Sustainable Forestry Management Meeting

Top officials of the Sustainable Forestry Management organization has called on the Hon. Minister of finance and Economic Planning to see how best they can partner Ghana in financing afforestation programmes in the country.

The meeting was attended by Hon. Minister of Lands and Forestry, Prof. Dominic Fobih and Deputy Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, Mr. Christopher Addae, Deputy Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, Prof. Edward Ayensu, Chairman, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, and officials of the Environmental Protection Agency.

Welcoming the delegation, Hon. Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu said Ghana has made some progress with afforestation programme since the launch of the programme by H.E the President in 2001.

He said the programme has been expanded to involve the youth in employment programme as well as Small Loans and Micro Finance programme.

He said the recent power rationing programme which has resulted in a shortfall of 21% in energy supply has brought to the fore the need to take climate change issues seriously, that is why Ghana welcomes any financial support to boost the afforestation programme.

Giving an overview of the efforts in that direction so far, both Prof Fobih and Mr. Addae noted that Ghana has all the legislation and policies in place for a programme of any scale, what is needed was the financing and so they welcomed the delegation and pledged their support for any financial package they may come up with.

Prof Fobih said 110 hectares of land has so far been replanted with economic trees and fuel woods among others so far. “We are already committed and the programme has been accepted by the beneficiary communities what is left is scaling up the financing so as to expand the programme”.

Mr. Addae noted that illegal logging and mining were devastating the last bastion of rain forest in the Western region so additional financing will help boost the alternative livelihood programmes which will inturn not only save the forest but curb the rural urban drift.

Mr. Alan Bernstein, CEO of Sustainable Forestry Management said with the coming into force of the Kyoto agreement, flow of investment capital into sustainable forest programmes has increased from US $11 billion in 2005 to US $30 billion in 2006 which is also likely to double this year.

He said this is because people have realized the conservation holds the key to carbon emissions problems adding that his organization was ready to invest in Ghana.