A local Non Governmental Organization called Shea Network Ghana (SNG) has called for an amendment of the Forestry Commission Act 1999 (571).<\/p>\n
The organization whose interest is to protect the shea tree which is the economic mainstay of poor women of the three regions of the north is unhappy about the exclusion of the shea tree from the Forestry Commission Act 1999 (571).<\/p>\n
According to National Coordinator of Shea Network Ghana, Zakaria Iddi, his organization conducted a study and it was uncovered that the Act does not protect Non Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) including the shea and Baobab trees.<\/p>\n
He therefore called for a comprehensive national policy to curtail the wanton destruction of the shea tree for charcoal, firewood and other domestic purposes.<\/p>\n
With funding from BUSAC Fund, Zakaria Iddi disclosed his organization\u2019s resolve to liaise with the various local government authorities in the three regions of the north to protect shea tree which serves as the source of livelihood for majority of rural women.<\/p>\n
Below is the full statement:<\/strong><\/p>\n SHEA NETWORK GHANA CALLS FOR AMENDMENT OF FORESTRY COMMISSION ACT 1999 (571)<\/b><\/p>\n Thousands of residents within the three northern and parts of the Brong Ahafo and Volta regions depend on the shea sector as their main source of livelihood in the face of several challenges inhibiting tree survival in the wild. The wanton destruction of the tree for charcoal, firewood, plantation crops, infrastructure and construction as well as for the development of farm lands is considered one of the major challenges affecting the sector. Open destruction of these non timber forest resources, yet economic trees such as shea, dawadawa and baobab threatens livelihood of many and impact climate change unfortunately to residents within the fragile ecological zone. The problem has been established to be the unavailability of harmonized and precise regulations to protect shea parklands reasons for which the situation is assuming an alarming proportion further threatening the continual survival of these trees. Over the years, the emphasis of the Forestry Commission (FC) has been placed on forest resources to the neglect of other economic non forest trees especially in the North.<\/p>\n It is in this regard Shea Network Ghana (SNG) a Local Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) with funding from the Business Advocacy Challenge (BUSAC) Fund commissioned a study which sought to find out the effectiveness of the Forestry Commission ACT 1999 (571) of Ghana and identify its weakness in coverage for protection of Non Timber Forest Products (NTFPs).\u00a0 It was also aimed at identifying all other relevant laws, agencies and polices that provides protection for NTFPs among others. The approach adopted was through a participatory qualitative study in which key stakeholders (FC, Forest Sector Agencies, District Assemblies (Das), Traditional Authorities (TAs), Women Groups, NGOs in the shea sector) were interviewed and legal frame works\/policies were examined. It was however established that non inclusion of non-timber forest resources in Act 1999 (571) for effective management, development and protection accounted for the lapse leading to the indiscriminate felling of these trees.<\/i><\/p>\n The study revealed that the ACT only establishes the Forestry Commission as a corporate body with the following functions; to regulate the utilization of forest and timber resources, to manage forest reserves and protected areas, to assist the private sector to implement the Forest and Wildlife Policy and to undertake the development of plantations<\/b><\/i>.<\/b> It failed to make specific provision that mandate the Forestry Commission to protect, conserve and manage the shea trees and other non-forest economic trees in the North despite providing a subtle room for shea protection.<\/p>\n The study also revealed that several operational Manuals and Acts have been developed for tree protection but all these efforts are uncoordinated requiring a well-established law for shea protection especially in the face of the non-existence of by-laws existing at the Districts Assembly level to ensure enforcement for the protection of shea trees. Although traditional paramouncies have taboos and conventions for the protection of economic trees, these taboos are disregarded with impunity with modernization and Christianity making most of these taboos outmoded.\u00a0 Again these taboos cannot be enforced in any court and therefore people destroy the shea trees and cannot be prosecuted because they are grown in the wild.<\/p>\n The study further observed that the main channels for shea destruction due to the lack of regulations are the high demand for charcoal, high use of fuel wood and the limited livelihood alternatives among rural women in the north during the dry season. Communities are willing to support the protection of shea trees because of the economic benefits; however those who have very little alternatives rely heavily on charcoal for fuel wood from the shea tree for survival.<\/p>\n In commemoration of this year\u2019s World Environment Day therefore, Shea Network Ghana recommends the establishment of a specific regulation for the management and protection of shea trees and other non-forest economic trees in the North. It also recommends a synthesis of all laws regulating non-forest trees in the north. While working to ensure this national level regulation which will take a longer time for adoption and enforcement, efforts should be made to assist District Assemblies to develop and gazette their respective by-laws as well as carried out community level sensitization to ensure that, the protection of the shea tree is a collective responsibility of all community members.<\/p>\n With its head office in Wa the Upper West Region operating in three Focal organizations in the three Northern Regions, SNG is the major civil society organization made up of value chain actors and stakeholders engaged in the shea sector in Ghana with a membership of 45 organisations, 219 co-operative soecities,4 large international shea buyers,5 cosmetic and brand companies among others. Since inception SNG has improved the quality of nuts in Ghana among some 16,000 women in over 300 communities and represents Ghana in the Global Shea Alliance<\/p>\n <\/p>\n ZAKARIA IDDI<\/b><\/p>\n National Co-ordinator<\/p>\n <\/p>\n By: Abdul Karim Naatogmah\/citifmonline.com\/Ghana<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A local Non Governmental Organization called Shea Network Ghana (SNG) has called for an amendment of the Forestry Commission Act 1999 (571). The organization whose interest is to protect the shea tree which is the economic mainstay of poor women of the three regions of the north is unhappy about the exclusion of the shea […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":22915,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[54,17],"yoast_head":"\n