Gatekeeping access : shea land formalization and the distribution of market-based conservation benefits in Ghana’s CREMA

Gilli, Mengina; Côte, Muriel; Walters, Gretchen

doi:10.3390/land9100359

Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://doi.org/10.21256/zhaw-26120

Publication type:	Article in scientific journal
Type of review:	Peer review (publication)
Title:	Gatekeeping access : shea land formalization and the distribution of market-based conservation benefits in Ghana’s CREMA
Authors:	Gilli, Mengina Côte, Muriel Walters, Gretchen
et. al:	No
DOI:	10.3390/land9100359 10.21256/zhaw-26120
Published in:	Land
Volume(Issue):	9
Page(s):	359
Issue Date:	2020
Publisher / Ed. Institution:	MDPI
ISSN:	2073-445X
Language:	English
Subjects:	Community based natural resource management; Ghana; Certification; Conservation; Market-based conservation; Formalization; Shea
Subject (DDC):	333.7: Land, natural recreational areas
Abstract:	Community Resource Management Areas (CREMAs) in Ghana combine conservation and development objectives and were introduced in the year 2000. In some cases, they have connected collectors of shea (Vitellaria paradoxa) nuts with certified organic world markets, which can be understood as a ‘market-based’ approach to conservation. This paper examines how the benefits of this approach are distributed and argues that shea land formalization is crucial to this process. It makes this argument by drawing on interviews within two communities bordering Mole National Park. One community accepted to engage with, and benefitted from this approach, while the other did not. The paper analyzes narratives from different actors involved regarding why and how the market-based approach was accepted or rejected. It shows that, contrary to the neoliberal principles that underlie market-based conservation, a utility maximization rationale did not predominantly influence the (non-)engagement with this conservation approach. Instead, it was the history of land relations between communities and the state that influenced the decisions of the communities. We highlight the role of traditional authorities and NGOs brokering this process and unpack who in the communities profited and who was left out from benefits from this market-based conservation initiative.
URI:	https://digitalcollection.zhaw.ch/handle/11475/26120
Fulltext version:	Published version
License (according to publishing contract):	CC BY 4.0: Attribution 4.0 International
Departement:	Life Sciences and Facility Management
Organisational Unit:	Institute of Natural Resource Sciences (IUNR)
Appears in collections:	Publikationen Life Sciences und Facility Management

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Gilli, M., Côte, M., & Walters, G. (2020). Gatekeeping access : shea land formalization and the distribution of market-based conservation benefits in Ghana’s CREMA. Land, 9, 359. https://doi.org/10.3390/land9100359

Gilli, M., Côte, M. and Walters, G. (2020) ‘Gatekeeping access : shea land formalization and the distribution of market-based conservation benefits in Ghana’s CREMA’, Land, 9, p. 359. Available at: https://doi.org/10.3390/land9100359.

M. Gilli, M. Côte, and G. Walters, “Gatekeeping access : shea land formalization and the distribution of market-based conservation benefits in Ghana’s CREMA,” Land, vol. 9, p. 359, 2020, doi: 10.3390/land9100359.

GILLI, Mengina, Muriel CÔTE und Gretchen WALTERS, 2020. Gatekeeping access : shea land formalization and the distribution of market-based conservation benefits in Ghana’s CREMA. Land. 2020. Bd. 9, S. 359. DOI 10.3390/land9100359

Gilli, Mengina, Muriel Côte, and Gretchen Walters. 2020. “Gatekeeping Access : Shea Land Formalization and the Distribution of Market-Based Conservation Benefits in Ghana’s CREMA.” Land 9: 359. https://doi.org/10.3390/land9100359.

Gilli, Mengina, et al. “Gatekeeping Access : Shea Land Formalization and the Distribution of Market-Based Conservation Benefits in Ghana’s CREMA.” Land, vol. 9, 2020, p. 359, https://doi.org/10.3390/land9100359.