Professor Kingsford Adaboh, the Council Chairman, of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), has called for a deliberate national strategy to reverse the extensive deforestation and forest degradation to forestall the adverse climatic consequences that were likely to occur in the country.
He said climate change was exacerbating water stress and food vulnerability, putting thousands of people in communities at risk. Speaking at the Open Day of the Forestry Research Institute of Ghana (FORIG), at Fumesua in the Ejisu Municipality, Prof. Adaboh, pointed out that “Ghana cannot afford to be water-scarce or food-scarce country”.
It was therefore important for the country to make conscious efforts to stop forest and land degradation, protect water bodies and restore degraded lands.
The Open Day, which was on the theme “forest for sustainable development”, was part of activities marking the 60th anniversary celebrations of the CSIR. Prof. Adaboh said forest restoration had been identified internationally as the best processes to bring back degraded forests and lands to reduce the effects of climate change.
Ghana, according to him, had pledged under the Paris Climate Agreement to restore two million hectares of forest lands by 2030 and it was important that renewed efforts were made to achieve that target. He pledged the unwavering commitment of the research community to play a leading role in the nation's quest to achieve sustainable environment, including clean water bodies and forest restoration.
The Forestry Research Institute of Ghana (FORIG), he said, had been mandated to provide the requisite scientific backstopping for degraded forest restoration programmes, and help resolve the economic and environmental problems that had resulted from deforestation and forest degradation in the country over the years.
Prof. Adaboh said FORIG was backing the nation to achieve this goal and contribute significantly to the Ghana beyond Aid agenda of the Government, adding that, FORIG would continually promote measures that would help Ghana achieve sustainable and integrated management of forests and agriculture as mitigation and adaptation measure of climate change.
Professor Daniel Aniagyei Ofori, Director of FORIG, noted that the Institute was poised to assist Ghana achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which bordered on food security, healthy environment, sustainable forest, climate mitigation, among others.
The Institute as part of its strategies was inducting cutting edge research, disseminating information, building capacities and transferring knowledge to relevant stakeholders to apply on the field. Prof. Ofori mentioned the establishment of a wood processing industry, agro forestry for climate resilience, food security and jobs, lesser used timber species, solar kiln drying technology for drying lumber and other wood products, extractives for the cosmetic, medicinal and wood industry among others, as some of the products developed and being implemented by the Institute.
Prof. Ofori appealed to the government, investors, industry and the private sector to patronize the products and services of the Institute to promote the sustainable development of the nation.