Sustainability and security of intergenerational access to resources: participatory mapping studies in Ghana

After introducing Gabon's lush forests and its people, this chapter discusses indigenous knowledge and conservation-related beliefs among related peoples in Central Africa. The authors then describe the location, the timber company and the population where a test of criteria and indicators was conducted in 1998. Participatory mapping was used to examine security of intergenerational access to resources in the area, with emphasis on hunting, the impacts of roads and logging operations, and conflicts. The striking element in this study is the similarity of problems in this dramatically forest rich area to problems in other areas less well endowed with resources.