Dr Moses Ama, Representative from Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation Plus (REDD+), Nigeria, addressing the participants in Accra on Wednesday, noted that even though a variety of landscape and jurisdictional initiatives were being developed towards protecting forests, they overlapped considerably in their aims and objectives.

He said the REDD+ was developed within the UNFCCC negotiations to mitigate climate change and provide performance-based payments for the protection of forests that would otherwise be cleared.

Mrs Neeta Hooda, a Representative from the World Bank noted that it was very important for states to create enabling environments for private sector participation in protecting the environment.

She noted that it was necessary to instil confidence in investors when it came to forest reserves, and urged governments and stakeholders to think of business modules or business plans that involved communities and small scale farmers.

Mr Jonas Mva Mva off IDH said forests were the only way to earn a living for many people and therefore was the need to manage them well. He mentioned protection, production, and inclusion as measures to ensure that forests were protected and utilized for the benefit of its stakeholders.

He said the environment could be protected by setting appropriate laws for actors to adhere to, and stressed the need to intensify monitoring that would ensure that everyone adhered to forests laws. He encouraged governments and stakeholders to collaborate with private entities towards protecting forests and advised that measures be put in place to protect farmers’ lands in the fight against deforestation.

Also in attendance were Representatives from the Forestry Commission Ghana, Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research Ghana, farmers, representatives from public and private institutions in forestry from across the globe. Mr Pak Erwin Widodo, Regional Coordinator of Tropical Forest Alliance 2020, South East Asia, urged forestry actors to improve on their products for sustainability, adding that usage of financial mechanisms from financial institutions also support farmers to be gradually independent.