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The Ghana Institute of Foresters has waded into the brouhaha which has characterised the de-classification and other matters associated with the Achimota Forest Reserve.
According to the Institute, there is a bigger problem facing the country’s urban forest which needs urgent attention.
A statement from the Institute noted that ”such an environmental forest service is a public good that cannot easily be privatized”.
The Institute said the explanation that portions of the land have been returned to the Owoo family does not sit well within the legal framework for Ghana’s forests. This is because ”dedicating an area as a forest reserve does not change the ownership status of the land, particularly when no compensation has been paid.”
Furthermore, the statement stressed that the de-reservation of a portion of the Achimota Forest Reserve is troubling because it is setting a very precarious precedent.
“With most of Ghana’s forest reserves having not been compensated for, what happens if the owners come forward to demand that portions be released to them?” the statement questions.
The Ghana Institute of Foresters, therefore, called on the Government to, as a matter of urgency, withdraw E.l, 144 that de-classified a portion of the Achimota Forest Reserve.
“There are ways to generate revenues from the forest while maintaining its ecological integrity,” the statement noted.
The statement goes on to state that the Forests present state shows that no significant revenue is being generated to benefit the owners. However, the proposed Eco-park idea is one that can raise revenue.
The Institute stressed that government should seriously explore such avenues to generate revenues from the forest, from which royalties can be paid to the owners so that it becomes a win for every interest in the land – the owners, Accra’s air quality, public space for leisure and other activities, ecotourism, biodiversity conservation, Ghana as a nation and indeed the world at large.
It states that as a nation, posterity will judge us all if we allow the private interests of a few actors to override the common public interest in the Achimota Forest.