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Forests cover about one-third of Ghana's total area, with commercial forestry concentrated in the southern parts of Ghana.
There were about 220 lumber processors in Ghana at the beginning of the 1990s, but the sector was subject to a number of limitations. Kiln-dried goods are in high demand abroad, but Ghanaian producers couldn't keep up with demand due to a lack of kilns. Because air-dried wood tends to become unstable over time, the inexpensive air-dried processing method was not satisfactory. Incentives for foreign investment were less alluring in this industry than they were in others, like mining. In addition, compared to mining and cocoa production regions, the Western Region, where lumber processing is located, continued to have relatively neglected infrastructure. Lack of managerial and technological expertise are among the other challenges.
Scandals have been reported in Ghana's forestry industry since 1986, and they erupted again in early 1992. The most notable case involved African Timber and Plywood, once Ghana's largest exporter of round logs. In the mid-1980s, the government embarked on a US$36 million rehabilitation project to boost the company's production. In 1992 as much as US$2.3 million was alleged to have been siphoned off from the project through various malpractices, and a number of officials were arrested.[ citation needed ] Furthermore, the environmental group, Friends of the Earth, alleged that there had been additional thefts by foreign companies totaling almost US$50 million in hard currency during the 1980s. In 1992 the government began investigating the activities of hundreds of companies, both foreign and local, that were alleged to have entered into a range of illegal dealings including smuggling, fraudulent invoicing, violation of local currency regulations, corruption, bribery, and nonpayment of royalties. The corruption is so widespread, however, that it remains to be seen on whether the Ghanaian authorities will stop timber-related crimes anytime soon. [1]
The forestry sector of Ghana accounted for 4.2 percent of GDP in 1990; timber was the country's third largest foreign exchange earner. Since 1983 forestry has benefited from more than US$120 million in investments and has undergone substantial changes, resulting in doubled earnings between 1985 and 1990. In 1993 timber and wood products earnings totaled US$140 million against a targeted level of US$130 million. Between January and November 1994, exports amounted to 919,000 tons and earned US$212 million. [1]
Until the 1980s, forestry production suffered because of the overvalued cedi and deterioration of the transportation infrastructure. Log production declined by 66 percent during 1970- 81 and sawed timber by 47 percent. Exports fell from US$130 million in 1973 to US$15 million in 1983, and four nationalized firms went bankrupt during that period. [1] The forestry sector was given a large boost in 1986, with a US$24 million timber rehabilitation credit, which financed imports of logging equipment. As a consequence, log production rose 65 percent in 1984–87, and export revenues rose 665 percent in 1983–88. Furthermore, the old Ghana Timber Marketing Board was disbanded and replaced by two bodies, the Timber Export Development Board—responsible for marketing and pricing, and the Forest Products Inspection Bureau—responsible for monitoring contracts, maintaining quality standards, grading products, and acting as a watchdog for illegal transactions. Some of the external financing underwrote these institutional changes, while much of the rest financed forestry management and research as well as equipment for logging, saw milling, and manufacturing. [1]
The sector, however, faced several problems. The most important was severe deforestation. A century ago, Ghana's tropical hardwood forest extended from about the middle of the country southward to the sea. Moreover, nearly half the country was covered with forests, which included 680 species of trees and several varieties of mahoganies. Most of this wood has been cut. By the early 1990s, only about one-third of the country was still forested, and not all of this was of commercial value. This situation has forced the government to make difficult choices between desperately needed hard currency earnings and conservation. The Forest Resource Management Project, part of the economic recovery program (ERP), was initiated in 1988, and in 1989 the government banned log exports of eighteen species. The government later extended the list and imposed high duties on other species, planning to phase out log and air-dried timber exports altogether by 1994. [1]
Instead, the government hoped to increase sales of wood products to replace earnings from logs. Government figures showed that one cubic meter of lumber and plywood was worth more than twice as much as the same amount of logs; veneers earned five times as much; and other products, such as furniture and floorings, earned six times the price of an equivalent volume of logs. Improvements in the processing sector caused wood products (excluding lumber) to rise to about 20 percent of export earnings in 1991, accounting for 6.9 percent of volume exports. By comparison, wood products represented 11 percent of earnings and 5.5 percent of volume in 1985. The fall in the proportion of volume sales accounted for by logs was accompanied by a dramatic fall in their share in earnings, from 50 to 60 percent in the mid-1980s to 23 percent in 1990. [1]
