Influencing factors of wetland utilisation
The study has revealed that a number of factors serve as triggering ones for people who decided to exploit and use wetland resources. Of the nine factors listed, most respondents identified climate change as the most influencing factor. It obtained a coefficient of 2.71; this was followed closely by household income status, which recorded a coefficient of 3.17 whiles soil fertility on site placed third with a coefficient of 3.32. These results imply that climate change, households' income status, and soil fertility around the wetlands banks are the most influential factors of wetland utilisation in all communities.
Climate change as an influencing factor is linked to the impacts of climate change on agriculture and food security, which necessitates the adoption/reliance on wetland agriculture as coping strategies of climate change. Expanding land under cultivation is the primary means farmers in sub–Saharan Africa adopt to increase agriculture output and, for that matter, food availability. Consequently, farmers have resorted to reducing the length of fallow periods whiles also venturing into the cultivation of virgin areas such as wetlands, all in their bid to ameliorate the impacts of climate change to their mainstream. (Turyahabwe, Kakuru, Tweheyo, & Tumusiime, 2013)
The soil fertility around wetlands was also an influencing factor due to their ability to support traditional farming livelihood. This result means that; most cultivators of wetlands spaces find it advantageous to do their off-season cropping activities around wetlands not necessarily because of access to water but also the rich nutrients of their soils to support plant life. Therefore, this service of wetlands informed people's decision over millennia ago to settle close to and scramble for wetlands spaces. This finding also reinforces that of Verhoeven and Setter (2009). These authors stated that the flood plains of Mesopotamia, often regarded as the cradle of human civilisation, were regarded as a valuable field for both food and fodder production because of their fertility following the deposition of sediments after flooding. Wetlands floodplains abound in fertile soils and quality water. They are sources of food and other agricultural products such as fuel and fibre directly through agricultural production activities that take place within them, such as in rice paddies, coastal grazing marshes, recession agriculture and aquaculture in large floodplains, and cropping of small seasonal wetlands. They also indirectly support agriculture by, providing fertile soils and reliable supplies of good quality water (Ramsar Convention Secretariat, 2014).
Another identified influencing factor identified by the study was the income levels of household. It was largely established that more impoverished household depended more on wetlands services and products for survival than well to do households. This finding is supported by the Brundtland report (WCED 1986), which established a clear linkage between economic deprivation and environmental degradation emanating from unsustainable exploitation and natural resource use. This finding of the study and those of other researchers' point to the importance of wetlands to Yemo, Bunglung, Nabogu and Kukobila communities in Ghana. The Northern region of Ghana, which is home to the Savelugu Municipality, where the communities above are located, is classified among the top 3 poorest regions in Ghana, for which reason dependence on ecosystems such as wetlands is high (Ghana Statistical Service, 2015).
This study further revealed that most households were engaged in exploiting natural resources from wetlands to soaring up their income levels. Whiles others were into the collection and sale of water, other respondents caught and sold fish, a handful was into making craft and handicraft from wetland products. Thus, the study concludes that the well-off a household is, the less likely it is that it would engage in wetland exploitation and vice versa. According to David & Bernardete (2009), most rural poor are dependent on natural resources to generate their livelihoods, thus creating a clear and close linkage between poverty and natural resource dependence. In the work of Bharadwaj (2015), poor people are said to rely more directly on the environment for their survival than the rich. This finding confirms the results that household income level is an influencing factor of wetland utilisation in the study area.
Wetland services and livelihoods
From the analysis of primary data obtained on the three wetlands, it was revealed that residents found wetlands to be especially important to them to provide grounds for crop production and animal rearing, water provision for domestic use and sale, and products sedge. It is worth stating that whiles some of these services existed throughout the year, residents found wetlands to be a crucial coping measure to them during the dry season, that period of the year when all mainstream agricultural activities are over. This was said to be when services such as harvesting of building materials such as sedge/reed, water collection, and crop cultivation on wetland banks are mostly done. This finding is in conformance with the work of Gasu (2014), who indicated that the Fadama and Akuro wetlands in Nigeria have been used for dry season farming and have contributed significantly to food crop production in the country, particularly in the arid and semi-arid regions. They are said to have potentials for dry season farming activities for crops such as rice, maise, yam, okra, pepper, poultry farming, market gardening, fish farming, and green pastures grazing animals throughout the year and raw materials for handcraft.
