Abstract:
The Forestry Commission of Ghana is responsible for the regulation of forest
and wildlife resources utilization, conservation and management and the
coordination of policies related to them. As part of its policy of contributing
in a timely manner to public debate on issues related to forest and wildlife
resources, the Forestry Commission is committed to providing information
on the status of these resources through the publication of a Forest & Wildlife
Resources Handbook. Such information increases our understanding and
knowledge of the status of forest and wildlife resources and provides a basis for
informed debate on how best to encourage sustainable forest management.
Ghana’s quest for sustainable forest management, which dates back to the
early 1900’s, has largely involved enactment of legislations, policy reforms
and other legal approaches for the control of forestry activities. In the mid 1990’s, reforms in the forestry sector culminated in the 1994 Forest and
Wildlife Policy, and the 1996 Forestry Development Master Plan (1996 –
2020). These and other recent regulatory tools and mechanisms have been
the main driving force that has spurred Ghana to work towards sustainable
forest management over the past decades.
This Handbook is a compendium of information about forests and wildlife
resources, forestry and wood processing in Ghana. It includes information
on environmental and social aspects of forests and other related issues.
This Forest & Wildlife Resources Handbook is the first comprehensive
compilation of forestry information in Ghana in a single volume. The
Handbook is intended to serve as a credible source of information on the
resources managed by the Forestry Commission on behalf of its numerous
stakeholders and the general public at large. This Handbook should serve as
an important reference book for various users.
It is worth mentioning that this maiden edition of the Forest & Wildlife
Resources Handbook had relied entirely on existing information compiled
from various sources into one volume. The sources include published and
unpublished literature as well as consultancy and study reports, and project
documentation. The information in this publication has been subjected to
a review process by experts in the field of forestry and wildlife. Attempts
were made to have a comprehensive coverage of all aspects relating to
the management, utilization and conservation of forest and wildlife
resources. However, there are some areas where comprehensive data are
currently not available. Furthermore, as a national output, this publication concentrates on topics and areas for which the available data is of regional
or national significance.
