The southern region of Ghana is covered with dense rain forest, partially cleared to plant cocoa, coffee, banana, and oil palm trees. Wide savannahs extend to the North. The subsoil is rich in gold, diamonds, manganese, and bauxite. The main environmental problems are desertification in the north-west, and deforestation in the South.

The massive Kujani Game Reserve in the Digya National Park (south-west of Lake Volta) is Ghana's largest protected area and is known for its varied wildlife. On the other side of the lake is the Mole Game Reserve, a popular place with tourists and another area where animals can live and breed in a protected environment.

deforestation

Collecting wood for fuel in a village in northern Ghana

Ghana’s forests are under pressure, and many Ghanaians believe action is needed if the forests are to survive. Ghana’s tropical rain forest area is now just 25 per cent of its original size. Deforestation has occurred for a variety of reasons, including logging (a major drain on forest resources) and clearing the land to plant cash-crops.

The impact of deforestation is widespread, affecting the livelihoods of local people, and upsetting the fine balance of the forest’s ecosystem. The tropical forests that cover the southern part of the country are vital for the environmental balance of the whole region. The impact of deforestation in Ghana is seriously jeopardising the future of the country. If extraction continues at the present rate, the forest will be gone in the next 45 years.

President Jerry Rawlings has said that logging and forest protection should go hand in hand, and is a strong advocate of sustainable management to ensure the survival of Ghana’s forests. The government has taken a series of measures to cope with deforestation, including a ban on all exports of raw logs. In addition, Ghana has set aside 16 per cent of its total area of forest land for wildlife and plant reserves, and has restricted logging licences outside these reserves.

Photos for Oxfam GB by Penny Tweedie

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