According to Wood (2016), wetlands are an important water source for domestic use and crop production during the dry season. The Bunglung, Nabogu and Kukobila wetlands were found to have influenced most fringe communities' livelihood options. All respondents affirmed the widely held assertion that wetlands influence the kinds of livelihood options existing in their fringe communities. Of the 300 respondents of the study, 218 representing 72.6% were engaged in agriculture with crop production overshadowing animal rearing) and fishing, whiles five people were into craft making using predominantly sedge/reed and other material from wetlands. This result implies that most of the study communities engaged in livelihood activities that are largely dependent on the wetlands in their communities and thus have their livelihood options determined by these ecosystems. This conclusion was further weighted when 44% and 66% agreed and strongly agreed respectively to the question seeking to ascertain their degree of agreements. This conclusion is affirmed by Costanza & Farber (1985), who argued that wetlands are a source of employment opportunities. They further stated that raw materials sourced from wetlands provide jobs to those employed in the commercial fishing, specialty food, and cosmetic industries. As such, billions of dollar industries depend on wetlands to flourish.
More than a billion people worldwide make a living directly from wetlands through activities such as fishing, rice farming or handicraft (GRID-Arendal, 2016). An earlier work by the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2005) also affirms this assertion. It estimated that about 1.5 - 3 billion people worldwide depend on wetlands as a source of drinking water and food and livelihood security. People living in or on the wetlands' borders often depend partially or entirely on wetland ecosystem services for their livelihoods. As a result, wetlands loss or degradation harms the people directly (Williams, 2006).
The role of wetlands in the livelihood activities of the poor is vital in developing countries. An important example is that of the Pace Wetland in Uganda, from which more than 50% of the monthly income of dependent populations is obtained. About 40% of Mahakam Delta households in Indonesia have their livelihoods dependent on mangrove wetlands (Lamsal 2015). Convention on Biological Diversity (2016) indicated that one billion households in Asia, Africa and the Americas depend on rice growing and processing for their main livelihoods. It also noted that over 660 million people depend on fishing and aquaculture for a living, while medicinal plants, dyes, fruits, reeds and grasses are just a few of the wetland products that provide jobs, especially in developing countries. These key facts summarise the importance of wetlands to rural community livelihoods.
Contribution of wetlands to food security and poverty reduction
Food Security, according to Food and Agriculture Organisation (2003) exists when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.
The fourth objective of the study was to examine the contribution of wetlands in addressing household food security needs. To ascertain this, respondents first had to rate their household's food security situation and subsequently measure the extent to which wetlands contribute to the situation. About 79% of households considered for the study considered their household to be food secured, implying that they had adequate access to food for their well-being throughout the year. Subsequently, 73% out of the total of 79% food secured households attributed their food security situation to be due to their reliance and use of resources from wetlands.
Direct/specific contribution of wetlands to respondents' food security situations was also solicited. The outcomes were fertile soil for agriculture, fish for consumption, Income generation from the sale of handicrafts and wetland related products, use of wetlands for tree nursery development, and wetlands' ability to influence rainfall. In most parts of the world, rural communities suffer from seasonal variations in food supply and the "hungry season" is a key feature of life for many millions of people. This has necessitated using the drainage of wetlands or areas with seepage water or a high-water table to produce food crops in the dry season (Wood, 2016). There is evidence that wetland agriculture has contributed to many societies' well-being worldwide over the centuries and even millennia. For example, archaeological work in Central America has indicated that Mayan wetland agriculture dates back 3000 years (Gray & Mary, 1994).
Interviews granted by Agriculture Extension Agents of the Savelugu Municipal Department of Agriculture, wetlands annually contribute to fresh vegetables such as okra, chilli pepper, amaranths, cucumber, green pepper and cabbage at comparatively lower cost in the local markets. These they indicate contribute to ensuring food availability in the Municipality, thus curbing inflation in the local markets. The local communities around the Kukobila wetlands exploit its plants' resources, such as the pigweed (Ipomoea aquatic), to prepare soup for human consumption while exploiting other grasses for fencing and roofing their houses (Obodai & Nsor, 2009).
All three wetlands, according to respondents, were contributing to ameliorating the impacts of poverty on them. Specifically, on food security, this study's wetlands contributed significantly to boosting the availability and protein intake in the fringe communities and beyond. Wetlands as sources of protein received an overwhelming endorsement (98%), with the common source of protein being fish, amphibians such as monitor lizards, frogs, toad and tortoise, and rats. According to Obodai & Nsor (2009), the Kukobila wetland has animal resources such as fish, amphibians, birds and other mammals, all of which serve as sources of protein for the inhabitants. It is estimated that about one billion people worldwide over predominantly in developing countries, rely on fish as their primary or sole daily source of animal protein. This result further establishes wetlands as important ecosystems in ensuring food security, especially among the poor ( Ramsar Convention Secretariat, 2008).
