Geog 302 Teaching Notes (Strictly not for sale)

Dr. J. Teye 2014

FOREST RESOURCES
Definition of Forest
Forest can be defined as vegetation dominated by trees, without a grassy or weedy
under-storey, and which has not recently been farmed (Hall, 1987:33). Although
forest vegetation covers about 30% of the worlds land area, this vegetation differs in
structure and composition. Some of the common types of forests are the tropical rain
forest, moist deciduous forest, coniferous forest etc. The Equatorial Moist Evergreen
Forest (also referred to as Tropical Rainforest) has the highest biological diversity
biodiversity (i.e. the number and variety of living organisms). This forest is generally
evergreen and located within the tropics. Spatially, it is extensive in the following
regions: (i) South American Amazonian Basin (e.g. Brazil); (ii) Equatorial Africa (e.g.
Ghana, Nigeria, Congo); (iii) South-East Asia (e.g. Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines).
Types of Forest Resources
Forest resources can be classified as timber products or non-timber products. As
the name implies, non-timber forest products encompass all biological materials other
than timber which are extracted for human use (Woodcock, 2002). Non-timber forest
products (NTFPs) in Ghana include: foods (e.g. bush meat, snails, fruit, seeds,
mushrooms); spices; cola nut; medicines; cane used for making furniture and baskets;
sponges, gum and rattan (Falconer, 1992; Kotey et al., 1998). Apart from contributing
directly to the subsistence of forest communities, trading in these non-timber forest
products is a very important economic activity in both rural and urban areas in Ghana.
Socio-Economic and Ecological Importance of Forests
Forests provide man with important food resources. In many parts of the world,
people still depend on wild fruits and bush meat from the forests. According to Asibey
(1987), about 80% of the rural population in Ghana regularly consume bush meat.
Provision of shelter is another socio-economic importance of forests. Wood from
forests is still important for the construction of houses. The export of wood is an
important source of foreign exchange to many countries. In Ghana, the timber
industry provides 11% of foreign exchange earnings and contributes 6% to Gross
Domestic Product (Oduro, 2002). Forest is also an important source of fuel to most
people in the developing world. For instance, almost all rural households and about
69% of all urban dwellers in Ghana use charcoal for heating. Forests also serve as
source of raw materials for many industries. The important industries that are
dependent on forest resources are paper industry, cardboard, plywood, furniture,
matchbox etc. Again, some leaves supply materials for beverages and cosmetics.
Forests also provide useful medicinal plants. You may be aware that most of the
traditional medicines in Ghana are prepared from herbs obtained from the forests.
The recreational services provided by forests are also of economic importance to
many countries. Indeed, protected forests and sanctuaries now attract millions of
tourists which benefit a countrys economy in many ways. Native people can sell their
ware to the tourists, be their guides, and provide food and shelter to obtain much

needed income. You may be aware that the Kakum National Park is an important
tourist site in Ghana. The socio-cultural significance of forests cannot be overemphasised. They provide intangible benefits, such as sacred sites and cultural
symbols. Sacred groves in Ghana are sites for traditional prayers and rituals. Besides,
forest products feature prominently in many cultural ceremonies and practices in
Ghana. Drums are produced from particular woods and skins of animals (Falconer,
1992).
Forests also provide environmental and ecological benefits. Forests constitute one
of the most important ecosystems is the world (Grainger, 1993; Potter et al., 2008).
Forests have long been recognized as the reservoir and source of much of the species
biodiversity on the planet. In other words, forests provide habitat for numerous
species of flora and fauna, and generally help to maintain the biological diversity.
They enhance rainfall intensity and frequency. Forests also play the role as a carbon
sink (they absorb carbon) thereby regulating temperature on the planet (Betts et al.,
2008). When forests are destroyed, the vast quantities of carbon dioxide that they
contain are released into the atmosphere. This contributes to global warming. Forests
also help to reduce soil erosion by holding soil firmly.
Spatial Distribution of Forest Resources in Ghana
The forest area of Ghana is estimated at 9.17 million ha, of which Closed Forest Zone
(high forests) constitutes 8.1342 million ha. About 1.036 million ha is made up of the
Transitional Forest Zone. The Closed Forests made up of large commercial timber
stock are located in the south-western part of Ghana. As shown in figure 4.1, this zone
is further divided into two parts, namely the dense evergreen forest and the semideciduous forest. The former is floristically the richest (Mensah-Ntiamoah, 1989;
Hawthorne and Abu Juam, 1995). According to Hall and Swaine (1981), there are
over 2,100 plant species (23 of which endemic) in the high forest zone of Ghana. The
fauna of the high forest zone includes more than 200 species of mammals, many of
which are rare or endangered (Mensah-Ntiamoah, 1989).
The Savannah Zone, which covers 14.66 million ha, is located at the northern part of
the country. This zone does not support large commercial timber stock, but it is still a
source of very useful livelihood resources (e.g herbs, fodder, fuel wood etc). For all
practical purposes, formal forestry in Ghana has only been concerned with the high
forest zones (Kotey et al., 1998).

