Forests, which cover nearly a third of the earth’s land area, play a vital role in development by providing resources, supporting livelihoods, regulating ecosystem, and contributing to climate change mitigation and adaptation.
Governments throughout the world have, therefore, put in place laws and guidelines to regulate the use of land and forests.
In Ghana, the decision to conserve the forest for present and future use, motivated the colonial government to enact the 1927 Forest Ordinance (CAP 157). This granted the authorities the mandate to classify approximately 6,000 square miles of land as forest reserves, at that time.
After independence, in 1957, the country continued to strengthen this initiative with strategies and the promulgation of more laws, to protect forests.
These include, the Forests Protection Act, 1974 (NRCD 243), as amended by the Forest Protection (Amendment) Act, 2002 (Act 624), that defines forest offences, punishments, and the duties/ powers of forest officers, including provisions for arrest, seizure, and forfeiture of articles related to forest reserves.
But, ironically, over the years, forest conservation measures have gradually diminished, and an estimated area of over 5,000 hectares of Ghana’s forests have been devastated. This is as a result of illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey, logging, urbanisation, climate change, and agricultural practices.
UN reports and data indicate that Ghana faces significant forest degradation, with an annual loss of 135,000 hectares, occasioned by human activities, impacting the country’s cocoa production and biodiversity.
Recently, Ghana’s Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, raised the alarm that 44 of the 288 forest reserves in the country have been destroyed by illegal miners. He mentioned reserves in Bekwai and Nkawie in the Ashanti Region; Tarkwa and Daboase in the Western Region, and Bibiani, Enchi and Juaboso in the Western North Region, as very endangered.
Several other forest reserves including Apamprama, Oda River, Subin Shelterbelt, Tano Nimiri, Bonsa River, and Atewa Range, are shrinking due to improper management.
Additionally, some urban forests including the Achimota Forest in Accra, the Dede Forest Reserve in the Eastern Region, Kabakaba Forest Reserve in the Volta Region, Wa Town Plantation Forest, Tamale Waterworks Forest Reserve and the Tamale Fuel Wood Plantation Forest, are also under threat to environmental degradation.
Surprisingly, according to the minister, forest guards and the Forestry Commission rapid response team are unable to confront illegal miners effectively because they lack the advanced weaponry the galamseyers possess. He warned that the situation has escalated into a national emergency with severe security and public health implications, requiring urgent intervention.
In fact, the forest invaders are heavily armed with sophisticated weapons and very violent, operating with excavators making it extremely difficult for the security to bring the situation under control.
As part of efforts to curb galamsey and deforestation, the government has disbanded all Community Mining Schemes and replaced them with Mining Cooperatives. All small-scale mining licenses granted after December 7, 2024, by the immediate past government have also been revoked.
The UN recommends a holistic approach to sustainable forest management, encompassing protection, restoration, and reforestation, while also prioritising the economic, social, and environmental benefits of forests and engaging local communities in decision-making.
Ghana’s forests provide significant economic benefits, contributing to GDP, supporting livelihoods, and generating revenue through timber exports, non-timber forest products, and ecotourism.
The forest products sector, encompassing both timber and non-timber products, is a significant economic driver, with over 11 million Ghanaians deriving their livelihoods from the forests, and exports including round wood, sawn wood, and paper products.
Many people in the rural areas have no alternative means of livelihood than to clear the vegetation or forests for the cultivation of food crops like yam, plantain, and cassava, and cash crops, like cocoa, palm trees, oranges and mangoes. They also harvest on daily basis mushrooms, snails, honey medical leaves/plants, food wrapping leaves and chewing sticks from the forests for sale and domestic use.
Clearly, deforestation, is on the increase, due to worsened poverty, rapid population growth, and weak environmental policies. Despite this, some communities adopt traditional or cultural forest conservation like maintaining sacred groves, taboos against hunting, burning and indiscriminate cutting of trees, enforced through folklore, rituals, customary laws, heavy punishments, showing a deep respect for the environment.
There is the need for a comprehensive approach to restoring degraded forests and promoting sustainable forest management. In Ghana, the commonest way of repairing environmental damage has been afforestation or replanting of trees.
Some experts, however, suggest strict forest conservation because man-made forest of new trees cannot compete with an older forest in terms of its ability to absorb and store carbon dioxide. Nor can it provide in the same way for the needs of wildlife and communities that rely on intact landscapes.
At the 2023 United Nations climate conference, governmental officials agreed to a climate road map that emphasized the need to halt and reverse deforestation and forest degradation by 2030, which is also part of the Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forests and Land Use.
Indeed, implementing forest protection measures against illegal logging and enacting regulations on forestry are essential to achieving a safe and livable future.
A bio-diverse, carbon-rich forest, develops only with the slow passage of time and once it is depleted, it can take generations to return. When a monoculture of trees often termed “reforestation” are planted, it does little to address the net losses to carbon storage and biodiversity.
But since some forests are already depleted, mostly in the rural areas, afforestation cannot be ruled out in Ghana’s restoration process. Reforestation should involve planting native tree species in degraded areas, restoring ecosystem function and promoting forest regeneration.
Community-led restoration is a critical component of reclaiming lost forests since the people possess traditional knowledge and agriculture practices that are essential for restoring forests.
By empowering local communities to take ownership of forest restoration, we can ensure that their participation is culturally sensitive, socially acceptable and environmentally sustainable.
Chiefs, land owners and entire communities should be sensitised to the fact that they have the right and responsibility to conserve the forests for present and future generations.
The government should consider offering financial incentives to land owners, farmers and volunteers, who engage in restoration of depleted forests.
Consideration should be given to increased agroforestry, which has also proved to be effective strategy for restoring degraded forests by integrating trees into agricultural landscapes, promoting ecological interactions between trees and crops, and enhancing biodiversity.
The government must intensify efforts in enforcing laws and regulations that protect forests and promote sustainable forest management.
Additionally, government should provide incentives for forest restoration, such as tax breaks and subsidies to non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that seek to protect the environment.
After all, many of these NGOs have been operating mostly in the rural areas, and have technical expertise and are conversant with the socio-cultural and economic lives of the people.
In the nutshell, environmentally-friendly NGOs should be supported financially, and to partner local communities, particularly farmers, chiefs, and the youth, in forest restoration programmes or strategies.
Aside, the only way to take illegal miners and wood loggers out of the forests, is to offer them alternative livelihoods or employment.
By working together, we can reclaim degraded forests and promote a sustainable future for all.
Recovering lost forests has become a multifaceted challenge that requires a concerted effort from government, NGOs, local communities, environmentalists, and individuals.
Writer is President, CEO of Green Revolution Innovative
BY EMMANUEL EFUI TAMAKLOE
