Hello Anne and List,

Many thanks to you, Anne. Hello List - I am sharing this with you, in the hope
that we might get some ideas that we could work with here, in our still
largely-pristine little and forested corner, of the planet Earth! :)



" Dear Kofi,
I suggest you post your message directly to the group. Your membership has been
approved ... welcome :-)
Warm regards
Anne

________________________________________
Date: Sun, 10 May 2009 19:32:50 +0000
From: peakofithompson@...
Subject: Re: Yahoo! Groups: Welcome to ClimateChangeAction. Visit today!
To: ClimateChangeAction-owner@...
CC: marian@...; kaadam@...; wbonsu@...
Dear Moderator,

Many thanks for approving our request to join your global climate change action
group. Our family has farmed in parts of the Eastern Region of Ghana since 1914
from the British colonial era, when our grandfather bought his first farm (at
Ntchawra, near Adukrom-Akwapim).

At the moment, we are desperate to find a way to get the fringe forest community
at Akim Abuakwa Juaso, which lies at the foothills of the Atiwa mountain range,
to see the benefits of conservation, at a time of global climate change. The
rain forest there (where one of the only two uplands evergreen forest reserves
in Ghana is located) is under threat from illegal loggers, and more ominously,
recently, from renewed surface gold mining.

Many farmers at Akim Abuakwa Juaso have sold their land to the mining company
(Solar Mining) operating in the area, mainly because they are so desperately
poor. Consequently, we are keen to find a way of leveraging some of the schemes
that pay landowners for conservation and for eco-systems services – so that they
can see that it can benefit them financially to hold on to their farmland and
conserve the rain forest at Juaso. Perhaps you and the members of the list can
help us – by giving us some ideas as to how to proceed?

You can read an article in my blog about the current situation prevailing at our
section of the Atiwa range rain forest:
http://wwwghanapolitics.blogspot.com/2009/04/let-us-preserve-atewa-range-rain-fo\
rest.html

Thank you once again for allowing us to join your list - and regards.

Best wishes,

Kofi."