Why are ecologically sensitive areas (ESAs) in African cities encroached on? Unveiling the encroachers' outlook

Abstract

Ecologically sensitive areas (ESAs) support the sustainability of cities worldwide. Nevertheless, their encroachment by grey land uses in cities, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), has led to their sturdy deterioration. The current study assessed encroachers' appreciation of the utility of ESAs towards unpacking their motivation to encroach on these spaces. This has received limited scholarly attention. The study empirically focused on Kumasi, a rapidly urbanising city in Ghana, and adopted the convergent parallel mixed-method design to gather and analyse data. The results indicate that the encroachment phenomenon is not monolithic. Generally, encroachers were more aware of ESAs' provisioning and cultural functions than their regulating and ecosystem services. The results further revealed that urbanisation, the dual system of urban land management, and individuals' ignorance of the importance of ESAs were the main factors that contributed to the overall depletion of ESAs. The study found evidence of both ‘bold’ and ‘quiet’ encroachment where, on the one hand, some actors (particularly property developers) courageously encroached and consolidated their gains via political maneuvers, while on the other hand, ‘ordinary’ individuals incrementally and silently encroached due to limited housing and economical options. The paper concludes by recommending that policies and regulations designed to manage ESAs should move away from a brutal and violent enforcement approach to critically consider the perspective of encroachers. One critical strategy is to educate encroachers to enhance both their awareness and knowledge of the importance of ESAs.