Impacts of climate change and mobile pastoralism on land use in semi-arid Ghana

This paper examines the impacts of climate change and mobile pastoralism on land use and land cover in semi-arid Ghana. A mixed methods approach, involving a household questionnaire survey, focus group discussions and key informant interviews, was employed in collecting primary data from 387 smallholder farmers. Landsat images were used to analyze land use and land cover change. The findings reveal that 99% of the respondents have witnessed severe changes in climate and pastoral movements over the past four decades, which has caused drastic alterations in environmental and resource conditions. The analysis reveals dynamic changes in land use and land cover over the studied time periods. Close and open woodlands experienced significant lost while agriculture, settlement and grassland increased. Also, water bodies witnessed an increase due to reduction in forest cover which exposed the bare land to satellite visibility. Factors driving these changes include rising temperature, declining rainfall, mobile pastoralism, urbanization, agricultural practices, and land management decisions. Such changes have implications for loss of the resources on which smallholders depend for their food security and livelihoods. Considering the changes in land cover, the study recommends agroforestry and agroecological practices to adaptation and enhance smallholder farmers’ livelihood.