POPULATION DYNAMICS AND LAND USE: A LESSON FOR GHANA.

1.1 Introduction:

Global land use has significantly changed in the past decades. “Historically, the driving force for most land use changes is population growth although there are several interacting factors involved” (Lambin et al., 2001, 2003). A populated area consists of  good variety of independent activities and the choice of location of these activities are normally made after an assessment of the relative advantages of various locations for the performance of the activities in question, given the general framework and knowledge prevailing. This phenomenon is unfolding in different forms and intensities in different cities such as Lagos, Nigeria; Francistown, Botswana; and Manila, Philippines (UNCHS, 2006). This is a result of variations in population growth, land tenure systems, levels of technology and planning regulations. Developments in Ghana is experiencing similar growth pressures with development characterized by multi-purpose land uses for residential, commercial, agricultural, civic and culture. The objective of this piece is to look at the relationship between population changes and land use.
1.2 An Overview of Population and Land Use Relationship:

From 1990 to the year 2020, a total of approximately 14 million hectares of land (approx. 475,000 ha/yr.) in developing countries will be converted for urban purposes (Queen et al, 2003). The environmental implications of population processes have been most carefully examined within the context of developing countries.  This focus can be partially justified by the fact that much of the population within some of these regions continue to rely upon local environmental resources for subsistence. Fulfilling the resource requirements of a growing population ultimately requires some form of land-use change, be it to provide for the expansion of food production through forest clearing, to intensify production on already cultivated land, or to develop the infrastructure necessary to support increasing human numbers.  As such, it is clear that population is associated with changes in land use, although political forces, cultural values, institutional histories, and other mediating factors ultimately shape the association within any particular geographic context.

In Rwanda, high population densities have been linked to the conversion of marginal lands, such as steep hillsides, to agricultural use (May, 1995).  Similar conclusions have been reached in Zaire, DR Congo (Shapiro, 1995).  The influence of mediating factors on the association between population and land use change is evident in Honduras, where research suggests that environmental destruction is due more to inequality of resource distribution and patterns of economic development than to population pressures per se (DeWalt et al. 1993). Demonstrating the influence of political forces, government sponsored transmigration projects have resulted in the deforestation of at least 750,000 hectares per year in Indonesia (Fearnside, 1997).  Finally, in South America, a mixture of policy, poverty, and demographic pressures has been found responsible for much of the deforestation of the Brazilian Amazon (Moran, 1992).

A study by United States’ Department of Commerce, in the California portion of the Mojave Desert encompassing approximately 7,400,000 hectares with over 450,000 people, on human dimensions of land-use change in 2001 reviews that human population (increasing from nearly 70,000 in 1970 to over 300,000 in 1990) represents a key driver of environmental change within the area. The study demonstrates that the increased habitat pressures brought to bear upon the natural landscape as a result of population growth, densities, and related development patterns.  In particular, higher density development implies significantly more habitat conflict.

The European Union Population and Land Use Journal, indicates that “recent decades have seen the closure of many farms and the loss of 2 million jobs in rural areas. This has significantly altered the pattern of population distribution. It has been calculated that the combined effect of urbanization and mobility in Europe’s most densely populated countries causes built-up areas to increase by 2% every 10 years”. With continuing proliferation of human influences on landscapes, there is mounting incentive to undertake quantification of relationships between spatial patterns of human populations and vegetation. Annually, population growth adds 78,000,000 more people to the planet while 27,000,000 tons of topsoil is lost (Cascade Mountain Institute, 2013). 

An evidence from both Thailand and China indicates that the number of household units may be a more important determinant of land use than the number of people per se (Entwisle 2001). This result seems plausible because the number of household units may drive the actual micro-level patterns of consumption more closely than the number of people. To the extent households are the main consumers of vegetative resources, particularly in the form of fuel wood and fodder, greater numbers of households should result in decreased land devoted to vegetation. Thus at the local community level, change in the number of households may have a stronger influence on changes in land use than change in the number of people.

1.3 A Case Study of Ghana:

As with many African countries, Ghana’s population is growing fast. The results of the 2010 Population and Housing Census (PHC) showed that the total population of Ghana is 24,658,823. The results indicated that Ghana’s population increased by 30.4 percent over the 2000 population figure of 18,912,079. The recorded annual intercensal growth rate in 2010 was 2.5 percent as against 2.7 percent recorded in 2000. This is lower than the rate for West Africa (2.9%), but higher than the global rate (1.5%). It also showed an increase in population density from 79 people per square km in 2000 to 103 per square km in 2010.

Interestingly, migration has caused some communities to grow at double the rate of other towns and cities. Such growth is mostly due to the communities’ favourable location within the transport network and its economic importance. Other considerations in the growth rate of Ghana relates to the internal growth of cities resulting from high birth rates. Population is not evenly distributed spatially anywhere. While there are pockets of heavy concentrations, there are equally vast lands which are sparsely populated or largely uninhabited. A number of factors account for this and they include climatic, vegetational cover and topographical factors which primarily determine the availability of habitable land, water and fertile soils. These factors are affected by human decisions and actions which sometimes apportion land for different uses, such as natural reserves, industrial use, parks and gardens etc. While the natural environment presents challenges and opportunities for human habitation, it is the human population that ultimately determines which place they would finally settle, based on their level of technology and the decisions they make.

