Introduction
Funded by the Ecosystem Services for Poverty Alleviation (ESPA) research programme, we are a research consortium combining the academic skills and practical knowledge of the University of Oxford, the University of Reading, the Institute of Zoology (IoZ), the Nature Conservation Research Centre (NCRC) in Ghana, the Forest Research Institute of Ghana (FORIG), Ghana Forestry Commission and the Environment and Coffee Forest Forum (ECFF) in Ethiopia. Together we have several years of experience in ecosystem-based and sociological research across tropical systems.
The overarching question of this project tackles the ecological limits of poverty alleviation, focusing specifically around the smallholder production of coffee in Ethiopia and cocoa in Ghana.
Study Sites
Both of our research sites are well-known protected areas surrounded by agriculturally active populations. In Ghana, we are exploring the ecological and potential yield benefits of cocoa agro-forestry systems located at different distances from the forest edge of Kakum National Park in Ghana's Central Region. In Ethiopia, we are looking at semi-forest coffee production along an elevation and patch-size gradient in proximity to the Yayu UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in the Illubabor Region of Ethiopia.
Funded by the Ecosystem Services for Poverty Alleviation (ESPA) research programme, we are a research consortium combining the academic skills and practical knowledge of the University of Oxford, the University of Reading, the Institute of Zoology (IoZ), the Nature Conservation Research Centre (NCRC) in Ghana, the Forest Research Institute of Ghana (FORIG), Ghana Forestry Commission and the Environment and Coffee Forest Forum (ECFF) in Ethiopia. Together we have several years of experience in ecosystem-based and sociological research across tropical systems.
The overarching question of this project tackles the ecological limits of poverty alleviation, focusing specifically around the smallholder production of coffee in Ethiopia and cocoa in Ghana.
Study Sites
Both of our research sites are well-known protected areas surrounded by agriculturally active populations. In Ghana, we are exploring the ecological and potential yield benefits of cocoa agro-forestry systems located at different distances from the forest edge of Kakum National Park in Ghana's Central Region. In Ethiopia, we are looking at semi-forest coffee production along an elevation and patch-size gradient in proximity to the Yayu UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in the Illubabor Region of Ethiopia.