The Deputy Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, responsible for Lands and Forestry, Benito Owusu-Bio, has on behalf of the Sector Minister, Hon Samuel A. Jinapor met a delegation from the World Bank focus on future projects for the Forestry Sub-sector.

Mr Owusu-Bio in his welcome statement indicated that within the Forestry Sub-sector, the priorities of the Ministry are to Protect and conserve the forest and wildlife resources.

He equally stated that the ministry intends to engage in aggressive reforestation and afforestation of degraded landscapes especially degraded forest reserves and Community engagement and participatory resources management including community resources management areas (CREMAS).

Additionally, he indicated that significant achievements have been made in these areas through the Ghana Forest Investment Programme(GFIP) and other programmes being implemented.

Furthermore, the deputy lands minister expressed gratitude to the World Bank for its continuous support to the Natural Resources and Environment Sector which includes the Ghana Investment Programme (GFIP), REDD+, the Ghana Landscape Restoration and Small-Scale Mining Project.

World Bank assistance to management of forest development

On his part, the Technical Director of Forestry, Mr Joseph Osiakwan, also acknowledged past support received from the World Bank which have contributed immensely to sustainable management of the forest estate and also the development of forest policy and Forestry Development Master Plan.

He highlighted on some policy reforms that have been undertaken including the passing of the Wildlife Resources Management Bill which will be implemented soon.

Moreover, Mr Osiakwan stated that one of the significant successes of the GFIP is the establishment of the Community Resource Management Areas (CREMAs) in the forest areas and these needs to be scaled up as a model for community engagement.

Wading in on the discussion, Executive Director of the Forest Service Division, Mr. Hugh Brown, also spelt out some challenges faced by forest management such as illegal mining, illegal logging, and wildfires.

On her part, the World Bank Practice Manager for West Africa covering Environment, Natural Resources and Blue Economy, Madam Lia Sieghart stated that the World Bank is shifting focus into supporting programmes which includes nature, forestry, biodiversity, water resources management and food security as part of measures to contribute to global efforts towards sustainability.

She assured the Ministry of the World Bank’s readiness to partner the government on key focus areas highlighted to satisfy long- term interests to mitigate climate change.

It will be recalled that last year, the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources and the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovation (MESTI) with support from the World Bank, launched the Ghana Landscape Restoration and Small-Scale Mining Project (GLRSSMP).

The project intends to strengthen the integration of the country’s natural resources and its management to increase the benefits to communities in targeted savannah and cocoa forest landscapes.

It will also support sustainable land, water, and forest management initiatives in climate-vulnerable target landscapes and support the formalization of small-scale mining.

The GLRSSMP geographically targets two landscapes: the Northern Savannah Zone (including the Guinea Savannah ecological zone, the Sudan Savannah ecological zone, and the upper portions of the Transitional ecological zone); the cocoa forest landscape (including parts of the Forest ecological zone and the Pra River Basin).

The project will include a multi-sector approach to land management.

In August 2021, the World Bank approved $103.4 million to implement GLRSSMP. The financing includes an International Development Association (IDA) credit of $75 million and $28.4 million in grants from the Global Environmental Facility (GEF), the Extractive Global Programmatic Support (EGPS), and the Global Partnership for Sustainable and Resilient Landscapes Multi-Donor Trust Fund (PROGREEN).