Ghana Shea Landscapes (GSLERP)

Inside the project

GSLERP operates across Ghana's Northern Savannah Zone, targeting restoration of 471,500 ha of degraded land in the shea parklands. It is financed by the Global Environment Facility and implemented by UNDP together with Ghana's Forestry Commission. As a GEF programme it is not registered on a voluntary carbon market registry and is framed as landscape restoration aligned with REDD approaches.

The project plans to plant 1.75 million shea trees plus 400,000 indigenous trees, and to deliver 6.136 Mt CO2e in emission reductions over a seven-year period. Shea parklands provide both an ecological anchor and a livelihood commodity for northern Ghana.

The programme reports roughly 30,000 community beneficiaries, including 26 women's cooperatives, reflecting the central role of women in shea collection and processing across the zone.

Objectives

• Restore 471,500 ha of degraded land in the Northern Savannah Zone.
• Plant 1.75 million shea trees and 400,000 indigenous trees.
• Reduce 6.136 Mt CO2e over seven years.
• Benefit around 30,000 community members, including 26 women's cooperatives.
• Strengthen shea parkland livelihoods alongside restoration.

Approach

• The programme restores degraded savannah through shea and indigenous tree planting under a GEF-financed, REDD-aligned framework rather than a VCM registry. As a UN-implemented project, monitoring follows GEF and UNDP results and reporting requirements rather than a third-party carbon methodology.