Authors : Daniel Dompreh; Maxwell Osei Hene; Victor Rex Barnes; Steve Amissah; Olivia Agbeyenga; Finn Plauborg; Judith Osei Nimo; Isaac Bowah Cudjoe; Torsten Rodel Berg; Soren Marcus Pedersen

Volume/Issue : Volume 11 - 2026, Issue 1 - January

Google Scholar : https://tinyurl.com/4dmcmz7f

Scribd : https://tinyurl.com/262zhc65

DOI : https://doi.org/10.38124/ijisrt/26jan019

Note : A published paper may take 4-5 working days from the publication date to appear in PlumX Metrics, Semantic Scholar, and ResearchGate.

Abstract : Wildfires are becoming increasingly frequent and intense as a result of global climate change, particularly in tropical regions where agricultural and forested landscapes overlap. In Ghana, cocoa agroforests form the backbone of rural livelihoods and the national economy, yet they are increasingly threatened by wildfire hazards driven by climatic variability and human activity. This study examined the effects of climate change on wildfire dynamics in Adansi North and Offinso Municipalities of the Ashanti Region. A mixed-methods design integrated meteorological data (2000–2020), MODIS fire hotspot records, Ghana National Fire Service reports, and surveys of 285 cocoa farmers in the study. Results show a statistically significant relationship between rising temperatures, declining rainfall, and increasing wildfire frequency and duration. Offinso Municipality, located in the dry semi-deciduous zone, recorded higher fire density and longer fire seasons compared to Adansi North, which lies in the moist semi-deciduous zone. Socioeconomic factors such as hunting, on-farm cooking, smoking and negligence were the key ignition sources. Human activities were found to be hunting (X2 = 23.5, p < 0.0005), cooking on farms (Χ2 = 21.3, p < 0.0005), negligence (Χ2 = 25.3, p < 0.0001), smoking (Χ2 = 42.1, p < 0.0001), and establishing agricultural plots (Χ2 = 4.6, p = 0.200). Farmers’ perceptions of climate change aligned with observed meteorological trends, and indigenous adaptive strategies including constructing firebreaks, community patrols, and bans on dry-season hunting and on-farm cooking were widely practiced. The study concludes that climate variability and human behavior jointly shape wildfire dynamics in cocoa agroforests and calls for integrated, community-based wildfire management, supported by climate-smart agroforestry policies in the two ecological zones of Ghana.

Keywords : Wildfire Dynamics; Climate Adaptation; Cocoa Agroforests; Indigenous Knowledge; Fire Management.

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