National efforts to address the vulnerabilities and associated impacts of climate change, chronic poverty, address increasing environmental depletion and pollution, will be vain, if drastic measures are not put in place to deal with environmental crimes that is been perpetuated by some people some greedy merchants, some people in authority and also by individuals welding the wand of people in authority to perpetuate environmental crimes.
Barely a year after the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources placed a ban on the illegal harvesting, trade and export of rosewood from Ghana, which was further affirmed by his Excellency the President of Ghana, John Dramani Mahama, the loggers are back stripping the fragile landscapes of the northern region bare as they work clandestinely in the dark of the night.
The modus operandi is no different from approaches employed between 2012-2014, which turned salvage logging activity for the construction of the Fufulso-Sawla Road as well as the construction of the Bui Hydro-Power dam into one of the largest and most embarrassing logging activity in the history of the savannah regions of Ghana.
After several lobbying attempts and blame game within the corridors of the Forestry Commission and the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources as to who was responsible for this escalation in logging in the northern region, the then Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Alhaji Inusah Fuseini with resounding support from President John Mahama managed to place and effect a ban which has been observed for close to a year.
Almost a year later, the merchants are gradually making their way back into the fragile woodlands of Gonja Land. As always, they are taking their contraband goods past police stops and barriers, TIDD check points, sometimes in already sealed containers to the ports and away on export fleets. Those that travel on land find their way moving to Togo from Zanware, Walewale; also after going past several police check points and border inspection agents.
Currently, logging activities are active in parts of Daboya, Mankrago, Busunu, Damongo, Sor No 1 and 2, Buipe, and between Gulumpe and Dawadawa No 1 and 2 on the Tamale-Kintampo Highway which also has several police stops.
Unlike before where the logs were conveyed by exposed forty footer trucks with canopies for a covering, these fresh logging which not only include rosewood, but other tree species like Afzelia africana, and other hard wood species are conveyed already packed into shipping containers, sealed and transported with ease from the harvesting areas to the points of export either by sea or by land.
What has not changed are the faces driving the illegal trade. Just like before merchants from the south are stationed in Damongo and mainly in Busunu to engage locals to cut trees. Most merchants also bring along their chain saw operators who flaunt and ply their trade with impunity.
Once again, several questions arise and this time I expect the Forestry Commission to provide answers to the following. More so, because the President reiterated that the ban on rosewood was still in force in 2014, and called on the security agencies, the revenue authorities and the Forestry Commission to work diligently to ensure full compliance of the ban.
I do not recall any announcement that the ban on rosewood has been lifted and also cannot see any signs of the issues that led to the placement of the ban in the first place have been resolved. Should an argument be made that what the merchants are felling are not mostly rosewood, then I still ask, what happened to the Timber Management and Regulations Act, in respect of logging of hardwood species?
So these are my questions to the, Forestry Commission and the various institutions that His Excellency the President charged to ensure full compliance of the ban on rosewood and general illegal harvesting and trade in hardwood species in the fragile savannah landscapes of Ghana.
1. Has the ban on rosewood been lifted?
2. Who has the authority to give permits for the harvesting and transport of merchantable timber in Ghana? Is it the Forestry Commission, the Traditional Authorities, or the Police? As far as I am concerned the Timber Regulations act put that power to give permits to cut trees to the institutions mandated to do and that is the Forestry Commission.
3. What safeguards are in place to protect communities who want to secure their communal lands against indiscriminate logging activities by these greedy merchants?
4. To the police and TIDD at various check points, do you not see the illegal logs been conveyed in trucks on our roads?
5. Are the ports once again opened to export of rosewood? Who is supervising this illegal export of rosewood out of the country, and under whose watch is this crime being
Perpetrated?
6. The President in reiterating that the ban on rosewood was still in force in 2014, called on the security agencies, the revenue authorities and the Forestry Commission to work diligently to ensure full compliance of the ban and secure the environment. My question here is this, does the Presidency have a mechanism or system in place to monitor if pressing issues such as these are adequately acted upon by the state agencies concerned?
It is good to revise the National Climate Change Adaptation Strategy, but as always it will be another talk shop to impress the press, if real commitments and efforts are not put in place to address the drivers of deforestation which is exposing the largely agrarian communities of Ghana to untold vulnerabilities from increasing environmental stress.
Again, what will become of our current on-going National REDD+ Strategy and Readiness Programme, if we continue with business-as-usual and allow greedy merchants and some political and traditional authorities exploit these precious natural resources to the detriment of the majority of Ghanaians.
If the politicians are interfering in the work of institutions who are mandated to secure our forest, then in the spirit of transparent and good governance, the politicians must stay out of forest management issues. There are many known instances where politicians interfere in the work of forestry officers; an act which should be condemned as it smirks of corruption and should be punishable by law.
There are also instances where some traditional authorities have accrued to themselves notoriety in abetting illegal logging activities to the detriment of their subjects. This also must be discouraged and culpable persons dealt with without fear or favour.
If the institution mandated to secure our forest is also found culpable of aiding and abetting environmental crimes, particularly illegal logging activities to enrich themselves then these individuals must also not be spared the full rigour of the laws of the land.
Logging in the northern parts of Ghana should not be seen as a problem for people living in the north only, because when life gets tough and environmental conditions become unbearable, people will always migrate to seek greener pastures down south.
So we all owe it a duty to be watch dogs of the laws of the land as acknowledged by President John Mahama in his statements on World Youth Day, where he stated that we should not allow a few people to steal from the system, to enrich themselves, because the resources are for the benefit of every Ghanaian.
The impacts of these logging activities in the savannah regions of the northern regions will undoubtedly not be felt today, but surely its long-term impacts and effects will not be lost on the next generation, when the savannah is stripped bare because of our greed today and the inaction of leadership both political and traditional to deal with this menace, that is enriching a few people to the detriment of the majority of Ghanaians who have equal rights to a resources of the land and also to a safe environment.
To begin with, the state should commission an investigation into these illegal logging activities in the north and bring all individuals, be it politicians or traditional authorities to book for their involvement in this heinous environmental crime stripping the northern regions bare of the last remnants of forests.
If the state is lacking such capabilities they should collaborate with institutions like the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), Environmental Crime Unit of Interpol and even our own BNI to get to the root of these crimes.
These are tough times and we seem to be losing the battle to these merchants who will always pay their way through from the bottom to the top to subvert national laws and regulations for their selfish interest.
The only assurance government can make to weed out corruption within the environmental sector, particularly in the forestry and fisheries sector, is for government to commit and empower state institutions to adequately deal with individuals be it traditional leaders, or people in the politically elite group who by virtue of their position flout environmental laws of Ghana with impunity to the detriment of the masses.
It?s about time Government stop paying lip service to ensuring environmental security and make firm commitments to deal with the numerous environmental crimes that is eroding away our social and natural heritage as a people.
Ghana needs strong institutions within the environmental sector, and it?s the responsibility of central government as well as the heads of these institutions to ensure we build strong institutions to secure what is left of our environment today for tomorrow?s well-being.
By:
Daryl Bosu
Concerned Environmentalist
