Using Participatory Approaches to Enhance Women’s Engagement in Natural Resource Management in Northern Ghana

From 2016–2019, the West African Forest-Farm Interface (WAFFI) project engaged with smallholder farmers in northern Ghana to explore mechanisms improve influence of under-represented peoples, particularly women, decision-making processes and platforms that affect their access natural resources. Through a multi-phase process participatory activities, including auto-appraisal, action research (PAR) facilitated knowledge exchange, villagers researchers worked together document develop better understanding challenges changes facing women men region generate social learning. Among these challenges, degradation forest resources due over exploitation, weak governance conflict use shea trees (Vitellaria paradoxa) were important for women. The WAFFI approach created scaffold learning strengthened capacity local stakeholders share perspectives opinions more effectively multi-stakeholder forums dialogue related resource land change initiatives.