Ghana
has promulgated laws to prohibit and control certain activities in forest
reserves, especially chainsaw lumbering.
But
there have been challenges due to high demand for lumber to serve the local
market as well as other wood products to support livelihoods of local
communities living in forest areas.
Mr.
Owusu Addae says forest conservation should not be at the expense of community
rights.
“Somebody
staying less than 10meters to the forest, you tells such person to come to the
district capital to buy wood and take it back to the community to do his
project; it’s impossible”, he observed.
He
describes the forest as an “open resource” in which anyone can move in and exploit,
hence the need to fashion out enforceable laws. “So I think we need to
formulate the laws that will work at the grassroots.”
Civil
Response has been involved in negotiations between Ghana and the European Union
on the Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) to ensure communities’
perspectives are brought to bear in the agreement.
Mr.
Owusu Addae says there seems to be some progress in community engagement on
forest conservation but law enforcement has been challenging.
He
called for efficient resourcing of forestry officials to monitor and curtail illegal
activities in the forest reserves.
Tropenbos
International Ghana is working with the Forestry Commission and other partners
to protect such reserves.
Programme
Director at TBI, Samuel Nketiah, is confident community engagements under activities
of the VPA will help ensure the integrity of the forest.
Story
by Kofi Adu Domfeh
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