Ghana Shea Landscape Emission Reductions Project

The project aims to restore 471,500 hectares of land in Ghana's Northern Savannah Zone to achieve 6.139 million tCO2e in emission reductions over seven years and 25.24 million tCO2e over 20 years. Key interventions include restoring 200,000 hectares of savannah forests under community management (CREMA), restoring 100,000 hectares of shea parklands through public-private partnerships, and establishing 18,500 hectares of Modified Taungya System (MTS) plantations in forest reserves. The project specifically targets the empowerment of 20,000 women collectors by increasing their incomes by 30-50% through improved shea value chain efficiencies. Total financing is 54,546,775 USD, with 30,100,000 USD requested as a grant from the Green Climate Fund.

• The project targets a total of 6.139 million tCO2e in emission reductions and removals during its first seven years, increasing to 25.24 million tCO2e over a 20-year lifespan.
• The Northern Savannah Zone (NSZ) experienced a loss of 77% of its forest cover between 2001 and 2015, with 1,058,492 hectares deforested, resulting in annual emissions of 3,568,400 tCO2e.
• The project will restore 200,000 hectares of off-reserve savannah forests and woodlands under community management in Community Resource Management Areas (CREMA), while protecting an additional 220,000 hectares of degraded forest and grasslands from fire.
• To restore degraded shea parklands, the project will plant 1.75 million shea trees and 400,000 other high-value tree species, utilizing grafting and propagation techniques to reduce the fruiting period to between 2 and 4 years.
• The project aims to increase the income of 20,000 women shea collectors by 30% to 50% by organizing them into cooperatives and improving the efficiency of collection, processing, and storage.
• In forest reserves, the project will establish 18,500 hectares of Modified Taungya System (MTS) plantations, benefiting 13,000 farmers who will receive access to land for agriculture and a share of timber sales.
• The project will implement an integrated monitoring system to complete Ghana's national REDD+ architecture, including the National Forest Monitoring System (NFMS) and the Safeguards Information System (SIS).
• Total project financing is 54,546,775 USD, consisting of a 30,100,000 USD grant from the Green Climate Fund and 24,446,775 USD in co-financing from the Forestry Commission, private sector companies, and UNDP.
• The project will directly benefit 100,200 people (78,850 women and 21,350 men) and indirectly benefit 540,200 inhabitants in the project area.
• The project addresses several barriers to sustainable management, including ineffective forest management in reserves, inefficient shea value chains, and the lack of sustainable wood supply for charcoal production, where 70% of Ghanaian households rely on wood fuel.

APA

Green Climate Fund (2020). Ghana Shea Landscape Emission Reductions Project. https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/fp137-undp-ghana_0.pdf

Chicago

Green Climate Fund. Ghana Shea Landscape Emission Reductions Project. 2020. https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/fp137-undp-ghana_0.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Green Climate Fund |title=Ghana Shea Landscape Emission Reductions Project |date=21 August 2020 |url=https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/fp137-undp-ghana_0.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{greenclimatefund2020ghana, author = {{Green Climate Fund}}, title = {{Ghana Shea Landscape Emission Reductions Project}}, institution = {Green Climate Fund}, year = {2020}, month = aug, url = {https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/fp137-undp-ghana_0.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }