Forestry Commission, partners sign MoU on restoration of Tain II Forest Reserve
One of Ghana’s depleted forest reserves, the Tain II Forest Reserve in the Brong Ahafo Region, will soon be restored to its past glory, as the Forestry Commission (FC) and four other institutions have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to undertake a landscape restoration of the reserve and its fringe areas.
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The exercise, which will begin with 2,000 hectares on a pilot basis, ultimately aims to restore 100,000 hectares in the forest reserve.
It is being undertaken by Form Ghana and its mother company, Form International, a forest plantation management company; the Berekum Traditional Council and the Berekum Municipal Assembly.
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MoU
The MoU covers four years — 2017 to 2021 — for phase one and it is expected to cost $6 million. It is being funded by Partnerships for Forests, a UK Department for International Development programme, and DOB Ecology, a Dutch foundation.
Speaking at the ceremony, the Deputy Chief Executive of the FC, Mr John Allotey, said after a successful first term, a revised agreement would be signed to extend the agreement for another four years and additional funding sourced.
He said the MoU was a build-up on a public/private partnership (PPP) established in 2013 among the FC, the Berekum Traditional Council and Form Ghana to restore the forest reserve.
“This is part of efforts to advance PPP initiatives by the government and the FC to ensure the sustainable management of Ghana’s forests,” he stated.
Degradation
According to the commission, the forest reserve had been degraded through wildfires and illegal activities.
The reserve and its fringe areas are, therefore, said to be in need of urgent attention, since their current state is affecting biodiversity, agricultural production, among others.
Goals
Under the project, Form Ghana will develop suitable agricultural and forestry systems tailored to the local area, provide technical assistance and inputs for farmers and assist with fire control and environmental management.
As part of the agreement, the pilot exercise will focus mainly on community-owned and managed land fringing the forest reserve.
It will also increase tree cover and make agriculture and forestry more sustainable, combat forest encroachment and illegal logging.
Other benefits include reduction in wildfires, enhancement of biodiversity and nature values for present and future generations, as well as make local communities more resilient to external threats such as climate change.
Form Ghana
Since its establishment in 2007, Form Ghana has planted more than 8,000 hectares of teak with indigenous species, to be expanded to 12,000 hectares in the next 10 years.
The Managing Director, Mr Willem Fourie, observed that the company could not only concentrate on lands allocated to it but also help restore forest resources around the communities in which it operated.
Optimism
The Omanhene of the Berekum Traditional Area, Nana Daasebre Amankona Diawuo II, said the traditional council was optimistic that the project would change the fortunes of farmers, most of whom had lost their aged cocoa plantations.
“They have engaged the traditional council many times and briefed us on the form of help they want to give farmers who are willing to offer their land for plantations such as cashew, cocoa or any other crop. The farmers have been sensitised. We hope the project will be successful,” he said.
For his part, the Berekum Municipal Budget Analysts, Wisdom Kporngor, observed that although parts of the forest reserve had been restored since 2013, focusing only on a small part of the entire landscape was not sustainable because of the challenges of wildfires and encroachment.