Figure 4.1 Land cover map of Ghana

Source: Prah (1994)
Permanent forests estates and off-reserve forests in Ghana
Some parts of the high forest zone in Ghana are under reservation. This area is about
1.77 million hectares, of which 1.634 million ha is managed by the Forestry
Department (MLF, 2001). Though agriculture is generally not permitted within these
reserves, a few portions of them were alienated as admitted farms at the time of
gazetting the reserves. Production of annual crops also takes place within some
degraded reserves. This is part of the Taungya system, in which farmers are allowed
to cultivate food crops on forest lands. In return, the farmers must plant trees on such
farms for the Forestry Department.
A significant proportion of Ghanas forests lie outside reserves and these have mostly
been converted to farming lands. Forest area outside reserves is, therefore, a mosaic of
agricultural fields, fallow lands, settlements and patches of secondary forests. Much
of the very little intact forests outside reserves are confined to sacred groves (forests
used as sacred sites), sources of streams, and hill tops. Off-reserve forests are as

important as the on-reserve forests. The area (i.e. off-reserve) was a source of 70% of
timber harvested between 1960 and 1972. This proportion declined to about 50%
between 1974 and 1992 but rose again to nearly 80% in 1994 (Kotey et al., 1998).
THE LUMBERING INDUSTRY
Factors Influencing the Development of the Lumbering Industry
The factors that influence the development of the lumbering industry are: nature of
the forest; preference for tree species; climate; infrastructure; capital and demand for
wood. Let me now explain these factors.
Nature of the forest: Logging is relatively easier in forests in which trees belonging
to the same species grow together (i.e. the trees are in pure stands) than those in which
trees belonging to the same species do not grow together. When trees are not in pure
stand, logging companies, need to undertake thorough surveys to look for preferred
tree species before harvesting can take place. This increases the cost of production
and therefore affects the development of the lumbering industry. As will be discussed
later, logging is more difficult in the tropical forests than the temperate forests
because trees in the tropical forests are not in pure stands. Logging is also quite
difficult in forests with thick undergrowth.
Preference for tree species: The development of the lumbering industry in any
region also depends on the utility value of the tree species available in that region.
Compared with temperate softwood, tropical hardwood cannot be used in paper or
match box industry. This may also help to explain why the lumbering industry is more
developed in temperate regions than tropical regions.
Climate: In some regions of the world, it is not easy to extract trees throughout the
year. For instance, logging is difficult in most parts of the tropical world during the
rainy season when the ground becomes muddy. In contrast, it is possible to harvest
trees in most parts of the year in the temperate regions. Even in winter, the trees are
dragged by mechanical means over the slippery, frozen ground
Infrastructure: The level of development of the lumbering industry is also
determined by availability of infrastructure, particularly railways, roads and water
transportation facilities. Timber is heavy and needs to be transported as cheaply as
possible. Rivers are the cheapest means of transporting timber to the factories and
ports. The timber logs may be thrown into a river and floated downstream to sawmills
or ports. In Ghana, most of the timber was originally floated down the Ankobra and
Tano rivers to Axim and Half Assini respectively. Timber logs can also be carried
cheaply by means of railway wagons. Again, adequate supply of cheap power is
needed to support the development of a lumbering industry.
Capital: The timber industry requires heavy investments in various types of
machines. Consequently, developed countries, which have adequate capital, have a
more developed lumbering industry. In developing countries like Ghana, capital is
sometimes not available locally to promote a well developed lumbering industry. The

ability of poor countries to develop their lumbering industry depends significantly on

the willingness of foreign companies to invest in these countries.
Demand for wood: The timber industry develops better in countries that can find a
bigger market for timber products. In general, developed countries tend to have a
larger market for timber products than developing countries. Any poor country that
wants to expand timber production may have to first find an export market.
Differences between Lumbering in Temperate and Tropical Regions
Despite the fact that the tropical forests have higher variety of tree species than the
temperate forest, the lumbering industry is more developed in the temperate region
than in the tropics. In fact, nearly 80% of global lumbering products are obtained
from temperate coniferous forest spread over North America and Europe (Roy, 1997).
In the presentation that follows, I shall discuss the differences between lumbering in
the tropics with that in the temperate region. The presentation will essentially discuss
the favourable conditions that account for a well developed lumbering industry in the
temperate countries, and also explain the main problems facing the lumbering
industry in the tropics.
I want to stress that the main differences between lumbering in the temperate and
tropical regions can largely be discussed under the same factors identified as having
influence on development of the lumbering industry. As explained already, these
factors include: the nature of the forests; preference for tree species; demand for
timber; availability of capital; climate and infrastructure.
In relation to the nature of the forests, tree species in temperate region are more
homogeneous (in pure stands). Harvesting can take place with little preliminary
survey. The absence of undergrowth in the temperate forest also makes extraction
much easier. In contrast, the tropical forest is heterogeneous (tree species do not form
pure stands). Valuable trees are scattered over extensive areas. In addition, there is
dense undergrowth. These factors make lumbering in the tropics more difficult. Again,
most big trees in the tropics have buttress root system. Cutting of such trees is
difficult as platforms will have to be raised in order to cut the trees.
As noted already, preference for tree species and demand for timber also have
significant influence on the development of the lumbering industry. I have already
explained that compared to temperate softwood, tropical hardwood cannot be used in
paper or match box industry. Another reason why the demand for temperate soft wood
is high is the fact that the adjacent countries of temperate region are highly developed
and industrially prosperous. People in these climatic areas have great purchasing
power, and great requirement of wood. In contrast, significant proportion of wood
produced in poor tropical countries like Africa is used as fuel.
Availability of infrastructural also explains why the lumbering industry is more
developed in the temperate region than the tropical region. The temperate region has
developed networks of roads and railways to promote lumbering. Again, there is a
regular supply of power. In contrast, the road and rail networks are poorly developed
in the tropics. Again, due to inaccessible nature of the terrain, it is quite difficult to
use large vehicles and machines in some areas within the tropics. The use of rivers to

