Let’s save our forest reserves

It is refreshing that after decades of destruction, a reclamation programme has been rolled out in forest reserves to help restore the degraded landscape.

A story carried on the front page of the Daily Graphic on Friday, February 16, stated that over 118 hectares of forest reserves that had been degraded by illegal mining activities in some parts of the country were being reclaimed.

The story indicated that the reclamation work was being done at seven sites in three forest reserves in the Ashanti and Western North regions.

 It added that two of the sites were found in the Afao Hills Forest Reserve in the Bibiani Forest District in the Western North Region, while three are located in Denyau and two in the Supoma Forest Reserve, all in the Bekwai Forest District in the Ashanti Region.

Currently, the Environmental (Mining in Forest Reserves) Regulation, 2022 Legislative Instrument (L.I 2462) prohibits mining in restricted or protected areas, including forest reserves.

For instance, Section 3(1) of L.I 2462 states: “A person shall not issue a licence or permit to any person to undertake mining activity, including exploration activity in the following areas — a globally significant biodiversity area, a protected provenance area, an institutional research plot, a hill sanctuary, a high conservation value area, a seed orchard, swamp sanctuary, plantation sites and cultural site.”

However, it is worrying that despite this provision, illegal mining is still pervasive in forest reserves across the country.

A State of the Nation’s Forest report presented by the Forestry Commission on May 2, 2023, revealed that 392,714.81 hectares of the country’s 288 forest reserves had been “significantly impacted” by illegal mining activities, out of which 4,726.26 hectares in 34 of the reserves had been confirmed as destroyed.

Some of these forest reserves are Offin Shelterbelt and Asenanyo in the Nkawie Forest District in the Ashanti Region; Nueng South and Bonsa River forest reserves in the Tarkwa Forest District in the Western Region; Atewa Range Extension and Atewa Range in the Kade and Kyebi forest districts in the Eastern Region.

Apart from the massive destruction of the forest landscape, the report indicated that there were grave security concerns in the affected areas as galamsey operators used armed security who wielded sophisticated assault rifles and other weapons.

The Daily Graphic sees the efforts being made to reclaim the country’s degraded forest reserves as a step in the right direction, given that forests play a key role in tackling the global climate crisis to ensure a healthy planet and sustain human existence.  

Experts say forests serve as climate solutions as they are the largest storehouse of carbon only after oceans.

Apart from their ability to absorb and lock away carbon, forests also provide buffers for communities against climate impacts such as floods.

Forests also regulate our water system, increase rainfall and improve the quality of the water we need to survive.

The Daily Graphic commends the government for rolling out Green Ghana Day, an initiative that is targeted at planting trees in both reserve and off-reserve areas to help restore the country’s degraded landscape.

Since the initiative was launched three years ago, more than 41 million trees have been planted — seven million in 2021; 24 million in 2022, and 10 million in 2023.

Additionally, 690,436 hectares of trees have been planted under the Ghana Forest Plantation Strategy (2017-2022), made up of 104,795 hectares of forest plantations; 23,285 hectares of enrichment planting, and 562,356 hectares of trees-on-farm.

While commending the government for these bold initiatives, we are of the view that the efforts would come to naught if drastic measures are not taken to deal with illegal mining activities in forest reserves.

There is the need for stricter enforcement of 3(1) of L.I 2462 to ensure that no one is allowed to enter forest reserves for mining purposes.

It is in that regard that we also join civil society organisations (CSOs) and environmental activists in calling for the review of Section 3(2) of L.I 2462, which allows the President to give written approval for a mining company to undertake mining activity in a globally significant biodiversity area.

The World Wildlife Fund succinctly hit the nail on the head when it said: “Forests are the lungs of the world, helping to keep our climate stable and providing 40 per cent of the planet’s oxygen.”

If this is the case, we need to guard our forest reserves jealously.