Why some forest rules are obeyed and others violated by farmers in Ghana: Instrumental and normative perspective of forest law compliance

This paper explores farmers' compliance with forest rules in the High Forest Zone of Ghana and the factors influencing compliance through interviews with 226 farmers. Specifically, it assesses compliance with rules that regulate and/or prohibit: (i) felling of timber trees on farmlands, (ii) farming in forest reserves, and (iii) use and management of fire on farmlands. The results are based on self‐reported responses about compliance with rules and indicate a high level of compliance with farming and bushfire rules, while the tree‐felling rule is violated by many farmers. Compliance behaviour is influenced by numerous normative and instrumental factors, such as perceived fairness of rules, need for resources for livelihood and domestic use, and fear of sanction; but also, by some contextual factors, such as regulatory and socio‐economic contexts. In the case of Ghana, efforts to strengthen forest law compliance, in particular the felling of trees on farmlands, need further consideration of the normative perspectives to compliance, and may point towards legal reforms that bring the legislation more in accordance with the norms held by farmers.