transport timber in the tropics is also greatly affected by the fact that most of the
rivers in the region are not very suitable for navigation. Their volumes fluctuate
during the dry season, thus becoming too shallow for heavy logs to be floated. Some
of the rivers are also characterised by rapids and falls. Most areas of the tropics also
do not have access to power and this means that sawmills can be located only in big
towns.
Variations in climatic conditions also partly explain why lumbering is more
developed in the temperate regions than the tropics. Some parts of the tropical forest
are moist, swampy and contain great variety of pests and insects. These make the
extraction of trees very difficult.
Availability of capital partly contributed to the development of the lumbering
industry in temperate countries in North America and Europe. As capital is readily
available, advanced technology is employed in the lumbering industry. On the other
hand, most tropical countries lack the necessary capital to invest in the lumbering
industry. As a result, timber companies still depend on simple and traditional methods
of timber extraction. It is important to state also that the low level of mechanization of
the lumbering industry in the tropics is also partly caused by inaccessibility of the
terrains.
Differences in forest management practices also explain why the lumbering
industry in temperate countries is more developed than that in tropical regions. As will
be explained later, Illegal logging is very pervasive in the tropical world, due to a
combination of ineffective government policies, poverty and corruption. It is feared
that the lumbering industry in some tropical countries may collapse in the near future,
if illegal logging is not controlled.
Based on the presentation above, I hope you can easily identified the problems facing
the lumbering industry in the tropical world.

Problems Facing the Lumbering Industry in Ghana

As Ghana is a tropical country, the problems facing its lumbering industry are
basically the same as the general problems facing the lumbering industry in the
tropics. For the sake of clarity let me emphasise these problems, with reference to
Ghana:
Heterogeneous nature of the forests: Trees in the Ghanaian forest do not grow in
pure stands. Accessibility of the high forests in south-western Ghana is also quite
difficult, due to the presence of dense undergrowth, epiphytes and lianas. These
factors make wood harvesting very difficult and costly. Most big trees in the Ghanaian
forests also have buttress root system and are thus difficult to cut.

Unfavourable climate: Logging in the in Ghana is sometimes impeded by high

temperatures, heavy rainfall (which makes the ground swampy and muddy) and the
presence of pests and insects.
Poor infrastructure: Poorly developed networks of roads and highways make
transportation of timber to wood processing factories and ports very difficult. The use
of rivers to transport timber in Ghana is also greatly affected by the fact that the
volumes of some rivers fluctuate during the dry season, thus becoming too shallow for
heavy logs to be floated. Some of the rivers also have water falls or rapids along their
courses.
Unreliable supply of power: Ghana has been facing acute energy problems in recent
years. The country heavily relies on Hydro Power produced from the Akosombo dam.
The hydro power supply is not reliable due to fluctuations in the volume of water in
the Akosombo dam. Consequently, many factories including sawmills sometimes
operate below capacity due to the inadequate power.
Inadequate capital: Most local timber producing firms in Ghana are unable to raise
adequate capital to purchase advanced logging equipments and vehicles. This partly
contributes to the use of traditional methods of timber extraction. The same problem
contributes to inability to add value to timber before export.
High level of illegal logging: As hinted already, Illegal logging is also another major
problem that affects the lumbering industry in Ghana. It has been estimated recently
that about 70-80% of industrial wood produced annually is from illegal sources
(Ghana News Agency, 2008). High level of illegal logging is partly responsible for
high forest loss. More than 46% capacity of the forest has been exceeded during the
period from 1990 and 2000 (Birikorang, 2001).

DEFORESTATION
The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has been estimating the rates of
deforestation in several parts of the world. Annual rate of global forest loss in the
1990s was 2.4% (Potter et al, 2008). In a recent assessment reports (2000-2005), FAO
concludes that net deforestation rates have fallen since the 1990-2000 period, but
amount of forest loss each year is still quite huge.
In absolute terms, South America suffered the largest net loss of forests between 2000
and 2005. Africa suffered the second largest loss. However, as shown in Table 5.1, in
terms of percentage forest loss per year, Africa has the highest deforestation rate of
0.6%, while South America has the second highest rate of deforestation of 0.5%.
Regarding deforestation rates in individual countries, Brazil loses the largest area of
forest annually. However, in terms of percentages, Nigeria and Sudan were the two
largest losers of natural forest during the 2000-2005 period. From the above, it is
clear that developing countries in the tropics have a higher level of forests loss than
temperate countries in North America and Europe.
Table 5.1 Change in forested land by region, 2000-2005

Region
Africa
Asia
Europe
Caribbean
North and Central America
Oceania
South America
World
Source: FAO (2006)

