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The Executive Director of the Kumasi Wood Cluster Association (KWC), Gustav Adu, has said that the scarcity of timber as raw material could be attributed to excessive fixation by Ghanaian suppliers and consumers on a narrow spectrum of species.

He has, therefore, encouraged a shift from the traditional known species to embrace other alternatives that could serve the same purpose or provide a better option.

He was quick to point out that “the availability of other emerging timber species with considerable physical and technical properties have been variously documented”.

Consequently, the KWC and its partners have been actively involved in capacity development and awareness creation initiatives “geared towards the use of Lesser-Used Timber (LUS)/ Lesser-Known Species (LKS)”.

In line with that, his outfit launched and published a compendium on LUS/LKS of timber in Ghana in an easy-to-read manner to facilitate effective knowledge uptake and application by wood users.

The KWC has also developed the Ghana Timber Atlas, which offers information on the physical and technical properties of a wide range of Ghanaian timber species.

The atlas could also be installed on phones and other electronic gadgets as an App, readily available on Google Play Store and Apple Store.

All these efforts by the KWC are expected to enhance a smooth transition to more alternatives that would protect the environment and ensure sustainability in the timber industry.

The KWC is also making relentless efforts in re-afforestation to recover depleted forests to fight the negative impact of climate change and also ensure a sustainable timber supply.

Mr Adu was speaking at an event organized by the Kumasi Wood Cluster Association (KWC) in collaboration with the Chamber of Construction Industry and the Timber Industry Development Division of Forestry Commission on the theme ‘Emerging Wood Species Fit for Housing Development and Construction Works in Ghana’. The UKaid and the UK Timber Trade Federation (UKTFF), through an ongoing project titled “Building the capacities of Small-Medium Forest Enterprises in Ghana and Liberia to supply and Trade in Legal Timber (Phase II), sponsored the exhibition.

The Minister for Works and Housing, Francis Asenso Boakye, who graced the occasion, stressed that given the current over-exploitation of timber, the knowledge about LUS will help reduce pressure on the well-known species and also provide the housing sector with several alternatives for construction purposes.

For his part, the Chief Executive of the Forestry Commission, John Allotey, disclosed that as part of measures to combat illegal logging in the country, his outfit is employing initiatives to promote the commercial use of other equally valuable timber species known as Lesser-Used Species (LUS). 

He is confident this will help combat illegal logging and enable the country to achieve the environmental objectives of sustainable forest and management (SFM) while transforming the domestic marketplace into an industrial hub for value-added processing.

Only 102 out of 715 tree species in the High Forest Zone are considered for stock survey in the country. 

Until recently, less than 60 percent of the yield on average was harvested, leaving about 40 percent unharvested.

Mr. Allotey noted that, for instance, the increase in demand for timber as a raw material for construction, particularly in the real estate sector, puts a lot of pressure on forest reserves, a situation that can lead to illegal logging, as such, promoting commercial exploitation and use of LUS and plantation timber in the construction space is expected to enhance the availability and supply of legal timber, particularly for the domestic market.

“Ghanaians and consumers of timber all over the world have a high taste for traditional tropical timber species such as Mahogany, Odum, Dahoma, Sapele, and Masonia, which are becoming scarce because of over-exploitation. 

To avoid the complete extinction of these prime species and its consequent ecological imbalance, there is the need to shift attention from these few prime species by exploring the market potential of other timber species that may be of economic value.

For example, trade statistics generated by the Timber Industry Development Division (TIDD) of the Forestry Commission show that in 2021, timber consumed on the domestic market was over 473,000m3, which is more than one and a half times the total volume of exports of timber and timber products which amounted to 303,229 m3 within the same period, with some variations in value though,” he said at the exhibition of lesser-used and plantation timber products in Accra.

He also underscored the need to innovate by supporting the local industry to reduce the high reliance on importation. 

 

Additionally, he entreated players in the real estate industry through stakeholder dialogue with manufacturers of wood products to create a mutually beneficial market.