Giving a back track of Ghana’s forestry, the early colonial period (1847-1926) was a period where there was a successful opposition to colonial masters taking control over Ghana’s forest resources, which collapsed all efforts of scientific forestry. It was the idea of the then British colonial masters at that time to seize all forest resources and “waste" land and vest it in the Crown with the aim of giving grants to European investors in areas of plantation, mining and forestry through the Crown lands bill which was abolished by a strong protest of natives of the then Gold Coast (Wardell, 2006). A forestry department was established in 1909 with the main objective of touring forests, improving knowledge of flora and setting up sites for reservation in then Gold Coast with a staff of two alongside a Forest bill passed in 1911 by the legislative council (Thompson, 1910). Thus, timber harvest in the colonial period was modest compared to what was projected by Munro et.al (2001), who projected high timber harvest in Sierra Leone, with the first logs of Khaya senegalis been exported to the U.K in 1833 (Parren et al.1995). Fast forward to the forest reservation period (1927-1945), there was resistance by chiefs to set forest reservation by laws even though the Governor of that period gave an ultimatum in March 1924 where if they should fail, a new forest ordinance would be set up (Logan,1947). With time, a new bill was proposed in 1926 and passed in 1927 (The Forest Ordinance cap,127) which gave the colonial government the authority to reserve forests in the Gold Coast as a result of the chief’s resistance to set up by-laws voluntarily. [2] After World War II, Europeans needed wood to reconstruct their cities. This resulted in a high export rate of timber between the period 1946-1956, where the mahogany specie dominated the harvested export but dropped rapidly in 1957 as it started to become rear (Hall and Swaine 1981; Foggie and Piasecki 1962). From 1947 onwards, initiatives were set up to nurture highly valuable tree species in the forest reserve using a system termed the Tropical Shelterwood System (TSS). This procedure involved the cutting of climbers, shrubs and unwanted plant species a few years before exploitation to ensure a higher canopy system in the forest reserve with desired seedlings set up annually in the previously cleaned area to enable the seedlings flourish. This initiative, “The TSS” was not applied on a larger scale in Ghana as a result of the project being too expensive and difficult to administer with an average cost of £10-£12 per ha (Foggie,1957; Parren and de Graaf, 1995; Asabere 1987).
During the period of 1957-1970 where Ghana, then Gold Coast gained independence under the new government of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, the timber boom continued mainly for the purpose of export. With time, desired species located on the off-forest reserves became rear which resulted in timber contractors channeling their focus on the main forest reserves. The gradual disappearance of desired species resulted in the accreditation of lesser-known species such as Pericopsis elata commonly known as “Kokrodua" which later on became one of the most preferred species used in the making of luxurious furniture until it became extinct in the 1900’s, slowly caused the expansion of the desired species list (Oteng-Amoako, 2006). The Ghana Selection System (GSS), which was cheaper simple and standardized was set up following the disappointing outcome of TSS (Foggie, 1957). It was a project which involved selective exploitations and improvement thinning (Baidoe, 1970). Bringing the account of Ghana’s forestry history from 1992 to date, there was many laws and policies that were set up. The off-forest reserve interim measures were introduced to give specific measures to obtain consent from a farmer before harvesting timber by concessionaires in farmland (Kotey et al, 1998). For forest areas, 55% was considered outside the production circle, where the small-grained protection was prescribed which encompassed a specific number of trees to be logged per ha, depending on ecological zone (Wong, 1995). Gradual development brought about new forestry institutions, laws and policies. The Forest and Wildlife Policy (FWP) which was adopted with the aim of securing the forest estate and secure a perpetual supply of timber in 1994. [3] Manuals and procedures related to forestry such as the Annual Allowable Cut (AAC) of 1.0 cubic meters which was endorsed made the national regulatory level in 1996 (Planning branch, 1999). Currently, despite the scientific management-based regime documented on paper, the practical implementation of it remains challenged in the sense that, chainsaw operators harvest exceeds that of the formal sector and tendency in stock surveys to inflate the number of trees to be harvested through the overestimation of tree diameters. With the name change from Gold Coast to Ghana post-independence, two main forest vegetation types were classified; the Tropical High Forest (which includes the evergreen rainforests) accounting for 8milllion ha and the Savanna which also accounted for 14.7 million ha of the land area (Hall and Swaine, 1981).
