Superstition and attitudes towards restoration of a mining-degraded forest reserve: Evidence from Ghana

Forest restoration has become a worldwide phenomenon to minimise the effects of climate change and global warming. However, in most cases, especially in Africa, communities around forests usually have a cultural attachment to these forests. Consequently, the preferences of fringing communities are important to ensure sustainable forest management. However, there seems to be a lack of understanding about how superstition may affect the attitudes of local communities towards forest restoration. This study aimed to examine the effect of superstition on household attitudes and preferences for restoring the Bonsa River Forest Reserve. Primary data was collected from 611 respondents in the Prestea-Huni Valley Municipality in the Western Region of Ghana and were analysed using mixed logit (ML) and generalized multinomial logit (G-MNL) models. The findings revealed that very superstitious respondents preferred the tree species attributes but did not prefer the soil amendment, backfilling of mined-out areas and biodiversity attributes. These results indicate that local community superstitions should be incorporated into the planning and decision-making process regarding forest restoration management.