As the European Union-funded Landscapes and Environmental Agility Across the Nation (LEAN) project comes to an end after four years of implementation, a strong call has been made to the government of Ghana to institutionalize land restoration as a core mandate in local development planning, especially in the savannah ecological zone.
Joseph Edwin Yelkabong, Project Manager for World Vision’s LEAN project, is urging that all districts in this vulnerable region integrate deliberate restoration strategies into their medium-term development plans.
Speaking to the media, Mr. Yelkabong emphasized the need for restoration to become a compulsory component of district planning frameworks. According to him, embedding these initiatives at the policy level would ensure that they transition from project-based efforts to long-term, district-led development priorities.
“I want to make a clarion call on government, especially other stakeholders in the restoration space that in designing projects, they should adopt the Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR). I also want to take this opportunity to call on the government to make it mandatory, especially districts that are within the Savannah, that during the preparation of their medium-term plans, they should deliberately ensure that they add the issue of restoration into those plans, which will, later on, be teased in their action plans for implementation. Assuming every district is able to regenerate five hectares of land every year, then you realize that in a very short period, we’ll see some level of forest cover returning”, the Project Manager for World Vision’s LEAN project stated.
The LEAN project was launched in May 2021 and implemented by a consortium of four organizations working across Ghana’s three major ecological zones. Rainforest Alliance led activities in the high forest zone, EcoCare Ghana and Tropenbos International co-implemented in the transitional zone, while World Vision Ghana focused on the savannah landscape, particularly in the West Gonja District in the Savannah Region and the Kassena-Nankana West District in the Upper East Region. The initiative aimed to support national biodiversity goals and improve climate resilience, livelihoods, and environmental governance.
A significant portion of World Vision’s efforts under the LEAN project centered around the adoption and scale-up of Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR), a low-cost, community-led land restoration technique that empowers farmers to protect and manage naturally occurring trees and shrubs.
Initially combining tree planting with FMNR, the project shifted emphasis entirely toward the latter after observing high mortality rates of planted seedlings in the extremely dry conditions of the savannah. This strategic pivot resulted in the successful regeneration of over 412 hectares of degraded land, much of it in Kassena-Nankana West. Field assessments show a clear contrast between FMNR-managed lands and untreated areas, highlighting the model’s effectiveness.
Farmers who adopted FMNR reported increases in soil fertility and crop yields, attributing the gains to reduced tree felling and improved microclimates on their farms. This was especially critical in a period when the rising cost of fertilizers had made conventional farming inputs less accessible.
Mr. Yelkabong noted that FMNR offers a practical, affordable solution to both land degradation and food insecurity in the face of climate change. Beyond ecological restoration, the LEAN project tackled economic vulnerability in rural communities through innovative livelihood interventions. The Savings for Transformation (S4T) model introduced by World Vision enabled community members to form self-managed savings groups, pooling financial resources and accessing small loans to support micro-enterprises.
As of the last monitoring exercise, 65 such groups had mobilized over GH₵1 million, most of which was actively disbursed as loans. Numerous beneficiaries, especially women, have shared stories of using these loans to expand small businesses and stabilize their households financially.
Complementing the financial empowerment model was the distribution of over 700 nanny goats and sheep to selected households. These animals provided additional livelihood options and a form of climate-adaptive income security. Beneficiaries have since reported successful breeding, with herds multiplying and becoming a dependable economic buffer amid unpredictable weather conditions.
To ensure the continuity of environmental governance after the project, World Vision supported the formation of two landscape management boards at the district level. These boards include traditional authorities, community representatives, and officials from decentralized government units, forming a grassroots-driven structure for environmental oversight. Their mandate is to ensure that restoration and conservation efforts are maintained and scaled even after external funding ends.
Mr. Yelkabong underscored that the LEAN project’s impact has been both tangible and far-reaching, though he acknowledged that no project achieves 100 percent of its targets. Still, he expressed confidence in the legacy the initiative is leaving behind—one that offers a model for climate resilience, community empowerment, and sustainable land use.
Source: A1Radioonline.com|101.1Mhz|Joshua Asaah