Percentage Change in forest area per year

- 0.6
0.18
0.07
0.90
- 0.05
-0.17
-0.50
-0.18

Note: Negative figures in the table imply net forest loss, while positive figures denote
net forest gain. Forest gain is a result of tree planting activities.
Magnitude of Ghanas Forest Loss
There is no agreement on the magnitude of forest loss in Ghana. Most conventional
estimates suggests that forest cover fell from about 8 million ha in the late 1890s to
about 2 million ha contemporary (Frimpong-Mensah, 1989; Ebregt, 1995). To these
researchers, deforestation in Ghana is a recent phenomenon, brought about by the
expansion of farming activities. Fairhead and Leach (1998) argued that most of these
conventional estimates of forest trends were inaccurate because they were based on a
wrong assumption that the entire southern Ghana was forested in the 1890s. They
asserted that the forests before the 1890s may have just covered 5.5 million ha, of
which 2 million ha still remain. Thus, forest loss in the twentieth century was only
about half of that suggested in the conventional literature (Fairhead and Leach, 1998).
However, even these researchers agree that the rate of deforestation was quite high
during the 20th Century.
According to FAO (2003) deforestation in Ghana was about 1.7% per annum between
1990 and 2000. One sad aspect of the deforestation in Ghana is the fact that even
forest reserves have been destroyed. In fact, only 2% of the total area of forest
reserves is in a very excellent condition. in fact, of 214 forest reserves assessed in
1993 by Hawthorne and Abu Juam, 121 (representing about half of the entire reserves
area) are seriously degraded or without forests at all (Hawthorne and Abu Juam,
1995).
Causes of Deforestation in the World
The causes of deforestation are complex and quite poorly understood (Grainger,
1993). However, it is generally acknowledged that certain factors are responsible for
the rapid forest loss in many parts of the world. In the presentation that follows,
therefore, I will take you though these factors. The causes of deforestation can be put
into two categories, namely direct or proximate and indirect or underlying or
fundamental factors. The direct/proximate factors are the direct human activities
that cause forest loss. These are: agricultural activities, logging, mining, fuel wood
production, bush fires and expansion of human settlements. The
indirect/underlying/fundamental causes are those factors which trigger the direct
causes (Teye, 2005; Potter et al, 2008). They include: rapid population growth,
8

poverty, inappropriate property rights, weak forest policies and corruption. Let us now
discuss these factors.
Direct Causes of Deforestation
Agriculture: The need for greater food production to meet rising population has led
to massive increase in cropland at the expense of forests. By the early 1990s, almost
40% of earths land surface had been converted to cropland and permanent pasture.
This conversion has occurred largely at the expense of forests and grassland (Roy,
1997). In Ghana and elsewhere in Africa, expansion in land under cultivation is the
commonest means of increasing agriculture production, as farmers hardly use
intensive techniques. In the Brazilian Amazonia forest region, forest loss is
significantly caused by cattle ranching.
Bush fires: High incidence of bush fires also causes destruction forests. As you
learned during your study of Geog 103, the bush farrowing system of farming, which
is very common in the tropical world, is associated with the slash and burn farming
method. Sometimes these fires get out of hand to destroy large areas of forests.
Hunting is another cause of bush fires in Ghana. Fires are used for directing the game
in the hunting process.
Timber Production: If well organized, logging may not cause serious deforestation.
However, in most tropical countries, the level of timber extraction is far beyond the
sustainable capacity of the forests. A major cause of this problem is the high level of
Illegal logging and lack of comprehensive tree planting programmes. Globally, illegal
logging constitutes 80% of wood harvested annually. As noted already, about 70-80%
of industrial wood produced annually in Ghana, for instance, is from illegal sources
(Ghana News Agency, 2008). Similarly, 80% and 73% of wood produced in Brazil
and Indonesia respectively are from illegal sources (EU Forest Watch, 2001).
Fuel Wood: As you may be aware, fuel wood is an important source of energy for
most people in the developing world. For example, almost all households in rural
Ghana use either charcoal or fuel wood as the main source of energy. Even in urban
areas in Ghana, about 69% of all households use charcoal (Kotey et al, 1998; Teye,
2005). The cutting of trees to meet this high demand for fuel wood is therefore a
major cause of the depletion of forest resources in many developing countries.
Mining: Mining activities have significant effects on the environment. Extensive
areas of forest lands are excavated leading to the loss of forest cover. In Ghana, most
of the mineral deposits (gold, bauxite, diamond and manganese) are located within the
main forest belt. The extraction of these minerals has therefore led to the clearing of
large hectares of the forests.
Settlement growth and other development projects: As a result of the high rate of
population growth, human settlements are expanding rapidly and this has led to the
clearing of forests to build houses. Forests are also cleared for road construction.
Again, development projects such as dam construction can lead to the destruction of
forests. For instance, a significant portion of the area covered by the Volta Lake in

Ghana was originally covered with forest. After the construction of the Akosombo
dam, most of the plants and animal species have been destroyed by the water.
Indirect Causes of Deforestation
Rapid population growth: As more people are being added to the population, the
exploitation of forests for commodities such as fire wood and timber increases. Again
population increase is the underlying cause of settlement expansion and the
conversion of large areas of forest lands to farms. While, the link between population
growth and deforestation is obvious, there is no evidence to suggest that population
increases inevitably causes forest loss. In fact, cases have been reported in parts of
Kenya where increase in population densities has rather led to sophisticated
sustainable farming systems, thereby controlling forest loss (Tiffen et al. 1994).

