Лесные ресурсы Республики Гана

Abstract

The Republic of Ghana is among the 50 countries in the world with the highest biodiversity of plant and animal species. The network of forest reserves in the country is the basis for the rich biodiversity conservation. One third of the Ghana’s territory was covered with natural rainforests at the beginning of the 20th century. These forests are now classified as reserves and vulnerable areas. Ghana has two main types of vegetation: savannahs and forests. Their features are determined by the amount of precipitation, moisture level, geology and soils. An inventory of Ghana’s forest resources revealed that the area of forests had been reduced by 19 %. Biodiversity conservation, climate change mitigation, ecotourism and the improvement of living conditions have become important areas in Ghana’s forestry. This has led to significant changes in forest management and logging technologies. The large-scale afforestation programs initiated in the country support the conservation of many populations of flora and fauna. The forest sector includes forest management and woodworking industry, which contribute significantly to currency earnings in Ghana via the export of wood products. Revenue from the export of primary forest products amounted to USD 230.2 million in 2015. Ghana uses 26 types of wood species to produce various parts of garden furniture for export. The forest sector employs more than 100,000 workers. Ghana earns enormous revenues from the export of sawn timber and wood products, so there is an afforestation program. The government’s policy is requiring all timber companies that cut down trees to plant seedlings for the restoration of rainforests. Ghana is ready for a large-scale afforestation campaign so as to contribute to solving the problem of deforestation and climate change that humanity is facing.