Fumesua (Ash), Dec. 09, GNA – The Forestry Research Institute of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR-FORIG) is advocating for urgent action to halt forest degradation in Ghana to support global efforts towards the fight against climate change.
Professor Daniel Aniagyei Ofori, the Director of the Institute who made the call, said sustainable forest management was one of the surest strategies to adopt as a country to be able to tackle the impact of climate change.
He was speaking at the end of year review and planning meeting of FORIG held on the theme, “Forest for Climate Resilience”.
The meeting which was attended by members of staff was to review the activities of the Institute for the year and also discuss plans and strategies for the coming year.
Prof. Ofori said it was heartwarming that forestry had become integral in global discussions in the fight against climate change and that Ghana had a critical role to play in this regard.
“If you look at forest cover dynamics in Ghana, we had about 8.2 million hectares at the beginning of 1900 and currently it has dwindled to about 1.6 million hectares,” he pointed out.
He said at the beginning of the 20th century, Ghana was a net carbon sink but currently the country is a net carbon emitter due to forest degradation which is around a rate of two per cent.
Ghana, he said, was among the ten topmost countries degrading their forest at a faster rate, according to the World Resources Institute.
He mentioned urbanization, mining, agriculture and logging as some of the factors driving deforestation, saying that there were serious issues within the forest sector that needed to be addressed urgently.
Prof. Ofori indicated that forests were vital storehouses of carbon on the planet that absorb greenhouse gasses, regulate water flows and protect coastal communities from extreme events and sea level rise.
On the importance of forests to the survival of plants and animals, Prof. Ofori said “they provide migrating plant and animal species routes to resilient habitats.”
“When forests are cleared, they emit large quantities of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere, thereby contributing to climate change and global warming,” he stated.
Dr. Richard Asare, Country Representative for the International Tropical Agriculture who was the guest speaker underlined the need to build a climate resilient agriculture through forestry.
He said the rate at which the forest was being degraded in West Africa was alarming, adding that it was the host of about 25 per cent of all the African mammals.
GNA
