Technical Advisor to the Chief Executive of the Forestry Commission (FC), Dr. Kwakye Ameyaw, has intimated that, his outfit is working closely with allkey stakeholders to address challenges in the sector to sustain the country’s forest reserves.
His statement comes on the back of illegal activities reportedly taking place in forest reserves in the country.Dr Ameyaw, speaking during a stakeholder’s workshop on landscape restoration at Goaso, appealed to all members in forest fringe communities to lead the fight against illegal activities in the country’s forest reserves.
He explained that, the involvement of the community members in the fight was due to the fact that, government alone could not fight the menace, unless the members of the community who reside with the perpetrators, took bold decisions to report them to authorities.
He further added that, community members, especially farmers, had a critical role to play in fighting illegal operators in forest reserves by reporting them to the Commission for their arrest and prosecution.
Also speaking during the workshop, Dr Shalom D. Addo-Danso, Lead Consultant of KABSTREK Consult, advocated for an improvement in law enforcement by the Forestry Commission, to help mitigate the impact of illegal activities on the forest in order to sustain key ecological, cultural and historical habitats.
Dr Addo-Danso also highlighted on the need for a massive reforestation programme to rehabilitate the Abonkere Shelterbelt and other forest reserves.
Touching of deforestation activity, he posited that, the expansion of agricultural activities, especially for cocoa production, was identified as one of the most important drivers of deforestation.
Kakum National Reserve
Addressing cocoa production, he said the REDD programme which was introduced by the forestry Commission was to improve land use in cocoa-growing areas and increase yield in the Asunafo-Asutifi enclave which was one of the leading cocoa growing areas in Ghana.
Dr Addo-Danso, also mentioned that, ageing farmer population; ageing cocoa farms, land tenure issues, low involvement of the youth in cocoa production, excessive hunting and climate change, are some of the challenges facing cocoa production in the area.
He then called for the training of farmer groups, traditional leaders and local government leaders to adopt beneficial and climate-smart cocoa farming practices to sustain production.
Adding his voice to the presentation, Mr Charles Sarpong Duah, Manager of the Climate Change Unit of the Forestry Commission, appealed to traditional leaders and the media to take an active part in the campaign and educate the public on the negative impact of deforestation and the need to plant trees in their localities.
The workshop was organized by KABSTREK Consult and Proforest in collaboration with the Forest Services Division (FSD) of the FC, COCOBOD, Lands Commission, Office of the Administrator of Stool Lands, Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Forestry Research Institute, district assemblies and traditional authorities.
The workshop was to create a platform for all key stakeholders in the Asunafo North Municipality, Asunafo South and Asutifi North Districts in the Ahafo region, which have been designated as Hotspot Intervention Area (HIA), to dialogue on the development of the Asunafo-Asutifi Landscape Programme.
The objective was to enable stakeholders to work together to address deforestation, low yield and encroachment on forest reserves and promote climate-smart activities in the area.
