Press Statement: DEGAZETTING FOREST RESERVES, A BANE ON GREEN GHANA AGENDA

With several decades of experience in forest resource governance and management, Tropenbos Ghana strongly views attempts at degazetting forest reserves as a dent on our conservation and restoration efforts. This development is worrying considering the fast rate at which Ghana is losing its forests, and tree cover.

According to the latest World Bank Ghana Country Environmental Analysis (CEA), environmental degradation costs Ghana $6.3 billion annually nearly 11% of our GDP. We cannot be seen to be championing a Green Ghana Agenda and other restoration efforts while declassifying large portions of already existing forests, particularly for private gains.

Tropenbos Ghana is of the view that the Government of Ghana can follow good examples as in the case of Rwanda where significant attempts are being made to reverse its forest depleting trend. The East African nation has shown commitment to protecting its environment by allocating $4.5 million annually towards safeguarding its forests. Recently, an industrial enclave in Kigali (capital of Rwanda) was relocated at the cost of the State to make way for the development of a wetland. Rwanda’s revised forest policy is making forestry one of the foundations of the economy while ensuring a national ecological balance with long-term benefits for all segments of society. Additionally, Rwanda's National Forest Policy was awarded a Gold Future Policy Award in 2011 for being the world's most inspiring and innovative forest policy.

As we all rally to improve forest and tree cover on Green Ghana Day, the Government of Ghana should as a matter of urgency:

1. Rescind its decision on declassifying portions of the Achimota by revoking the E.I. 144, as well as rethink similar thoughts on other forest reserves to demonstrate commitment towards conservation and restoration.
2. Audit the current state of all forest reserves in Ghana with a master plan on how to restore degraded ones.
3. Design and implement a deliberate program for monitoring and reporting forest and tree cover increases resulting from the Green Ghana agenda.
4. Fastrack tree tenure reforms, including tree registration to secure farmers' ownership of planted and/or nurtured trees, and enhance forest law enforcement to curtail factors (e.g., illegal mining, farm encroachment into forest lands, illegal logging, etc.) that depletes forest and tree resources.