By Joyce Gyekye
A blueprint aimed at achieving sustainable charcoal production in Ghana has been developed.
The document was produced following an implementation of a four-year project within Kintampo-Atebubu and Mole Landscape in the Bono East and Savannah Regions on restoring degraded landscapes and sustainable wood fuel value chains.
The document recommended a model called the 4R, which included Robust regulation and Restoration capacity and function for charcoal-producing hotspots.
It also suggested the need to develop an inclusive monitoring and evaluation framework involving local communities and other stakeholders.
At a conference to discuss the outcomes of the project, participants were of the consensus that setting up woodlot plantations and fire-protecting measures will go a long way to protect the resource that feeds the businesses as well as control deforestation within the Savannah and transitional landscapes of the country.
Presenting the recommendations of the Charcoal Assurance blueprint, the Deputy National Coordinator of Arocha Ghana, Daryl Bosu, said with the number of livelihoods dependent on the charcoal business and the revenue generation interest of local assemblies and traditional authorities, among others, sustaining the industry by cultivating woodlots and community monitoring of the industry will benefit all stakeholders.
He made reference to Ghana’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), in addressing climate change, that acknowledge the involvement of the youth and women in the charcoal business.
The Project Manager of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), Dr. Cisco Aust, said Ghana risks losing a significant amount of forest cover in twenty years if the current unsustainable exploitation of fuel wood is not addressed.
The Assistant Chief Fire Officer, ACFO of the Ghana Fire Service in the Savannah region, Emmanuel Ofori-Adjei, said the project trained more 1,658 volunteers from Damongo enclave, Bole, Salaga, Sawla, and Bupe.
He said the region recorded 18 fires in 2022 as against 35 fires in 2021 and mentioned continuous education of the communities, logistical and financial assistance to fire volunteers as some of the reasons for the reduction in forest fires in the region.
FIREWOOD CONSUMPTION IN GHANA
Wood biomass energy, including charcoal and firewood, is the primary source of energy in Ghana, accounting for more than 35 percent of all the energy consumed. Charcoal production is widespread in the country and constitutes a major source of income for most rural communities. For example, it is estimated that over one-point-one million tons of charcoal was produced in the country in 2018. This is a major cause of forest loss and forest degradation in the transition and Savannah zones of Ghana, where the bulk of charcoal is produced.
FOREST LANDSCAPE RESTORATION THROUGH SUSTAINABLE WOOD ENERGY VALUE CHAIN PROJECT
The project seeks to conserve natural forests and restore degraded landscapes through planting and regeneration with communities while discouraging them from cutting indigenous trees unsustainably for charcoal production.
It further provides them with alternative sources for firewood and charcoal through woodlot establishment as well as improving the efficiency and sustainability of the wood energy value chain.
The four-point-five million Euro project was funded by the German Ministry for Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety through the GIZ, and it will end in May 2023.
Despite some challenges that affected the multidimensional approach to biodiversity monitoring as a result of natural conditions like floods and wildfire, the project was largely successful.
It restored two thousand hectares of degraded lands, planted 308 hectares of woodlots, and distributed 5,000 improved cook stoves, among others in the twelve selected communities.