Story: Daniel Nana Aforo
The outgoing president of the Ghana Institute of Foresters GIF, Mr.Kweku Prah Ghartey, has challenged his colleague foresters to redouble their efforts on the management and sustainability of forest and wildlife resource in the country.
According to Mr. Ghartey, the state of the country’s forest and wildlife today is worse than ever before and it’s a serious indictment “on our integrity as professionals”.
Posing a rhetorical question to his colleagues “with sincerity as foresters have we been able to improve on the forest and wildlife resources of
He continued that resource managers operate under great pressure from industry operators for favours which go against their professional ethics.
The statement was said at the 13th Annual General Meeting of Ghana Institute of Foresters, on the theme “
He said LI 1649 prescribes that T.U.C. holders should supply 20 percent of total production to the domestic market and yet the policy have turned out to be unworkable. “Faced with unsatisfied high domestic demand, chain sawn lumber has readily filled the vacuum with dire consequences for the natural forest.
Mr. Ghartey recommended stiffer punishment for forest offences and need to intensify forest management towards increased sustainability. He cautioned that the products from most of the forest reserves may be in jeopardy in the country’s major export markets in
He said there should be an annual satellite imagery-based monitoring of logging roads, which could be used to confirm the legality of the location of logging. “There is the need to emphasis an aggressive programme on the development of appropriate technologies for the sustainable management of both the natural and plantation forests.
The Deputy Minister of Lands, Forestry and Mines, Mr. Adjei Yeboah, on his part touched on the numerous obstacles facing the country’s forestry sector such as illegal chain sawn, uncontrolled logging, and farming activities which lead to deforestation ,land degradation, and their attendant recurrent bush fires.
He said the Presidential Special Initiative through the plantation progrmmes should serve as a major step to address the trend of deforestation in the country. “The Forestry Task Force, in collaboration with the Military and Police should be intensified to curb the movement of illegal timber’.
Mr. Yeboah urged the foresters to help find solutions to the problems of deforestation to ensure sustainability management for speedy socio-economic development and environmental quality improvement.
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