Government urged to restore degraded forest reserves

Accra, March 3, GNA - Friends of the Earth (FOE) - Ghana, an environment nongovernmental organisation (NGO), on Thursday called on the Forestry Commission and other relevant governmental bodies to enhance efforts at forest rehabilitation and restoration.

A statement signed by Mr Theo Anderson, Director, Friends of the Earth -Ghana, said while they welcomed the actions of the Government to restore degraded forest reserves, they believed that these projects did not go far enough to ensure the long-term sustainability of the forest.

It said investigations by FOE-Ghana into forest restoration efforts in the Western and Ashanti Regions where diverse high forest species once persisted revealed that rehabilitation efforts were concentrated on mono-crop plantation of exotic species.

"At best, these trees might be mixed with one or two indigenous species. This not only results in biodiversity loss but also increases the susceptibility or restored forests to pests, disease and damage by fire."

It further called on the Forestry Commission to protect and sustain the management of the nation's forest resources in order to reverse the process of biodiversity loss and to maintain the country's forest cover.