Shea Network Ghana Calls For Amendment Of Forestry Commission Act 1999 (571)

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. 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). 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. 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