The contribution of forestry resource to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has sharply declined from 6 to 2% from over the last three years.
The incomplete capture of the full valuation of forest resources and the poor performance of the sector due to inadequate investment in the forestry sector were responsible for the drop.
The Forestry Commission revealed this at a national colloquium on forests investment opportunities and climate change as part of activities marking the fourth Forestry Week and Greening Ghana Day Celebration.
Mr Samuel Afari-Dartey, Chief Executive Officer of the Forestry Commission, who made the disclosure, stated that it has become extremely difficult for government to finance developments in the sector, and that has compelled the sector to largely rely on the private sector for survival.
The situation, he stated, had affected Ghana’s ability to develop its eco-tourism sector, adding that the country has lost huge revenues from international tourism to countries like Kenya, Rwanda and Zambia.
He stated that ecosystem services rendered to the State by the Forestry Commission are not being paid for by the government, saying: “We need to develop our ecosystem as a nation.”
According to him, the commission has developed about 100,000 hectares of plantation, but the maintenance of the plantation has been a challenge because of limited resources.
With about 70% of Ghana’s population made up of rural dwellers who depend on the forest for their energy needs and livelihood and a decline in the performance of the sector, he said, it presupposes a fall in the livelihoods of rural dwellers.
Professor Chris Gordon, the Director of the Institute for Environment and Sanitation Studies of the University of Ghana, spoke on the impact of climate change on national development, and urged government to take urgent steps to halt climate change in the country.
He explained that Ghana experiencing climate change has to also do with the fact that government has failed to adequately finance the Forestry Commission and other forest protection agencies to mitigate the situation.
According Prof Chris Gordon, there is the need to factor the welfare of our future generations so that they don’t become refugees in their country due to climate change.
He, therefore, called on government to put measures in place to tackle sand winning along beaches across the country.
Director-General of the Centre for Industrial and Scientific Research (CSIR), Dr Victor K. Agyemang, who was the moderator at the programme, warned that if serious measures are not put in place to address the poor performance of the sector, food scarcity would soon hit the country, “and that would automatically lead to increase of prices of food commodities and further worsen the plight of Ghanaians.”
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