Wetlands services and products subjected to the Willingness to Pay (WTP) approach were cropping (per acre), fishing (per day), water (per drum), building materials (per donkey chart), grazing (per day), medicinal herbs (per bucket), game (per kilo) and animal watering (per bucket). Average quotations by all 300 respondents of the study revealed that respondents were willing to pay as much as about US$ 5.53 to access a bucket of medicinal plants. And as low as about US$ 0.52 for a bucket of water for animal watering. For cropping, which is the most use of wetlands, respondents were willing to pay as much as about US$ 3.11 to access an acre of lands around wetlands for cultivation.
Factors threatening the sustainability of wetlands
Although wetland protection is now officially a priority for 170 nations that have ratified the Ramsar Convention as of February 2018, wetlands continue to be under threat of being drained and reclaimed. In the midst of this, human has been identified as very culpable. Respondents of the study also indicated that wetlands were being degraded predominantly as a result of anthropogenic factors. They arrived at this conclusion having indicated observed changes in quality and quantity of goods and services sourced over the years. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (2001), human activities have caused wetland degradation and loss by changing water quality, quantity, and flow rates through increased pollutant inputs and changing species composition due to some disturbance. These human activities by the EPA are broadly characterised into three; (1) hydrological alteration through channelisation, diking and damming to form ponds and lakes, (2) pollute inputs such as fertiliser, human sewage, animal waste, road salts and pesticides and (3) vegetation damage such as grazing pressures and peat mining.
According to Masese, Kwena, & Raburu (2012), the threats of wetlands can be classified into the following; (1) Biological alterations- this includes the removal of wetland flora and fauna (2) Chemical alterations- which is as a result of the release of pollutants and toxic chemicals into wetlands resulting in a change in nutrient balance (3) Physical degradation- this includes infilling, draining, dredging, stream channelisation, peat mining, grazing, waste dumping and damming. Therefore, it is evident from the study that anthropogenic factors are largely to blame for the degradation of wetlands, as other studies have also stated.
The threats to wetlands continuous existence and provision of essential services and products to inhabitants were also considered in the study. Grazing pressures, bushfires, tree felling/grass harvesting, crude fishing methods, channel incision, waste disposal practices (e.g. laundry, plastic pollution), farming methods/practices, water abstraction and sand winning as a threat to wetlands were examined. This examination revealed that Bushfires was the most severe threat to wetlands ecosystems, followed by channel incision, waste disposal, crude fishing methods and unsustainable farming methods/practices.
On bush fires, most respondents, including the Municipal Department of Agriculture and the Municipal Assembly represented by the Planning Coordinating Unit, ranked bushfires as the most recorded threat and thus considered it the most severe of all threats. This was attributed to farmers, hunters and children who farm or hunt game along the wetlands banks. Interestingly during the field visits of this research, it was observed that hunters made up of children and adults were seen setting bushes along the Bunglung human-made wetland on fire to facilitate their hunting activities. Bush burning aside destroying the immediate vegetative surroundings of wetlands also pre-exposes wetlands to other factors of environmental degradation.
Wetlands channelisation, especially in the dry season for agriculture and obsolete drawing water methods for irrigation purposes, was identified as a threat to wetlands. During field visits by the researcher to the three wetland sites, it was evident that farmers had created channels to draw water closer to their fields. The channelisation of a wetland decreases the surface-water storage capability of a wetland, which increases the amount of runoff from a basin whiles decreasing the capability of the wetland to retain loads which increases the loading from a basin (Brown, 1988).
Indiscriminate disposal of waste in and around wetlands was also identified as a threat to the sustainable use of wetlands in all communities. During field visits, scenes of waste materials floating on and deposited along the wetlands banks were evident. These waste materials included plastics and human excreta.
Fishing practices and methods employed in all three communities were also identified to have substantial negative impacts on wetlands' health. It was observed that in all three communities, there was no close season period within which spawning of fish could take place, for which reason fishing was unregulated. Also, the nature of fishing gears used was problematic. It was revealed that some community members used unapproved nets to fish. For example, in the Nabogu community, it was observed that some community members were using treated mosquito nets for fishing. This practice resulted in the washing of some harmful chemical into the water and resulted in fingerlings being trapped. Aside from a few men who were identified as experienced fishermen, children with no fishing expertise were allowed to fish, thus resulting in the violation of fishing regulations. Children could be seen using treated bed nets to trap fingerlings in especially the Nabogu wetlands.
According to Verhoeven & Setter (2009), agriculture and wetlands are closely linked, with evidence supporting that the first human settlement was located in and around wetlands. This relationship has, however, deteriorated over the years. Wetlands are currently being negatively impacted by agricultural activities that they are noted to be supporting. Respondents of the study earlier alluded that most agricultural activities were located very close to wetlands due to their richness in nutrients, thus exposing wetlands to some disturbances. During the study, farming practices included ploughing long slopes, inappropriate utilisation of chemical fertilisers, slash and burning.