Ghana
Forest resources and context of Ghana
According to the FAO (2020) Ghana has around 7;9 million hectares of forested land, which constitutes to 35.0% of the total land area. Around 7.6 million hectares are primary or otherwise naturally regenerated forest, and around 297 thousand hectares are planted forest.
Land surface
22.8million ha
Forest cover
7.9million ha
Production forest
1.5million ha
Forest ownership
100% publicly
Forest resources in Ghana
Types of forest
The Ghanaian forests broadly fall into two vegetation zones, each with different vegetation and forest types: the High Forest Zone in the South covering 34% and the Savannah Zone in the North covering 66% of the land area (MLNR, 2012).
According to the FAO (2020) Ghana has around 7;9 million hectares of forested land, which constitutes to 35.0% of the total land area. Around 7.6 million hectares are primary or otherwise naturally regenerated forest, and around 297 thousand hectares are planted forest. Ghana has approximately 2.6 million hectares of forest reserve land, of which 1.6 million hectares falls within the so-called High Forest Zone. Of these reserves 715,000 hectares have been dedicated for natural timber production, with the remainder under protection and plantation development. Apart from these reserves approximately 500 thousand hectares of unreserved forests as well as a further 2 million hectares of crop land also produce timber.
Forest ownership in Ghana
The ownership of the Ghanaian forest area can be divided among public land, stool land, family land and private land. However, the management of all forest resources including timber harvesting rights are administered by the Forestry Commission for benefit of the land owners. The management responsibilities of the Forestry Commission in relation to off-reserve forest resources are more limited as in relation to on-reserve areas. In off-reserve areas the Forestry commission is responsible for regulating, as opposed to managing, the utilization of forest and timber resources (ClientEarth, 2013a).
key figures
| Land surface | 22.8 million hectares |
|---|---|
| Forest cover | 9.3 million hectares (41%); mostly other naturally regenerated forest |
| Production forest | 1.5 million hectares designated for production |
| Forest ownership | 100% publicly owned |
| Annual change rate | 0.3 % per year; over the past 25 years (1990-2015) |
Source: FAO, 2015
See also: Global Forest Ressources Assessment 2020, FAO
Global Forest Watch Map