Poverty: Widespread poverty, especially among rural people who depend directly on
forests for fuel wood, food and game, partly accounts for several forms of
environmental degradation including forest loss. Durning (1989) noted that the poor
not only suffer disproportionately from environmental damage caused by the richer;
they have become a major cause of environmental decline themselves. Pushed to the
marginal lands by population growth and inadequate development patterns, they raze
plots in rain forests, steep slopes and overgraze fragile rangelands. It is important to
mention that the argument that poverty causes environmental degradation (including
deforestation) has been contested. It has been argued that the poor lack the ability to
pay for the materials and labour needed to clear forest. Movik and others have argued
that the major cause of environmental degradation may not lie in the presence of
poverty itself, but institutional failure and the absence of a functioning property rights
system, which act as primary incentives to adopt unsustainable land use practices
(Movik et al. 2003, 16).
Corruption: Corruption has also been identified as a major cause of forest loss in
many parts of the developing world (Winbourne, 2005). Corrupt forestry officials
often connive with timber companies and chainsaw operators to harvest wood
illegally (Callister, 1999). Commenting on this problem, the Transparency
International (2008: 1) states that: Forestry officials and law enforcement officers
who are in the pockets of corrupt logging firms often turn a blind eye to illegal
activities that threaten the sustainable management of the forests biodiversity.
We shall discuss the various levels of corruption later.
Inappropriate Forest Policies and Property Rights Systems: Inappropriate forest
policies and or poor enforcement of forest laws also account for rapid forest loss in
many tropical countries. In fact, policy weaknesses have been identified as a major
cause of high rate of forest loss in most African countries, including Ghana (Grainger
and Konteh, 2007; Teye, 2008). Before 1994 when the newest Forest and Wildlife
Policy was passed in Ghana, local communities were not actively involved in forest
management. Again, fines for illegal logging were too low to scare illegal loggers.
For instance, the amounts imposed as property marks and fines in 1974 were not
revised until 1994. In such circumstances, the property marks and the fines were

10

always far below the actual market price of the timber. This made it lucrative for
people to harvest timber illegally because even if they were caught, they could still
pay the fine and pocket huge profits. Again, royalty levels were often very low,
because of the desire to help local timber firms. The World Bank Mission, in 1986,
noted that forest resources in Ghana could be considered a free good because of the
exceptionally low royalty and fees levels (IBRD, 1986). Awudi and Davies (2001)
estimated that the state and landowning communities received only 13% of the actual
value of timber (after logging costs were deducted). Total uncollected timber revenue
is about $100 million per annum (Forest Watch, 2006; Teye, 2008). Poor revenue
collection affects forest management as it means the forestry institutions cannot
purchase equipments for forest protection. In fact, enforcement of forest protection
laws in Ghana has also been poor, due to combined effects of resource constraints and
corruption.
Inappropriate property rights systems have also contributed to rapid deforestation in
Ghana and other developing countries. Poor farmers are sometimes reluctant to make
the investments in forest management because they do not have secure legal rights to
forest land (Wilson, 2003). In Ghana, the forests are actually owned by local
communities, but management and utilisation rights are held by the Forestry
Department on behalf of the government. Traditional authorities and District
Assemblies are given the communities share of forest revenue. However, in most
cases, the farmers are not the actual owners of the land on which they farm. Such
farmers, who actually nurture the trees, may not get any share of forest revenue.
Consequently, these farmers do not have any incentive to protect trees on their farms.
Due to anger towards timber contractors who have been destroying the crops of
farmers without paying any compensation to them, some farmers have deliberately
been destroying young trees on their farms. This is because, they knew that if those
trees grow up, chainsaw operators would come and cut them, thereby destroying their
farms (Teye, 2008).
Effects of Deforestation
The common ecological and environmental effects include: climate change, drying
up of water bodies, soil erosion, silting of rivers and biodiversity loss. First, the
depletion of tropical forests tends to lead to the emissions of carbon dioxide, thereby
causing global warming. Second, the combined effects of the high evaporation due to
rising temperatures and declining amount of rainfall has led to significant fall in the
volume of water in many water bodies. Deforestation also generally increases
rates of soil erosion, by increasing the amount of runoff and reducing the protection
of the soil from tree litter. The eroded may be deposited onto the beds of many big
rivers, thereby causing silting of rivers. Another ecological effect of deforestation is
biodiversity loss. Forests provide habitat for wildlife. When they are destroyed, some
of these animals also go extinct.
With regards to socioeconomic effects, deforestation leads to loss of employment
and revenue from the sale of forest products. Declining amount of rainfall as a result
of forest loss also affects crop production. The disappearance of forest animals and
trees affects ecotourism as the aesthetic qualities of tourist sites are significantly
reduced by the loss of biodiversity.

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Measures of Controlling Deforestation

