Lost in the Forest: A Journey Through Ghana’s Forest Management

"A people without children would face a hopeless future; a country without trees is almost as helpless". -Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919), 26th President of the USA

Ghana has a long tradition of government interventions in forest management at different times all aimed at sustainable management of Ghana’s forest estate. The effects of the many interventions have contributed in getting the country to where it is in the management of our forests. As part of my contributions to the “International Year of Forests, 2011”, I would like us to take a journey through forest management in Ghana and see where we got lost and try to find our way back.

The very first formal National Forest Policy was adopted in 1948 following the visit and Report on Forests by H. N. Thompson, Conservator of Forests in Southern Nigeria, in 1908 (Owusu, 1999). Thompson’s report convinced the government of the need to take control of the forests following a series of failed attempts by the colonial government to properly manage the forests of Gold Coast (now Ghana).


The 1948 Ghana’s Forest policy:

The key issues in the policy were;

1. to reserve sufficient forests and forest lands to supply the benefits needed by the people;
2. manage the reserved forests for sustained yield of timber;
3.conduct research to support utilization and forest management;
4. utilize resources on non-reserved forest lands fully before their liquidation by farming;
5. promote local administration of forest and educate the local people to understand the value of forest; and
6. train staff or develop Africans to higher positions.

This policy directed forestry activities in Ghana over a long period of time, until 1994 when a new policy came into being. There are interesting things to note about the implementation of the 1948 Forest Policy;

1. Among all the key issues in the 1948 policy, the colonial government and subsequent governments after independence in 1957 seem to have focused more on the exploitation of forest resources, mainly timber.
2. Promotion of local administration of forestry, for instance, received very little attention though it was seen as very crucial to the sustainable management of the forest.
3. The economic benefits of forests were actively pursued and the ecological importance was side-lined.
4. Research to support utilisation and forest management received little attention. Rather, research was focused more on economically viable tree species to be harvested for export.

The direction of this policy led to increasing emphasis on central government administration, control and ownership of the country’s forests. Local people’s involvement in forest management was not pursued as the policy had stated. According to Owusu (1999), there were an increasing marginalisation and even alienation, of local communities in the administration of forests; a trend towards forestry being practised only by foresters for the nation’s benefit; and a trend towards what some early forest researchers have called the “timberisation” of forestry. This was the state of Ghana’s forests from the post-independence period to the late 1980s.

"He who plants a tree plants a hope".– Welsh proverb


References

Gyampoh, B.A., (2008). “The Sustainable Forest Management puzzle: policies, legislation, deforestation and the climate change issues in Ghana”. Sustainable Forest Management in Africa Symposium, 3rd to 8th November 2008. University of Stellenbosch, South Africa.

Owusu, J. G. K., (1999). Policies and Legislation concerning Forests, Forestry and Wildlife. Proceedings, Workshop for Media Personnel on Forestry and Wildlife Reporting. IRNR-UST, 6-11 June 1999.

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International Year of Forests: Focus on Ghana’s Forests

“Man is preceded by forest and followed by desert” – French Proverb.

Fifty-four (54) years ago, Ghana gained independence from British colonial rule. Each year, huge amounts of money are spent to celebrate our independence anniversaries, including the famous “Ghana@50”. After Ghana@50, a probe was set up to investigate how those monies were managed. That’s great! I wish that Ghanaians start taking keen interest in probing how we have managed the various sectors of our country. How we have managed our natural resources should engage our attention at the highest level. Ghana is well endowed with several natural resources including tropical rainforests, which has been a major source of revenue for the country. Ghana’s forests have influenced its climate, soil and water resources which have supported Ghana’s agricultural sector, the backbone of the country’s economy. Cocoa, which has been so central to Ghana’s development, has been influenced by the forest’s micro-climate.

With such a critical role being played by forests, it just stands to reason that more effort will be channelled into making this resource sustainable and stay in good shape. However, sustainable management of Ghana’s forest has been a major issue for successive governments since colonial times. Available records indicate that at the beginning of the last century, a third of Ghana’s total land area of 238,540 squared kilometres was covered by high forest whiles the remaining land was covered by savanna woodland (Antwi, 1999). Unfortunately, this forest cover has seen rapid depletion in the last 100 years; especially in the last 50 years where sustainable forest management is being trumpeted everywhere.

One cannot think of achieving sustainable forest management without policies to guide decision making on the use of the resource and legislation to provide legal backing to those policies (Owusu, 1999); and that is an area Ghana is not new to. As early as 1908, a report on Ghana’s forests was presented to the colonial government by H.N. Thompson in which he recommended establishment of a Forestry Department; creation of forest reserves; and some regulation of timber felling and exports. Thompson’s report formed the basis for the colonial government’s forest policy. After the recommendations from Thompson, there has been several interventions in the form of ordinances, policies and legislation all aimed at regulating activities in the forest sector but little seems to have been achieved. Some have attributed the reduction of Ghana’s forest to the failure of Ghana's Forestry policies and strategies to ensure that forest resources were managed on economically viable, socially beneficial and environmentally sound principles.

This year, 2011, is the United Nations’ International Year of Forests, under the theme: “Celebrating Forests for People”. Let’s throw more light on Ghana’s forests. Ghana is having a fair share of global environmental problems: change in weather patterns; recurrent droughts severely affecting agricultural activities; flooding; soil erosion; habitat destruction which is threatening biodiversity; water pollution; decreasing river discharge and inadequate supplies of potable water. How does the disappearance of our forests fit into this puzzle? What should be done to sustainably manage our forests?

“The forest will answer you in the way you call to it” – Finnish Proverb.

References:
Antwi, L. B., (1999). What we have: Our Forest Heritage. Proceedings, Workshop for Media Personnel on Forestry and Wildlife Reporting. IRNR-UST, 6-11 June 1999.
Owusu, J. G. K., (1999). Policies and Legislation concerning Forests, Forestry and Wildlife. Proceedings, Workshop for Media Personnel on Forestry and Wildlife Reporting. IRNR-UST, 6-11 June 1999.

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