Assessments in Ghana: integrating ecological indicators with local perceptions.

This research focuses on the measurement of land degradation within savannah woodlands, in a complex semi-arid environment, in the Upper East Region of Ghana. In a region where inhabitants depend upon natural resources for their livelihoods, degradation of such resources is a serious threat to the sustainability of a subsistence lifestyle. A central problem for academics, researchers and decision makers regards getting a better understanding of the relationship between environmental change and social change. Through the integration of key ecological and social data, this study aims to assess and increase our understanding of the relationship between people and their environment. In turn, this better understanding could enable the stakeholders – the indigenous population, tribal leaders, farmers, decision makers, politicians etc. – to explore ways of making this symbiotic relationship more positive. Therefore strategies for environmental improvement and ensuring sustainability can be promoted. Ecological data and local perceptions studies were collated at three savannah woodland sites; Nayoko, Binduri and Kuka. Comparisons between sites were possible through using a variety of analytical techniques including; descriptive statistics, ANOVA tables, Detrended Correspondence Analysis (DCA), linear regression, and comparisons between social data. Local perceptions data was mainly used to generate key profiles contextual t