Given that the causes of deforestation are complex, measures of controlling it differ
from place to place. Ideally, any strategy of controlling forest loss must tackle both
the direct and indirect causes of the problem. Some of the measures are listed below:
Aforestation: As you learned during your study of GEOG 103, tree planting is one of
the direct methods of controlling deforestation. Governments and international
organisations are supporting the tree planting activities in the developing world.
Improved farming methods: Deforestation can also be reduced if farmers use
methods that are environmentally friendly. One of such farming systems is agroforestry. In this system of farming, farmers cultivate crops and raise commercial trees
at the same time.
Forest Policies: The formulation and implementation of appropriate forest policies
can also reduce deforestation. Land tenure systems and systems for sharing forest
revenue must be reviewed to ensure that local farmers who nurture trees receive some
rewards. This line of thinking has prompted intense international pressures on the
governments of the tropical world to adopt sustainable forest policies. Such attempts
by international actors to influence the environmental policies of developing countries
are termed ecoimperialism (Lal, 1990). Such pressures, in recent years, have taken
the form of financial aid conditionalities, in which developing countries are
required to adopt sustainable and participatory forest policies in return for bilateral
and multilateral donor grants (World Bank, 2000; Agrawal, 2007). It is argued that
involvement of local people in forest management will ensure the protection of forests
and also bring about equal distribution of forest revenue, thereby reducing poverty
among rural people. Many developing countries claim that they have adopted such
decentralised forest policies (Carney and Farrington, 1998). In reality, however, these
forest decentralisation programmes are poorly implemented, since central
governments are unwilling to handover the management of lucrative timber to local
people (Ribot 2007).
Controlling population, poverty and corruption: Measures aimed at controlling
population growth and rural poverty can also help to reduce forest loss. Population
growth can be reduced by promoting female education and encouraging modern
contraceptives use. Rural poverty can be controlled by training rural people in
alternative income generating activities, such as dress making, soap making etc. This
will reduce their direct reliance on land-based resources for survival. These
programmes are being promoted under what is usually referred to as social forestry
programmes. Controlling of corruption in the forestry sector will also go a long
way to help reduce deforestation. As a way of controlling corruption in the award of
timber harvesting permits, international donors are pressurising governments of the
developing world to adopt competitive bidding systems for awarding timber
harvesting contracts. It is, however, important to mention that even where competitive
bidding systems are used, the political elite can still award contracts to companies
they prefer, since the criteria for selecting best firms may be adjusted to fit the
qualifications of specific firms.

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Principles of Natural Resource Governance

Natural resource governance entails the formulation and implementation of natural

resource policy. For instance, Ghana has policies that govern the extraction and use of
forest resources, minerals etc. A natural resource governance system must also have in
place rules governing the distribution of revenue (Teye, 2013). Various principles of
good natural resource governance have been suggested in the literature. Most of these
principles have been made with respect to the management of forests, fisheries and
mineral deposits. One of the most important principles of good governance system is
that it must ensure that the roles of the various stakeholders are recognised and
accepted (Woodcock, 2002). Second, the interest groups must be actively involved in
the formulation and implementation of natural resource policy. A good natural
resource governance system must also ensure that the rights of local people are
protected (Agrawal, 2007). It is also expected that the management system must
create incentives and disincentives for sustainable natural resource management
(Larson, 2002). On the other hand, weak natural resource governance is also
associated with high level of corruption and this may loss of forest revenue (Callister,
1999; Winbourne, 2002; Owusu, Nketiah, Aggrey, & Wiersum, 2010; Teye, 2013).
Weak natural resource governance system also brings about conflicts. This occurs
when the rights of local communities have been violated in the extraction of
resources. It may also occur when central government officials fail to develop the
regions where resources are extracted. The situation whereby there are serious
conflicts over natural resource management is pervasive in Africa (e.g. Nigeria,
Liberia, Sierra Leone etc). This situation is referenced to as resource curse.
Corruption and natural resource management: The case of forests
As noted already, one of the results of a weak natural resource management system is
corruption, which usually causes loss of revenue. According to Marmon (2009:1),
corruption is the misuse of entrusted powers for private gain. This definition suggests
that corruption has many faces. It encompasses misconduct by state officials such as
embezzlement, bride-taking, political payoffs, cronyism, influence peddling,
nepotism, patronage, extortion (Mock, 2003:1). Some scholars have suggested that
natural resource riches breed corruption (Sachs and Warner, 2001), which negatively
affects economic performance (Isham et al., 2005; Dietz et al. 2007). Corruption has
been identified as one of the many forms of rent-seeking (Torvik, 2002). As a result of
their high commercial value, natural resources offer a rich opportunity for corrupt
politicians and bureaucrats (Mock, 2003). Corruption in the natural resource
management sector is promoted by a combination of social, economic, and
institutional factors (Robbins, 2000; Wilson and Damania, 2005). According to Mock
(2003), in many poor countries, low salaries for civil servants, who are responsible for
the day to day protection of natural resources, increase the motivation to earn
additional income through corrupt practices. He argued further that high wages for
public officials create incentives for not being corrupt. Treisman (2000) has, however,
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shown that the correlation between bureaucratic pay increases and the reduction of
corruption is very weak.
In resource studies, corruption operates at three levels, namely grand corruption,
mid-level corruption and petty corruption (Winbourne, 2005). Lets now explain
these in relation to forest resources.
Grand corruption involves large illegal transactions between high-level public
officials (usually politicians) and private individuals or firms. Top politicians may
allow party men to exploit timber without acquiring the necessary permits. In some
cases, contracts are awarded without competitive bidding. Davis (2004) reported
scenarios of this nature in Cambodia where stated regulation for timber contracts were
set aside because of pressure from the government to ensure that the political elite
benefits. In the oil and gas sectors, grand corruption is very pervasive. Oil companies
may be allowed to operate without paying the actual taxes. The booty is then shared
between ministers and the companies.
Mid-level corruption, which is also widespread in the forestry sector, is manifested
in many ways as bribes, gifts, nepotism, kickbacks and embezzlement. Top forestry
officials who receive kickbacks may ignore illegal activities of big timber men.
Petty corruption (also known as survival corruption) usually involves small
payments to officials at the lower level of an organisation, such as tax collectors and
policing officials who are grossly underpaid or depend on small payments from the
public to feed their families (Callister, 1999). This is common in many developing
countries, including Ghana where guards are poorly paid (Teye, 2013). The
implication of these forms of corruption is that the forestry officials involved may fail
to enforce laws that have been enacted to protect the forests. Ironically, these same
corrupt actors may pretend that inability to protect the forests is due to lack of
resources.

