil fertility improvement techniques introduced to control soil erosion and improve on productivity.
d.) 50 ha of individual woodlots and agroforestry established in the community
e.) 2ha of demonstration ecological sustainable livelihood farm planted with diverse fast growing and for the production of honey, snails, mushroom and small ruminant at Gomoa Brofoyedurs

Output 3. Sustainable agro forestry technologies introduced.

The expected results are:
a. Community nursery capable of producing 150,000 seedlings annually established at Gomoa Brofoyedur
b. 50 farmers trained to undertake agro forestry and organic farming
c. 10 farmers trained as trainers on agro forestry technologies
d. 160 farmers assisted to establish agro forestry technologies demonstration farms
.
Output 4. Small business enterprise development and livelihood activities introduced to enhance land and biodiversity conservation:

The expected results are:

a. 30 volunteers and vulnerable women trained in alternative livelihood in beekeeping, snail farming, small ruminants, tie and dye, soap, powder and pomade
b. 30 vulnerable women acquire business management skills.

4. PROJECT ACTIVITIES

Output 1. Capacity for of the people of Gomoa Brofoyedur in sustainable land, forest and wildlife management practices developed and biodiversity conservation developed

Planned Activities

Initially, through participatory rural appraisal techniques, community maps covering the entire traditional areas would be drawn so that appropriate protection strategies could be devised with the approval of the Chiefs, and landowners and the Forest Services Division. A nine-member Community Natural Resource Management Groups (CNRMG) would be formed and trained in each community to provide leadership for implementation of the project. At the central level, a nine-member Natural Resource Management Committee will be formed to manage the project and to formulate and implement landuse, fire and natural resource management plans. Training and capacity building programmes would be prepared and implemented for specific groups, individual planters and extension workers in nursery development, staking out, planting and nurturing of trees. Training programmes will also be developed and targeted specifically at farmers to enable them to develop and pass on knowledge to other farmers about sustainable land and forest management. In collaboration with local committee, a central nursery will be established at Gomoa Brofoyedur to be operated and owned by the CNRMG group. A study tour for the CNRMG would be organized to Mankessim where similar projects are being implemented.

Indigenous knowledge and practices in land and forest management will be reviewed; new one enacted and enforced on wildfire management systems. In participation with local communities, fire protection and management plans will be developed to cover the whole project area.

Output 2. Degraded lands and denuded forests within the Community Protected Area areas regenerated.

Planned Activities

Planned activities to achieve results include finalizing and signing collaborative resource management agreements; bye-laws on the management of the CREMA, completion and adoption of the participatory landuse plans and formulating land restoration and forest management plans. The next step will be to survey and demarcate the planting sites with the CREMA with the full participation of local communities, Traditional Authorities, Stool Chiefs, and landowners. A reforestation plans to cover all planting sites will be prepared with the people. Local community groups and individuals will be registered and organized into Working Groups to plant at least 60 ha of the degraded areas in the sacred groves.

The project will establish 2ha of demonstration ecological sustainable livelihood farm planted with diverse indigenous fast growing timber species (entandrophragma angolensis, terminalia superba and cieba pentandra), woodfuel species and the production of honey, snails, mushroom and small ruminant at Gomoa Brofoyedurs. Individual farmers would also be assisted to establish and own similar farms following the same model. The beneficiary farmers would be assisted with inputs to plant, nurture, monitor, and maintain the farms.

In collaboration with the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, water conservation and soil fertility improvement techniques would be introduced to farmers. Farmers would be introduced to composting, planting or muccuna and other nitrogen fixing plants.

All the sacred groves within the CREMA would be replanted to establish their original boundaries and buffer zones created around them. Enrichment planting will be promoted within the degraded scared groves to restore their biodiversity.

Output 3. Sustainable agro forestry technologies introduced

Planned Activities

Community awareness creation and education on need for agro forestry land use systems. Community durbar would be used to create awareness on the need for introducing agroforestry technologies as a sustainable land use systems. The community would be given the option to select about 10 people to be trained as trainers of trainees in a three weeks training, field visits and establishment of demonstration plots on agroforestry.

Workshop on agroforestry technologies for trainers. One and half week?s theoretical training with pictorial illustrations would be organized for the selected participants. These participants will be the trainers who will impact the skills to be acquired to all members of the project community and its surrounding villages. Participants will be trained especially on how to utilize the participatory planning process for Agroforestry extension in the communities.

Establishment of agroforestry technologies demonstration plots. After the field visit the trainers would be assisted by MOFA and technical field staff I CARE to demonstrate on plots within the buffer zones specific technologies they have learnt both at the training workshop and the field visits. 120 farmers would be assisted to set up 300 ha agro-forestry farms within the area.

An agroforestry extension manual would be developed with inputs from the training workshop, field visits and the community ?based demonstration plots established by the trainers. Since most of the inputs of the manual are the ideas from the community it is expected to be easily adopted and serve as a field guide to community development workers, NGOs, and other governmental agencies engaged in or likely to engage in agroforestry development

Output 4. Small business enterprise development and alternative livelihood activities established to enhance biodiversity conservation:

Planned Activities

Under this output the activities will include setting up trust groups and training them in business management and accounting. The project will evolve a revolving loan mechanism to assist the project beneficiaries to set up small businesses in snail farming, honey production, small ruminant rearing, and grass cutter rearing. Women would be assisted to trade in non-timber forest products and to develop local businesses to enhance biodiversity conservation by setting up a revolving fund.