The Honourable Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Jinapor, made a remark in response to a particular question in Parliament on February 23 on the condition of Ghana's forest reserves that seems to be at odds with information that is readily available to the public.
A Rocha Ghana intends to highlight these anomalies and address a few of the gaps to ensure Ghanaians get a clearer understanding of the status of Ghana's Forest Reserves. This action has also become important because all efforts to engage an audience in a conversation about these issues have failed.
The primary sub-sections mentioned in the Minister's statement to the Honourable House are aligned with our concerns and findings.
The Sustainability of Ghana's Forest Reserves
According to the Minister, Ghana's forest reserves have mainly preserved their natural integrity. This issue is irrelevant. This assertion is improbable given the enormous harm caused by galamsey, clear-cutting, and farming in certain forest reserves that have not yet been repaired. Intense damage appears to have destroyed the biological integrity of forest reserves such as Krokosua, Sui River, Tano Suraw Extension, Afao Hills, Upper Wassaw, Anhwiaso West and East, Supuma Shelterbelt, Tano Offin, and Denyau Shelterbelt. the forest reserves of Numereso, Bepo Tintin, Kubi, Watreso, Adamso, Bunsu
Our assessments on the ground show that, in the absence of any logistical or operational assistance given to the current setup, the Forestry Commission continues to struggle daily to keep illicit operations out of our Forest Reserves. What has changed today? It is crucial to be transparent about the condition of Ghana's forest reserves since doing so would encourage focused replanting and restoration efforts.
Mining in Forest Reserves Requires Forest Entry Permits
Six Forest Entry Permits have been obtained for mining in Forest Reserves, according to the honorable minister, who named them all. This list isn't complete, though. On August 3, 2021, Asante Gold declared that it had just received a Forest Access Permit from the Ghanaian government that covered all of the forested regions within its Kubi mining concession.
In addition to being omitted from the list, it seems the Permit was issued after the President imposed a tight embargo on mining-related new Forest Entry Permits. The Minister declared in April 2021 that "going ahead, the Forestry Commission should not issue Forest Entry Permit for purposes of mining in Forest Reserves" to explain the President's prohibitions.
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