Decentralised vrs centralised natural resource management: The case of forests

The management of common property resources, such as forests, fisheries, pasture,

has been a source of debate in the literature. In particular, there have been several
theoretical perspectives on the ability of local communities to manage their common
property resources. Within the realm of theory, Hardins thesis, The Tragedy of the
Commons, was one of the earliest writings on the subject. He likens common
property or common pool resources (resources own by a group of people, e.g.
community) to a finite pasture that is opened to all herdsmen in an area. He then
argued that each rational herdsman will want to increase the number of his animals to
get more income. This will consequently lead to the degradation of the common
pasture (Hardin, 1968). The implication of Hardins argument is that when a group of
people are in a situation where they could mutually benefit, if all adopted a rule of
restrained use of a common resource, they are not likely to do so unless they are
coerced by an external force. The reason why each individual will not adopt
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conservative methods is the fear that if he/she adopts conservative methods, others
will continue to use the resource indiscriminately. Based on these arguments, it has
been suggested that the only way to prevent the ultimate destruction of the common
resource base is control by the state or an external organisation (Smith, 1981).
Critics of this perspective argued that it is possible for local communities to manage
their resources without any problem (Wade, 1988). Common property resources are
open only to those within specific communities, governed by strict rules of social
conduct and collective responsibility. It is only when the traditional control
mechanisms break down that resource degradation may set in (Perrings, 1987).
In recent years, debates over local communities ability to manage common pool
resources have been rekindled by contests over the prospects of decentralised
management systems. Although the term decentralisation is contested, it broadly
refers to the transfer of power from central governments to local actors (Agrawal and
Ribot, 1999). As far as the management of natural resources is concerned,
decentralisation must give decentralised bodies a higher degree of autonomy. As
hinted already, international donors have, in recent years, been pressuring
governments of the developing world to adopt forest decentralisation programmes.
What are the main arguments in favour of decentralised forest management? One
argument in favour of decentralised natural resource management is based on the
belief that the plural participation that goes with decentralisation will reduce
management cost due to proximity to local resource managers, and reliance on
local knowledge and labour. It is also argued that since local people are located very
close to resources ( e.g forests), they can supervise forest management better than
central government officials, who have legal authority over vast areas (Carney and
Farrington, 1998). Decentralisation can also lead to equitable distribution of the
benefits from naturals resources (World Bank, 2000; Ribot, 2001). This will lead to
an improvement in the livelihood of forest users. Proposals based on such arguments
usually call for the integration of conservation and development programmes in which
local communities are encouraged to design their own methods of forest conservation
and undertake development projects at the same time (Becker, 2003). It has also been
argued that decentralisation will enable marginalised local groups to take part in
the formulation and implementation of forest policy. This will give them a greater
sense of ownership over the resources, and also ultimately increase their willingness
to observe stated rules on forest conservation.
Almost all the points raised to support decentralised forest or natural resource
management have come under attack. One point that has come under strong attack is
the argument that decentralisation will make it possible for local knowledge to be
tapped for resource management. The same argument, when reversed, implies that
resource management will not be effective where appropriate local knowledge is
lacking. According to Larson (2002) technical expertise on the management of
natural resources is generally uncommon in rural areas where these resources
are usually located and hiring specialists may be expensive for local
governments. Local resource managers may also not be willing to enforce strict
laws of regulation, due to tribalism and nepotism.

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It has also been argued that advocates of decentralised forest management usually
seem to ignore inequalities and related intra - and inter-community resource
struggles. They, therefore, treat local communities as homogenous entities that are
capable of maintaining socially and ecologically sustainable natural resource
management systems. In the real world, there are many conflicts within local
communities about natural resource use (Larson, 2002). Boundary conflicts have
also been cited as one problem that is associated with decentralised forest
management. Shah and Shah (1995) reported that a decentralised community based
approach to forest management in parts of India resulted in a situation where forest
dependents in some communities raided the forest reserves of nearby weaker
communities in order to allow for the regeneration of their own forest.
Further, unequal power relations at the community level imply that decentralisation
may not give everybody the same level of opportunity to influence forest policy.
Decentralisation may rather hinder equitable distribution of the benefits of forest
resources, since powerful local politicians may dominate powerless citizens in the
sharing of such a local cake. The process may benefit local elites at the expense of
marginalised social groups such as women. Recent scholarship, however,
demonstrates that both centralised and decentralised management systems may be
appropriate within different contexts (Ostrom, 2005; Argrwala, 2007). In fact, while
there are some examples where decentralisation has led to better forest management,
there are other equally good cases where decentralisation did not achieve good results
(see Teye, 2008). One good example where local people have demonstrated their
ability to manage forest resources was documented by Turker (2004) in his study of
Mexicos Monarch Butterfly Reserve. On the other hand, a study by Lachapelle,
Smith and McCool (2004) in three forest communities in the middle hills of Nepal
revealed that the government decentralised forest management to enhance community
participation, but traditional power structures, such as caste and gender, made it
difficult for the members of the local community to work together for the preservation
of the forests. In view of these and other empirical cases, some researchers have
argued that the success of community management systems depend on various
factors, including the characteristics of a natural resource, the political organisation of
the local community, levels of trust among various actors, and the rules in use (see
Ostrom, 2005; Agawal, 2007).

