The Director of Public Affairs of the Ghana Police Service says laws against illegal felling of trees must be practicable to facilitate its enforcement by the police.

According to Supt. Sheila Abayie Buckman, it is imperative to analyse whether laws passed can be easily enforced in Ghanaian society.

“...on enforcement, what the law will say and how practical it will be is what will enhance enforcement. So in taking all those decisions, we should look at the practicality of the decisions we reduce into law for enforcement.

“I know that this discussion will lead to actions being taken. What I want to say is that when those actions are being taken, we should think about the effects of taking those actions on the security of communities where traditionally rosewoods were used for one thing or another and try to resolve them,” she said while addressing stakeholders at the Joy Forum on Sealing the Leakages in Ghana’s Rosewood Trade, Wednesday.

Some Ghanaians have expressed displeasure about the indiscriminate felling of trees and its exportation outside the country.

A Research Scientist of ECOWAS–PARI Rosewood Project, William Kwame Nuako Bandoh has revealed that Ghana has lost about 47 per cent of its rosewood trees in less than five years.

Meanwhile, the former Lands Minister, Inusah Fuseini, has called on the Forestry Commission to work hand in hand with the national security agencies in addressing the menace.

“So you need the commitment of not only the security agencies but the regulatory agency or authority like the Forest Commission. [We need to] really go behind and understand why they have not been able to regulate the exportation of some species in this country,” she stated.

Also, the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor has assured that his outfit would be committed to finding a solution to illicit logging and trading of rosewood in the country.

He added that “It’s about time for us to interrogate how rosewood is disposed of when they are confiscated. If the situation is that persons who are behind the trade find a mechanism and go through the backdoor to get fronts to buy the wood for them, it will not work."