Enhancing Adaptation of Forests and People in Africa-Development of Pilot Cases for Selected Forest Ecosystems in Ghana and Malawi

The focal objective of the study was to identify elements of adaptation strategies in order to define concrete, resilient adaptation measures that can be implemented on the ground within the selected pilot case areas. Ghana (West Africa) and Malawi (Southern Africa) were selected as representative pilot study areas because they represent typical examples of the ecological and socio-economic situation prevalent in Sub-Saharan Africa. Notably, the Offinso District (the pilot site in Ghana) is located in an area that was formerly tropical high forest but had, over the years, become degraded to the extent that it is now largely a forest-savannah transition zone dominated by a savannah landscape of sparse tree vegetation and grassland. On the other hand, the pilot site in Malawi (the Lake Chilwa Catchment), is dominated by an agricultural landscape with highly degraded watershed protection forests.