Towards Reducing Deforestation in Ghana : A Cost-Benefit Analysis of Selected Land Use Changes

The study focuses on the country’s two main hydrological basins, Pra and Volta. In the Pra basin, the expansion of monoculture-based (mono) cocoa has contributed significantly to forest loss, biodiversity decline, and water resource depletion. In the Volta basin, agricultural expansion (such as, maize), charcoal production, and urbanization have been the main deforestation causes. Thus, the study focuses on the conversion of closed forests to mono cocoa in the Pra basin, and to maize in the Volta basin. It is important to note that the study is not an assessment of the hydrological impacts of current deforestation trends. Rather, it examines the hydrological impacts that would result from converting current forests to other land uses