Assessing Decentralised Forest Policy in the Developing World

The belief that decentralised forest management can help protect trees and reduce
poverty has prompted intense international pressures on the governments of the
tropical world to adopt decentralised forest policies (Gupta and Asher, 1998; World
Bank, 2000; Poore, 2003). Such pressures, in recent years, have taken the form of
financial aid conditionalities, in which developing countries are required to adopt
participatory forest policies in return for bilateral and multilateral donor grants
(Agrawal, 2007; Teye, 2011).
In response to such pressures, many developing countries claim that they have
adopted decentralised forest policy (Latif, 2002; Amanor and Brown, 2003).
However, deforestation rates are still quite high (FAO, 2003a, 2005; Agrawal, 2007).

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Some researchers have called for an examination of the actual extent of decentralised
forest management in various countries. Various theories have emerged for such
assessment. One very useful theory for analysing decentralised forest management is
the Actors, Powers and Accountability Framework, propounded by Agrawal and
Ribot (1999). The authors argued that decentralisation only works when powers are
transferred to local representatives who are downwardly accountable to their
constituents (Agrawal and Ribot, 1999). Any analysis of forest decentralisation
programmes must, therefore, focus on three distinct dimensions, namely actors,
powers and accountability. Analysis of actors must examine whether those
receiving devolved powers are the true representatives of the local people. If for
instance, power is transferred to the governments own field staff posted to the rural
areas, we cannot talk of decentralisation because they are not representing the local
people. Analysis of powers must examine the types of power that have been
transferred. This involves an examination of whether local people have power to:
create rules; make decisions; ensure compliance and adjudicate disputes. Finally
it must also be established if representatives are downwardly accountable to the
citizens (Agrawal and Ribot, 1999). Downward accountability means the
representatives must always report to the local people and the local people should be
able to fire any representative that is found to be corrupt. In this sense, only local
representatives that have been elected can be downwardly accountable. Traditional
rulers are not downwardly accountable because their positions are inherited (see Ribot
2001).
Using this and other related frameworks, the nature of decentralised forest policy has
been examined in many developing countries. For instance, forest decentralisation
programme in Uganda was examined by Bazaara (2003). Ribot (2008) also examined
forest decentralisation programme in Senegal, while Cline-Cole (1997) examined
decentralised forestry in Northern Nigeria. Similarly decentralised forest policy in
Ghana was critically examined by Teye (2011).
All these assessments showed that there are very few cases in the developing world
where local people have actually been given the total power to exclusively manage
forests. The African governments have usually intentionally formulated decentralised
forest policy just to get funds from international donors. Once they get the funds, they
do not implement these decentralised forest policies. The few cases where local
people are exclusively managing their forests can be found in India and Nepal. In
reality, most decentralised forest management systems in the developing world
actually emphasise collaborative forest management. The reason is that, in view of the
economic importance of forests, most governments in the developing world are
reluctant to transfer total management powers to local people. The governments rather
prefer to collaborate with the local people. Collaborative natural resource
management (also known as participatory management or co-management) provides
institutional and legal frameworks for relevant stakeholders to participate in resource
management. In the forestry sector, co-management entails the sharing of
responsibilities and rights between state and local communities (Woodcock, 2002).
Local communities may provide labour to support forest management.
Examination of the Status of Decentralised Forest Management in Ghana

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In response to international pressures, the 1994 forest and Wildlife Policy, which was
formulated to replace the 1948 forest policy, emphasised decentralised forest
management. However, critical analysis of the outcome of this policy clearly shows
that the extent of local community participation in forest resource management in
Ghana is very limited. Using Actors, Powers and Accountability Framework, Teye
(2011) has demonstrated that Ghanas decentralised forest management does not
conform to the true decentralisation.
In terms of Actors, the framework assumes that those managing the forests should be
representatives of the local people. In Ghana, however, the main actors responsible for
forest management in the communities are employees of the forestry department.
Forest policy is still formulated at the national level and local people do not have any
meaningful power to make rules on forest management. They are sometimes
consulted by the officials of the Forest Services Division but their proposals are
usually not incorporated into stated policy. Within the communities, forest guards
appointed by the government are responsible for day to day forest management.
Farmers have recently been encouraged to form Community Forestry Committees to
provide free labour to support the activities of the forest guards. However, these
committees have not been functioning properly, since members are not given any
powers.
In terms of powers, the local people do not have any meaningful power over forests
within their communities. Forest Services Division still retains rights over both
lucrative timber and non valuable forest resources. Farmers are required to obtain
permission from the forest officials before they can harvest timber on their own farms
for personal use. Farmers see these as a restriction of their rights and therefore have
no incentives to help manage forests. The forest fringe communities actually do not
get any share of timber revenue. The Forest Services Division pays a small stream of
timber revenue (usually about 10%) to top traditional rulers and the District
Assemblies. However, this revenue does not actually get to the local people.
With regards to downward accountability, the forestry officials are not downwardly
accountable to farmers. Again, traditional rulers and district assembly officials who
receive part of forest revenue are actually not downwardly accountable to local
people. Thus, it is clear that forest management powers in Ghana has not been
transferred to local people.
Read the following article:
Joseph K. Teye (2011): Ambiguities of Forest Management Decentralization in
Ghana, Journal of Natural Resources Policy Research, 3:4, 355-369

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