Perceived Injustices in Forest Policy Interventions are Causes of Forest Resources Degradation and Loss in Ghana: A Review

Abstract

Forests \nprovide diverse co-benefits, including livelihoods enhancement, poverty \nalleviation, and biodiversity conservation and ecosystem services such as \nclimate mitigation. Consequently, Ghana has embraced several global, regional, \nnational, and local forest policy interventions to safeguard its forest \nresources’ sustainable management. However, the forest policy interventions \nhave not adequately addressed the co-benefits issues of forest resources \nleading to several forest illegalities that drive forest resources degradation \nand loss. These forest policies and interventions on the ground primarily \nfavour carbon stocks enhancement and sequestration activities for carbon \nmitigation purposes compared to the benefits, access and rights that \nforest-dependent people and communities are supposed to derive from forest \nresources. These perceived injustices in the access and distribution of forest \nresources have culminated into all forms of forest illegalities driving Ghana’s \nforest resources into massive degradation and loss. Currently, Ghana is \nexperiencing a 2% rate of annual deforestation and forest degradation, which \ntranslates into approximately 135,000 ha/year of forest cover loss due to anthropogenic causes. Our review is based \non relevant and critical forest documents, and scientific peer-reviewed papers \non Ghana’s forest policy interventions and dynamics recently published. The \ninformation gathered enabled us to highlight the perceived injustices in the \nforest policy interventions and their effects on forest resources. Unjust \nforest resources sharing and distribution are critical drivers of forest \nresources degradation and loss. We thus offer lessons for remedying the unfair \ndistribution and injustices to promote equitable forest resources rights and \nbenefit access to local forest-dependent people. It is expected that this \nreview will offer and assist forest policy, intervention spatial and other \nplanners and designers to find a possible way forward to avoid nature \ndegradation, including biodiversity loss, to resolve perceived injustices in \nthe forestry sector, to use adequate all ecosystem services provided by forests \nas well as to promote local livelihood and sustainability.