International Non-Governmental Organisations and Environmental Policies in Ghana: The Case of “Save Atewa Forest” Campaign

Abstract

Since the 1990s, NGOs have become prominent actors in environmental politics across the world. However, studies on NGOs in Ghana have primarily focused on their socio-economic services such that NGOs engagement in environmental policies in the country is barely researched. To address this gap, the current study examined the influence of international NGOs on environmental policies in Ghana using the NGOs campaign to influence government policies on the Atewa Range Forest Reserve as the case for the study. The study examined NGOs strategies, their relationship with the government, and their level of influence on policies relating to Atewa Forest. Drawing on the Four C’s Model of NGO-Government relations, the study discovered that NGO-government relation was cooperative from 2012 to 2017. Both parties shared similar policy end goals and means. However, the relationship from 2018 to 2020 is confrontational as the government changed its policy end goal to allow for bauxite mining in the forest reserve. Using an adapted framework of Betsill and Corell’s (2008) qualitative framework to analyse NGO influence, the study revealed that NGOs exerted low-level influence on government policies and were unable to achieve their substantive end goal of pursuing the government to upgrade the status of the forest reserve to a national park. Significant conditions affecting the NGOs’ inability to influence policies include; conflicting interest in the use of Atewa Forest and the absence of massive civil society and public support. The study highlights the need for transparency and robust engagement among the various stakeholders on environmental policies to avoid confrontations in the future.