Public education on forestry laws needed — Lecturer
A Senior Lecturer at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Dr Ernest Asare Abeney, has attributed the destruction of Ghana’s forests to the absence of education on forestry laws and policies.
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He has, therefore, called stakeholders in the forestry sector to partner civil society organisations (CSOs) to promote sustainable forest management practices in the country.
Speaking at a press briefing in Accra, Dr Abeney said since the forestry sector “contributes substantially to the development of the country’s economy”, there was the need for Ghanaians to be informed and educated to desist from negative practices that affected the sector.
The press briefing, organised by the Sustainable Forest Management Partnership, Ghana (SFMP-G), highlighted issues that posed as a threat to the preservation of the forestry sector.
It also discussed possible ways of collaborating with government agencies in promoting sustainable forest management in the country.
Dr Abeney said most Ghanaians were not aware of the impact their activities had on the sector.
He said although the government and its agencies were putting in place a mechanism to address the problem, “their non-existence in every community to check these negative practices is allowing people to destroy the sector”.
“CSOs can use their presence in most of the communities to educate and inform the people on the accepted standard of their operations in the forest,” Mr Abeney said.
He also underscored the need for the Ghana Education Service (GES) to include in the syllabus the programmes that would teach the youth about the significance of forest protection.
In his address, the Chairman of SFMPG, Mr Delle Kpebesaan, said the association was a partnership of six CSOs which had come together to promote sustainable management of Ghana’s forest resources.
“This partnership process which was initiated by the Inter Church Organisation for Development Co-operation (ICCO) in 2007, seeks to build synergies among forestry organisations providing service to forest-fringed communities (FFCs) in sustainable income generation.”
According to him, the development and implementation of a joint programme was based upon SFMPG’s belief that the concerted action of forest sector actors would achieve greater impact in the promotion of sustainable forest management than any individual effort could.