A
research conducted by Strategic Development Alliance Ghana for Shea Network
Ghana (SNG) in nineteen (19) districts in the three regions of the north –Upper
West, Upper East and Northern Regions, has revealed that there is no specific
bye-law for the protection of shea trees.
The research revealed that,
only three (3) districts –Savelugu-Nanton Municipality, Wa East and Sissala
East District Assemblies had written and documented general bye-laws aimed at
protecting the environment and all other trees.
Mr. Chimsah Francis of Strategic
Development Alliance Ghana who presented the research findings at a stakeholder
meeting organised by SNG in Tamale, said the findings revealed, also that, none
of the 19 districts had their bye-laws gazetted. However, only the Savelugu-Nanton
Municipal Assembly, he noted, had passed bye-laws and was awaiting support to
gazette them.
The National Coordinator of SNG Iddi
Zakaria told Savannahnews, the network was very much concerned about
the level of destruction of shea trees, hence the decision to research on the existence
of bye-laws and ways to protect shea trees as well as other economic trees.
Mr. Zakaria admitted that, the continuous
destruction of shea trees had serious ramifications on the lives and
livelihoods of most rural dwellers, particularly women shea nut pickers and
butter processors who depended on it as source of food and income.
According to him, there was increasing felling
of shea trees to pave way for the creation of other tree plantation, for wood
works, fuel wood and charcoal production, stressing that, the economic value of
shea fruits was enormous and should be protected by all well-meaning citizens
in the Northern Savannah Ecological Zone.
He hinted that, SNG would soon organise a
stakeholder forum involving all actors in the shea nuts industry, ministries,
departments and agencies working in the environment sector as well as
metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies to share findings of the research
with them for appropriate validation.
The objective of that forum, Mr. Zakaria
stated, would be to seek the views of stakeholders on how to enact the
appropriate bye-laws for shea trees conservation and protection from total
extinction in the Northern Savannah Ecological Zone.
The research, nonetheless,
pointed out that about 80.8% of District Assemblies were willing to fund processes
involved in gazetting their bye-laws. Whereas 11.5 did not agree on the
Assemblies themselves funding the gazetting of their bye-laws, 7.3% of
respondents were uncertain.
In some communities also, it was a taboo according to the
research, for people to cut down shea trees. Those who defied this order were
fined by their chiefs to pay an amount of GHȼ200.00; hence the practice had
encouraged many community members to protect shea trees.
Many respondents including chiefs, District Assembly
officials, shea nut pickers and butter processors among others, maintained that
the biggest challenge towards the conservation of shea trees were charcoal
producers, lack of bye-laws and bush burning.
The economic importance of the shea tree cannot be over
emphasized.
A mature shea kernel contains about 61%
fat which when extracted is edible, and can serve medicinal as well as
industrial purposes.
It
is estimated that about 9.4 million shea trees are in Ghana, and these can
potentially yield one hundred tonnes of shea nuts worth about 100 million
United State dollars per year. Shea butter has been found to have a fat
composition similar to cocoa butter, and is used as a substitute for lard or
margarine because it makes a highly, pliable dough.
Shea
butter is also used in making soap and candles, and it is incorporated in
margarine formulations. After the oil is extracted, the residue serves as
excellent fuel, and can also be mixed with mud for plastering traditional mud
huts. The shea butter is known to be naturally rich in Vitamins A, E, and F, as
well as a number of other vitamins and minerals.
Meanwhile, SNG is a civil society
organization made up of shea actors along the value chain, and envisions a shea
industry in which there are increased equitable benefits for all actors along
the entire value chain. SNG is a 66 member organization; 219 shea cooperatives
and 7000 women shea butter processors in all three regions of the north.
Formed in 2010 through
multi-stakeholder actions of producers, non-governmental organizations and
government agencies, SNG among other things seeks to build and share
information and experiences on the shea industry; provide an equitable space
for engagements/discussions among shea sector stakeholders in a coordinated
way; contribute to shaping and sustaining a supportive policy and business
environment; and provide an institutionalized platform to support the
development of the shea industry.
SNG seeks to
be a civil society organisation, a voice for the sector, to be able to
represent the private sector in dialoguing with government so that the
pertinent issues in the shea industry are addressed. For instance, issues of low pricing,
inability to conserve shea parklands due to non-existent of specific bye-laws,
among other things are what SNG discusses at its fora.
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