Ghana needs
to vigorously pursue the policy of exploring log importation for local processing
and value addition for re-export if the country is to sustainably manage its
forests.
This is
the view of Samuel Kwabena Nketiah, Programmes Director of Tropenbos International
Ghana, an organization committed to bridging the gap between forest policy,
management and science.
The country’s
new oil economy is driving an expansion in infrastructure development – demand for
wood is therefore increasing at a fast rate to satisfy the housing and
construction industry.
According
to Mr. Nketiah, the state of the country’s forest cannot sustainably support the
adequate supply of lumber to the domestic market, hence the need for
alternative sources.
Ghana, at
the turn of the century, had 8.2million hectors of forest reserves. The policy in forest reservation at the time was
to reserve a small portion to create a good micro-climate to support cocoa
production and other agricultural activities.
“The
reduction in forest, alarming though it may seem, was more or less intentional”,
noted Mr. Nketiah. “But with time government realized that was not the best of
policies; that is allowing the areas outside the reserves to be converted fully
to agriculture”.
Now, the
government’s policy looks at the possibility of managing areas outside the
permanent reserves on sustainable basis, including the promotion of
agro-forestry, tree planting, urban planting.
Mr.
Nketia expects the government to pay adequate attention to plantation
development by supporting interested persons to access land and finance for the
promotion of tree planting. He added that the “Domestic Lumber Traders Association
and the Ghana Timber Millers Organization are also keen on the importation of
logs”.
Climate
scientists at the Colombia-based International Centre for Tropical Agriculture,
CIAT, have predicted that the expected increasing temperatures will lead to
massive declines in cocoa production in Ghana and other cocoa-growing areas in
West Africa by 2030.
Their
report also revealed that an expected annual temperature rise of more than two
degrees Celsius by 2050 will leave the cocoa-producing areas too hot for
chocolate.
According
to Mr. Nketiah, there are indications that Ghana’s forest coverage is increasing
but all is not well because of large forest degradation.
He observed
the dwindling fortunes of cocoa production in some Northern parts of the
country “because the microclimate there does not support cocoa growing, so if
we are not careful with the way we manage our forest resources, as we lose our
forest, the environment gets drier and drier and cocoa will no longer be able
to survive”.
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