With an equatorial climate, Ghana became notable as endowed with a wide range of natural resources in its forest vegetation areas. In particular, such natural resources as gold, diamond and highly valued tree species namely Khaya senegalis which possess monetary value; worth a good price and having desirable or esteemed characteristics or qualities and of great use or service (FAO, 1991) in the forest zones of Ghana was estimated. Forests are extremely significant in people's lives, national and local economy as well as maintaining environmental quality. By so doing, forest policies and legislation were enacted and these have had an impact on national development, sustainable livelihoods and poverty reduction (Kotey et al., 1998). The forest zone in Ghana could be classified into Evergreen Rainforest, Evergreen Moist Forest and Moist Semi-deciduous Forest. These rich forest classifications or high forest zones could be located specifically in rural areas found at the Southern part of the country where timber is harvested from two distinct land-use types. These land use types include the on-forest reserve areas and off forest reserve areas (areas outside forest reserves). These two land use types are designated to be retained as high forest for sustainability, management for timber production and biodiversity conservation (FAO, 2005). Ghana’s forests are potentially essential to the nation economically, ecologically and socio-culturally. Due to this reason, all-natural resources are taken care of by the President of the nation, through which the forestry commission (re-established 1999) was set up as a subdivision of the Ministry of Lands Natural resources to sustain development and management of Ghana’s forests and wildlife.
In the United States, national forest is a classification of protected and managed federal lands that are largely forest and woodland areas. They are owned collectively by the American people through the federal government and managed by the United States Forest Service, a division of the United States Department of Agriculture. The U.S. Forest Service is also a forestry research organization which provides financial assistance to state and local forestry industry. There are 154 national forests in the United States.
Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks or skeleton cars. In forestry, the term logging is sometimes used narrowly to describe the logistics of moving wood from the stump to somewhere outside the forest, usually a sawmill or a lumber yard. In common usage, however, the term may cover a range of forestry or silviculture activities.
Illegal logging is the harvest, transportation, purchase, or sale of timber in violation of laws. The harvesting procedure itself may be illegal, including using corrupt means to gain access to forests; extraction without permission, or from a protected area; the cutting down of protected species; or the extraction of timber in excess of agreed limits. Illegal logging is a driving force for a number of environmental issues such as deforestation, soil erosion and biodiversity loss which can drive larger-scale environmental crises such as climate change and other forms of environmental degradation.
Articles on forestry topics include:.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and guide to forestry:
A forest product is any material derived from forestry for direct consumption or commercial use, such as lumber, paper, or fodder for livestock. Wood, by far the dominant product of forests, is used for many purposes, such as wood fuel or the finished structural materials used for the construction of buildings, or as a raw material, in the form of wood pulp, that is used in the production of paper. All other non-wood products derived from forest resources, comprising a broad variety of other forest products, are collectively described as non-timber forest products (NTFP). Non-timber forest products are viewed to have fewer negative effects on forest ecosystem when providing income sources for local community.
Deforestation in Cambodia has increased in recent years. Cambodia is one of the world's most forest endowed countries, that was not historically widely deforested. However, massive deforestation for economic development threatens its forests and ecosystems. As of 2015, the country has one of the highest rates of deforestation in the world.
Forestry in India is a significant rural industry and a major environmental resource. India is one of the ten most forest-rich countries of the world. Together, India and 9 other countries account for 67 percent of the total forest area of the world. India's forest cover grew at 0.20% annually over 1990–2000, and has grown at the rate of 0.7% per year over 2000–2010, after decades where forest degradation was a matter of serious concern.
The Russian forestry industry is a set of Russian industries related to wood harvesting and processing. As one of the oldest sectors in the country's economy, Russia's timber industry continues to bring in about $20 billion per year. Russia has more than a fifth of the world's forests, making it the largest forest country in the world. According to data for 2015, the total forest area has exceeded 885 million hectares, representing 45% of the total area of the country. The stock of wood in the area was 82 billion cubic meters. However in 2023 academics complained that not enough information had been published.
Agriculture in Ghana consists of a variety of agricultural products and is an established economic sector, providing employment on a formal and informal basis. It is represented by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture. Ghana produces a variety of crops in various climatic zones which range from dry savanna to wet forest which run in east–west bands across Ghana. Agricultural crops, including yams, grains, cocoa, oil palms, kola nuts, and timber, form the base of agriculture in Ghana's economy. In 2013 agriculture employed 53.6% of the total labor force in Ghana.
