The Ghana Shea Landscape Emission Reductions Project (GSLERP) is a national REDD+ initiative designed to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation while improving livelihoods in shea-producing landscapes. The project recognizes the central role of women in the shea value chain—as collectors, processors, and traders—and intentionally integrates women’s economic empowerment as a core component of its implementation strategy.

Through targeted interventions in income generation, asset access, and value chain strengthening, the project supports women to increase and stabilize their incomes, improve access to productive assets, and participate more equitably in forest-based economic activities. The application of the W+ Standard makes visible and measurable the social outcomes of these efforts, ensuring that women’s economic gains are recognized alongside climate and forest outcomes.