Ministry launches programme to check deforestation
The Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources has launched the Ghana Forest Investment Programme (GFIP) to help address the underlying drivers of deforestation in the country.
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The $5 million programme is to be implemented under three projects namely; Engaging local communities in reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+/Enhancing Carbon Stocks); and engaging private sector in REDD+; enhancing the natural forests and agro-forestry landscapes project (ENFALP).
It is being jointly funded by the World Bank (WB), the African Development Bank (AFDB) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and would be implemented by the Forestry Commission (FC), the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) and the Forestry Research Institute of Ghana (FoRIG), under the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources.
The overall goal of the programme is to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation while reducing poverty and conserving biodiversity
It will start in the Western and Brong Ahafo regions with the development, piloting, validating, replicating and up-scaling participatory forest resources management models in and off forest reserves.
Projects failure
Launching the programme, the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Nii Osah Mills, observed that many programmes and projects had in the past either failed to meet the expected outputs or had failed to generate the desired enthusiasm because adequate consultations were not held with stakeholders during the conception, preparation and development phases.
That, he explained, had often made those programmes and projects to be perceived as an imposition on the people and did not engender the requisite support and collaboration during their implementation.
He said it was against that background that the ministry, together with the development partners, subjected the development of the new programme to several stakeholder engagements before the launch.
“I believe that by this process, it is our collective responsibility to ensure that the project is successfully implemented,’’ the minister said.
Workshops without results
The Chairman of the Board of Directors of the FC, Mr Eddie Prah, expressed concern over the many workshops and seminars that preceded the implementation of projects but without achieving the desired results.
He said this time, the leadership of the FC would ensure that the target set for the project would be achieved with the support of all stakeholders.
In a speech read on his behalf, the Western Regional Minister, Mr Paul Evans Aidoo, observed that a greater portion of the country’s forest cover was deforested and the remaining forest lands degraded.
He said the situation had arisen as a result of unsustainable management practices such as illegal mining, illegal farming, and illegal logging, among other factors.