75%+ Of Ghana's Forests Now Gone Since Independence From Britain

Madam Esther Obeng Dapaah, Minister of Lands, Forestry and Mines has said Ghana's forest cover of about 8 million hectares at the time of the country's independence had dwindled to less than 2 million hectares.

She said the problem had been compounded by over-logging of illegal chain-saw operators and timber contractors in the country. She said excessive surface mining, conversion of natural forest into agriculture land, annual bushfires, expansion of infrastructure and changes in land uses also contributed to the dwindling.

Madam Dapaah was addressing members of the Ghana Timber Association (GTA) at their Annual General Meeting under the theme: "Helping to Build Ghana through the Conservation of Our Forest," at Akyawkrom in the Ejisu-Juaben District of the Ashanti Region.

She said the current state of the nation's forest resources should be a major concern to all Ghanaians since it is very critical to the survival of the forest reserve adding that the Ministry had stepped up efforts to reclaim the lost forest belt.

EDIT

http://www.accra-mail.com/mailnews.asp?id=3280

No-good workers, they simply can't be trusted to get a job done thoroughly these days.