Empowering Ghanaian communities to conserve their forests through a private-sector-led payment for ecosystem services mechanism

Nguyen, P.M.; Talsma, T.; Reymondin, L.; Vantalon, T.; Molina, L.; Kyeretwie, B.N.S.; Adzi, G.B.; Nguyen Perperidis, E. (2025) Empowering Ghanaian communities to conserve their forests through a private-sector-led payment for ecosystem services mechanism. Study #AFR - 2414. Rome (Italy): Bioversity International; Cali (Colombia): CIAT. 4 p.

The Landscapes for Cocoa Livelihoods project reduced deforestation by 71% over 1,044 hectares in Ghana's Tano Offin Forest Reserve, conserving 6,911 tons of CO2 equivalent, 65,303 m³ of water recharge, and 39 hectares of biodiverse landscape over a period of 1 year (July 1st 2023 – June 30th 2024). This project demonstrates the scaling potential of a private-sector-funded Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) model, where cacao-producing communities conserve the forest in exchange for collective rewards that improve every household’s living conditions.