In Ghana, the natural environment has, to an appreciable extent, affected the spatial location of people. For example, the Akwapim and Kwahu topographical landscape has posed challenges and physical barriers to the creation of settlements. Road network, especially feeder roads, becomes unmotorable during rainy seasons on the Akwapim and Kwahu ridges. This condition tends to prohibit frequent migration of people to these ridges for permanent habitation. At the same time, the construction of the Akosombo dam and the subsequent creation of the Volta Lake, for example, displaced and relocated a sizeable population that originally was living along the Volta River. Similarly, natural disasters affect the pattern of population distribution. The outbreak of diseases could affect population distribution, as in the case of the onchocerciasis zone in the middle belt along the Black Volta basin and the prevalence of river blindness, sleeping sickness brought about by the black fly. Although efforts have been done to help curb these environmentally related diseases (Taylor et al, 2009), however the areas noted for onchocerciasis have not attracted large populations to take advantage of the vast lands for agricultural activities.

Historically, population distribution has followed the spatial pattern of ethnic groupings which dates back to the period before colonisation, especially during the slave trade era, when the location of particular ethnic groups, to some extent, determined their source of protection. Following colonisation and subsequent development of the coastal ports and harbours as well as the forest belt, the northern territories, now made up of Northern, Upper East and Upper West, became a major source of labour for the forest agricultural belt and key mining centres down south. A major feature of the population distribution trends in Ghana is the active conversion of subsistence agricultural holdings into housing estates, industrial estates, infrastructure, schools, offices, shops, recreational grounds and related urban uses. Clearly, the spatial population distribution has over the years had relevant implications for spatial development (land use) and vice-versa.
1.3.1 Key Causes and Implication:

The continuous change in land use of areas is an utmost concern of planners and decision-makers. These changes come about as a result of rapid increase in population and the ever increasing demand on land which poses a great deal of challenge to existing land use. The unplanned expansion of areas and encroachment by people for various purposes also contribute to land use changes. Most developers do not acquire permits to change the use of a property in a designated zone. In Ghana, authorities recognize these changes when adverse effects have been created and much cannot be done to mitigate them. It is undeniable that the transformation is initiated by the market forces of demand and supply and evidence point to the fact that if authorities do not take into consideration this obvious development of rural and urban areas, then the invasion of commercial land uses rate will rapidly reduce the residential land use in areas and eventually lead to the creation of an unprecedented commercial centre. The effects of land use change culminate in high cost of a plot of land and multiple selling of a piece of land and development of unauthorised structures, slums and squatter settlements.

1.4 The Way Forward:

Based on the above literature, the following recommendations have been put forth to help make population and land use contribute to the development of Ghana.

• Coordination and Collaboration of Land Use Planning Stakeholders

Institutions such as Town and Country Planning Department (TCPD), Building Inspectorate Division and Finance Department play key roles in the management of physical development and hence the need for an enhanced coordination. TCPD, even though is responsible for physical planning, should as well take special interest in the implementation of the plans. There is the need for these institutions to be brought to function together under one platform to ensure that the implementations of plans are enforced as expected. It can be inferred that physical development is not an institution’s business but a whole array of actors with each having its own interests. Thus, any effort to make it better requires an active involvement of these institutions collaborating with each other. More so, the capacity of the institutions needs to be given the necessary boost to make them function effectively.

• Revision of Existing Planning Scheme

It is quite evident that, the changing pattern of land use will always occur at a point of population growth. There is therefore the need to review existing planning schemes and make appropriate allocations for emerging land uses. The revision must allocate alternative sites for the provision of community facilities like market, roads, schools, open space to enhance the modus vivendi of the people. A designated commercial corridors and parking areas will help solve congestion problem especially in the urban areas. Again, designated funeral grounds as well as public recreational grounds and play grounds need to be rectified for balance physical development. This can help solve frequent blocking of roads for funeral ceremonies.

• Effective Monitoring and Evaluation Mechanisms

As development proceeds, an effective monitoring and evaluation ‘follow up mechanisms’ must be done by the Building Inspectorate Division together with the Town and Country Planning Department to ensure early detection of unauthorised developments. Also, community development watchdog units must be established with authorization to direct orderly development in various communities.

• Continuous Public Education on Physical Development

The TCPD should engage in a continuous and intensive public education on the processes involved in carrying out physical development. Stakeholders especially the traditional authorities and developers should be sensitized on how to play their roles effectively to ensure orderly physical development. It is believed that a continuous and intensive public education can go a long way to preclude unauthorised development.

•  Intensify Education on Family Planning

Education about family planning must be made common. This is one of the most key measures to check the rapid population growth. The Family Planning Campaign should be a community movement instead of national campaign. People must be made aware of the different methods of birth control. Thus, the awareness and education of family planning among the people can help to increase the mean age of marriage, increase the knowledge about family planning methods and family welfare measures to control births, reduce the rapidity of child birth and thereby reduce the birth rate.

Reference:

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Moran, E.F. (1992). Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon, Occassional Paper No. 10, Series on Environment and Development, Indiana University, Bloomington.

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Taylor, M.J., K. Awadzi, and N. Biritwum (2009). Onchocerciasis Control: Vision for the Future from a Ghanaian perspective. Retrieved on January 30^th 2013, from http://www.parasitesandvectors.com/content/2/1/7

United Nations Center for Human Settlements (2006). Habitat Report on the State of the Worlds Cities and Cities in the Globalizing World. Istanbul, Elsevier publications.