10.26.21
A conservation agreement between the Jelinkon Community Resource Management Area (CREMA) and Koster Keunen West Africa (KKWA), leader of the beeswax market of the West African sub-region, binding the producers to adopt sustainable beekeeping practices and the Crema to preserve its ecosystems was inked on Oct. 20.
Backed by Northcode-Ghana and Noé, the contract also calls for the CREMA to preserve its ecosystems by restoring degraded areas, monitoring illegal activities, enforce the Crema regulations, in addition to carrying out environmental awareness and education campaigns. The KKWA also commits to buy high-quality beeswax from the Crema’s registered beekeepers at a premium rate, provide technical support and pay a conservation premium of beeswax purchased from Crema and into its conservation fund account.
The KKWA will thus ensure a sustainable supply chain for its business while CREMA enjoys conservation benefits and funding to support its conservation actions.
“This conservation agreement has taken Jelinkon to the international community, it is showing our good work and telling our story,” said CREMA Chairman, Joseph Kani Vaglikuolri. “Jelinkon is a united community. We will continue to unite and protect our forest and ensure that our children benefit also benefit from it. We are grateful to all our partners for supporting us with this project.”
Officials of Northcode-Ghana, KKWA, Noé, Wild Life Division of Forestry Commission, Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Sawla-Tuna Kalba District Assembly, the Jelinkon traditional chief and opinion leaders, and representatives of the Jelinkon CREMA executives and representatives of each beekeeping groups attended the historic signing ceremony.
The agreement is the seventh of such agreements signed under the econobio program and the first of conservation agreements linked to the beekeeping value chain being developed in the Mole Ecological Landscape. The agreement is a milestone achievement of the component of the econobio program led by Northcode-Ghana, which supports the beekeeping activities and organic vegetable farming benefiting directly more than 250 producers – more than half of which are women.
Located in the western fringe of the Mole National Park, CREMA is a community protected area with diverse fauna and flora dominated by shea and dawadawa trees that covers 14,560 harvested acres of community land. The Jelinkon CREMA, consisting of 10 communities with a devolution of management authority from the government of Ghana since 2008, have been working to protect their forest, land and other natural significant resources.
With support of Northcode-Ghana, a Ghanaian nongovernmental organization and Noé, a French international nongovernmental organization, through a program entitled, “Econobio” (which combines biodiversity conservation and sustainable value chain development through private sector collaboration), CREMA has been further empowered not only to conserve their territory but to engage sustainable beekeeping to diversify their income and to improve their living standards.
By collaborating with private companies like Koster Keunen West Africa, the project secures long-term agreements that guarantee technical support and market access for the producers of honey and beeswax and provide financial autonomy to the CREMA to undertake conservation actions.