Begin commercial usage of lesser-used species – Owusu-Bio

The Deputy Minister for Lands and Natural Resources responsible for Lands and Forestry, Mr. Benito Owusu-Bio has emphasised the need to kick-start a drive for the commercial usage of Lesser-Used Species (LUS) especially domestically to assist in Climate Policy Action, as well as Nationally, Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement where Ghana has stipulated mitigation and adaptation actions tied to the forestry sector. He indicated that it is imperative to continue the dialogue and promote the application of the known LUS, particularly for the construction and furniture industry so that they can become viable alternatives for the scarce traditionally-known species. The Deputy Minister said this during his keynote address on behalf of the Sector Minister, Samuel Abu Jinapor at the 2022 exhibition to promote Lesser-Used Species and Plantation Timber Products on the theme "Emerging wood species for housing development and construction works in Ghana” on Wednesday, 12th October 2022. Mr. Owusu-Bio noted that "the demand for traditionally known timber species with excellent properties in terms of their strength and quality has led to not only their over-exploitation but also the destruction of other less accepted species during logging operations". However, he was quick to add that the urgent need to address climate change and biodiversity loss globally necessitates that, expedient solutions are explored and Lesser-Used Species as well as timber produced from plantations remained highly viable. For his part, the Minister for Works and Housing, Francis Asenso-Boakye, said the Ministry of works and housing is committed to maximising the opportunities offered by the vast availability and cost-effectiveness of Lesser-Used Species in their projects when their qualities are deemed as effective and efficient for civil works. He entreated players in the Real Estate industry through stakeholder dialogue with manufacturers of wood products to create a mutually beneficial market. In his opening, statement t, the Chief Executive of Forestry Commission, Mr. John Allotey said the promotion of LUS is one of the Commission's initiatives to combat illegal logging and achieve the environmental objectives of sustainable management while transforming the domestic marketplace into an industrial hub. Mr. Allotey disclosed that to ensure an adequate supply of legal timber on the domestic market, his outfit has introduced several policy interventions which include the implementation of domestic market policy, the development of public procurement policy on timber and timber products, the introduction of procedural guidance and the introduction of new legislation, LI 2254 in 2017.