Project team:

Guuroh, R.T., Djagbletey, G.D., Kankam, P., Asamoah, A-G., Afriyie, K.A., Tease, F., Baah, A., Kyei, S., Amokwandoh, B., Boakye, A.F., Ackah, E., Appiah-Kubi, J., Asuming, F., Opoku, M., Antwi-Wiredu, A., Gakpetor, P.M., Ofori, D.A., Adu-Bredu, S., Foli, E.G.

Funding agency:

The Forestry Commission/ Industry Plantation Development Fund Committee

Background

Deforestation is a global challenge that has received international attention. Deforestation and forest degradation are major environmental and socioeconomic concerns in Ghana, as they threaten people's livelihoods and well-being. Between 1990 and 2000, Ghana's annual deforestation rate was estimated to be 2%, or approximately 135,000 ha per year. Some of the major causes of these forest loss includes agricultural expansion, logging, mining, forest fires and unsustainable extraction of non-timber forest products. Forest landscape restoration has been viewed globally as a critical means of restoring degraded ecosystems, while improving the wellbeing and livelihoods of local communities. The forestry commission / industry plantation development project adopts such approach as this project aims to contribute to the reforestation of Ghana’s forest estate via timber plantation development of both indigenous and exotic species. This will aid supplement raw material supply to Ghana's timber industry while also serving as an outstation centre for research and training. More importantly, the project pays monthly wages to locals who work as casuals and allows them to grow food alongside the trees. Consequently, this project significantly contributes to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGS), particularly SDGs 1 (zero poverty), 2 (zero hunger), 13 (climate action), and 15. (life on land). The project also fits into the Ghana Plantation Development Strategy and contributes to Ghana’s on-going efforts to meet her pledge (to the Bonn Challenge and AFR100 initiative) of planting 2 million hectares of degraded forests by 2030.

So far, an area of 3,556.64 ha has been planted (see Table 1) with indigenous species including Terminalia superba (Ofram), Nauclea diderrichii (Kusia), Ceiba pentandra (Onyina), Triplochiton scleroxylon (Wawa), Mansonia altissima (Oprono), Khaya ivorensis (Mahogany), Pycnanthus angolensis (Otie), Pterocarpus erinaceus and the exotic species are Cedrela odorata (Cedrela), Tectona grandis (Teak), Gmelina arborea and Paulownia species (Paulownia elongata and Paulownia fortunei).

Objectives:

The general objectives are:

To establish timber plantations of both indigenous and exotic species for raw material supply to the timber industry in Ghana
To generate employment through the establishment, management and harvesting operations and contribute to rural poverty reduction
To restore the degraded forest cover of Ghana and improve environmental quality
To provide an avenue for the country to tap emerging benefits from the climate change markets for carbon sequestration.
To provide outstation work sites for field research and training.