By Naa Shormei Odonkor
Kodoridua, March 29, GNA – Professor Edward Wiafe Debrah, an expert from the University of Environmental and Sustainable Development in Somanya, has urged stakeholders to adopt sustainable forest management techniques.
According to him, sustainable management approaches would strike a harmonious balance between forest conservation and socio-economic development.
Prof. Debrah said this in a statement to the Ghana News Agency to highlight the benefits of forests and the challenges faced in sustaining forests, sometimes referred to as the “lungs of the earth,” since they produce oxygen and absorb carbon dioxide.
He said the forests controlled temperatures and provided habitation for some plants and animals, contributing to biodiversity and ecological balance.
He further said that globally, people relied on forests to promote culture and economic well-being through the production of food, medicine, clean water, and a means of subsistence.
However, he noted, that deforestation, degradation, climate change, and unsustainable land use practices posed unprecedented risks to forests, despite their tremendous ecological and social significance.
Additionally, invasive species, diseases, pests, wildfires, and the shifting climatic pattern worsen the health and resilience of the forests.
Given this, he said that community-based forest management, afforestation, reforestation, agroforestry, and the restoration of degraded areas could implement sustainable forest management techniques that require careful care of forests.
Prof. Debrah noted that practising sustainable forest management techniques was in line with this year’s International Forest Day celebration theme, “Forests and Innovation: New Solutions for a Better World.”
He mentioned the necessity of embracing collaborations from organisations, whether locally or internationally, such as the Forest Stewardship Council, the Collaborative Partnership on Forests, and the United Nations Forum on Forests.
Collaborations with such organisations, Prof. Debrah stated, would contribute to realising the practice of sustainable forest management to achieve global forest-related goals such as those found in the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement on climate change.
GNA