Ghana Youth Environmental Movement (GYEM) has called on government to take immediate action to address the rapid decline of the country’s forest cover.

The organisation made this call as part of its advocacy efforts on International Day of Forests which falls on March 21 each year.

The theme for 2022 was "Forests and Sustainable Production and Consumption."

Global Forest Watch (GFW) in an alarming 2018 report on Ghana, showed that the nation is losing rainforest cover at a faster rate than any other country in the world due to illegal mining and the clearing of land for agricultural production.

In 2020 alone, Ghana lost about 136kha of natural forest.

GYEM believes this has a profound impact on natural ecosystems, biodiversity, and the livelihood of communities.

Programmes Officer for GYEM, Gloria Agyare indicated that the country’s commitment to end deforestation by 2030 at the United Nations (UN) global climate change conference, COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland last year, will mean nothing if there are no strong local action and measures to stop the rampant felling of forests, and the implementation of policies to safeguard primary forests across the country.

She added that with Ghana’s estimated annual forest cover loss of 3 percent since the 2000s, there is an urgent need to swiftly address deforestation due to mining, illegal logging, and the harvesting of trees.

Ghana’s commitment to addressing deforestation came under scrutiny after the government joined over 100 leaders in a landmark pledge to end deforestation during COP26.

The pledge which was one of the key agreements at the summit, saw more than 100 leaders committing to halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030.

According to the agreement, £8.75 billion of public funds will be committed to protect and restore forests, in addition to £5.3 billion of private investment.

Activists in Ghana raised doubts about government’s commitment to the deal, citing the lack of action to stop the harvesting of rosewood and attempts to mine bauxite at Atewa forest range.

According to the World Bank, forest degradation and deforestation in Ghana are primarily caused by cocoa farm expansion, logging, and illegal mining activities.

In 2019, Ghana became the third country to sign an important agreement with the World Bank aiming to collaborate with local communities to act on deforestation and forest degradation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.