The multiple streams framework and forest policy change process in Ghana

Abstract

One important policy that has witnessed both change and stability is Ghana’s 1948 Forest Policy. The Policy’s implementation period has been the longest, spanning from the colonial era in 1948 to the post-colonial period of 1994. It also expanded government control over off-reserve forests and encouraged the persistent exploitation of the resource to generate foreign exchange. It is against this backdrop that this study adopts the multiple streams framework (MSF) as an analytical perspective to address the question of why and how Ghana’s forest and wildlife policy changed in 1994. Dwelling on both primary and secondary data, the study found that the Ghanaian case confirms the MSF assumption that the coupling of the streams of problem, policy, and politics via a policy window by policy entrepreneurs (PEs) will result in policy change. However, in an instance where PEs are unable to provide technically and politically feasible alternatives, the existing policy will remain unchanged. The study recommends that PEs should be tactful and sensitive to their environment to achieve success.