Today, forest and woodland cover in Uganda stands at 49,000 km2 or 24% of the total land area. Of these 9,242.08 km2 is tropical rainforest, 350.60 km2 are forest plantations and 39,741.02 km2 is woodland. 30% of these areas are protected as national parks, wildlife reserves or central forest reserves.
The forestry sector in Argentina has great potential. The geography of the country extends from north to south, encompassing 4,000 kilometres (2,500 mi). Its variety of climates, land quality, and reliable precipitation allow for the cultivation of different tree species at high growth rates. The climate varies and most areas are quite temperate. The country also enjoys short harvest periods for the most important species. This has allowed the industry to become more competitive and continue its high growth rates.
Deforestation in Laos is a major environmental concern, with Laos losing forest area to legal and illegal logging.
Throughout its history, agriculture in Paraguay has been the mainstay of the economy. This trend has continued today and in the late 1980s the agricultural sector generally accounted for 48 percent of the nation's employment, 23 percent of GDP, and 98 percent of export earnings. The sector comprised a strong food and cash crop base, a large livestock subsector including cattle ranching and beef production, and a vibrant timber industry.
Deforestation is one of the most serious environmental issues in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka's current forest cover as of 2017 was 29.7%. In the 1920s, the island had a 49 percent forest cover but by 2005 this had fallen by approximately 26 percent. or 24-35%. Between 1990 and 2000, Sri Lanka lost an average of 26,800 ha of forests per year. This amounts to an average annual deforestation rate of 1.14%. Between 2000 and 2005 the rate accelerated to 1.43% per annum. However, with a long history of policy and laws towards environmental protection, deforestation rates of primary cover have decreased 35% since the end of the 1990s thanks to a strong history of conservation measures. The problem of deforestation in Sri Lanka is not as significant in the southern mountainous regions as it is in northern and lowland southern Sri Lanka, largely due to the nature of environmental protection.
Value-added wood products in Ontario are the result of combining commodity level products and innovation. Essentially, producing value-added wood products means taking raw materials and turning it into something useful. For example: engineered wood, millwork, cabinets, furniture, tongue depressors or popsicle sticks. Additional processing of a commodity wood product by manufacturers creates a specialty product whose value is more than the original product. These value-added products become part of the secondary sector of our economy.
Illegal logging has been a problem in Madagascar for decades and is perpetuated by extreme poverty and government corruption. Often taking the form of selective logging, the trade has been driven by high international demand for expensive, fine-grained lumber such as rosewood and ebony. Historically, logging and exporting in Madagascar have been regulated by the Malagasy government, although the logging of rare hardwoods was explicitly banned from protected areas in 2000. Since then, government orders and memos have intermittently alternated between permitting and banning exports of precious woods. The most commonly cited reason for permitting exports is to salvage valuable wood from cyclone damage, although this reasoning has come under heavy scrutiny. This oscillating availability of Malagasy rosewood and other precious woods has created a market of rising and falling prices, allowing traders or "timber barons" to stockpile illegally sourced logs during periodic bans and then flood the market when the trade windows open and prices are high. Over 350,000 trees were illegally felled in Madagascar between 2010 and 2015, according to TRAFFIC.
Forestry in New Zealand has a history starting with European settlement in the 19th century and is now an industry worth seven percent of annual revenue. Much of the original native forest cover was burnt off and logged, however forests have been extensively planted, predominantly with fast-growing cultivars of the Monterey Pine. Wood chips, whole logs, lumber and paper products are exported from New Zealand.
The history of the lumber industry in the United States spans from the precolonial period of British timber speculation, subsequent British colonization, and American development into the twenty-first century. Following the near eradication of domestic timber on the British Isles, the abundance of old-growth forests in the New World posed an attractive alternative to importing choice timber from the Baltic via the narrow straits and channels between Denmark and Sweden. The easily available timber proved an incredible resource to early settlers, with both domestic consumption and overseas trade fueling demand. The industry expanded rapidly as Americans logged their way across the country. In this pursuit, hundreds of thousands of indigenous peoples were displaced, murdered, and enslaved for the purpose of the timber industry.
The wood industry or timber industry is the industry concerned with forestry, logging, timber trade, and the production of primary forest products and wood products and secondary products like wood pulp for the pulp and paper industry. Some of the largest producers are also among the biggest owners of forest. The wood industry has historically been and continues to be an important sector in many economies.
Media related to Forestry in Ghana at Wikimedia Commons
