ENV 233: INTRODUCTION TO NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT FOREST RESOURCES Steve Ampofo Department of Earth & Environmental Science Faculty of Applied Sciences Navrongo Campus

FOREST? ‘Land spanning more than 0.5 hectares with trees higher than 5 meters and a canopy cover of more than 10 percent, or trees able to reach these thresholds in situ. It does not include land that is predominantly under agricultural or urban land use’.

FOREST? A forest is much more than a collection of trees and other vegetation because it is more than an object. It is a functional system with components performing various processes in a synergy of interrelationship and interdependence. It is basically comprised of various vegetation, wildlife, soil, water systems etc.

BENEFITS AND VALUE FROM FOREST RESOURCES 1.It performs Carbon Sequestration 2.Influencing rainfall pattern and regimes (transpiration) 3.It serves as wildlife habitat 4.Source of timber & wood resources for development. 5.Medicinal products obtained from parts of trees and shrubs.

BENEFITS AND VALUE FROM FOREST RESOURCES 6.Forest serves as Eco-tourism which brings development (income, employment, social infrastructure). 7.It enhances soil conservation 8.Serves as windbreaks from wind storms 9.Source of food ( wild fruits, mushroom, snails, meat)

FOREST TYPES FOREST TYPES & FORMS 1.Tropical rain forest 2.Savannah woodlands (Guinea and Sudan Savannah) 3.Desert vegetation 4.Temperate forest 5.Arctic and Alpine Tundras

FOREST TYPES TROPICAL RAIN FOREST The tropics is between Tropic of Cancer (latitude 23.5 degrees North) and the tropic of Capricorn ( 23.5 degrees South). Climate  Average of 250 cm per year of precipitation (125cm- 660cm)  Humid  Temperature is between 93 °F (34 °C) or drops below 68 °F (20 °C)

FOREST TYPES TROPICAL RAIN FOREST Contains up to 30 million species Around 15,000 tree species – more than 10% are threatened Over 900 threatened bird species Composed of four(4) layers: Emergent layer (Upper most layer) Canopy layer Understory layer Forest floor

FOREST TYPES

TROPICAL RAIN FOREST Rainforest occupy 6% of the Earth’s surface 350 million of the world’s poorest people depend on forests for their subsistence & survival Rainforests produce 20 – 30% of the world’s oxygen It is very rich in species diversity.

FOREST TYPES TROPICAL RAIN FOREST Rainforests are the source of an estimated 2500 edible fruits Every year at least 50 million acres are of rainforest are destroyed – an area nearly the size of Ghana Over 900 threatened bird species U.S. imports over $20 million worth of rainforest plants for medicinal purposes annually

FOREST TYPES SAVANNAH FOREST & WOODLOTS Savannah vegetation is also referred to as tropical grasslands and is found as a transition between tropical rainforest and desert biomes. It is mainly made up of rolling grassland and shrubs interspersed by few short trees which give a very low canopy cover.

FOREST TYPES SAVANNAH FOREST & WOODLOTS The savannah region has a single rainfall regime alternated by a long dry season where temperature could be between 28-35ºC. It has less than 10mm of rain in the dry season and between 38mm mm of rain in the wet season. In Ghana, there are the Sudan and Guinea savannah ecosystems.

FOREST DESIGNATION AND MANAGEMENT FOREST DESIGNATION 1.Designated for production 2.Designated for protection of soil and water 3.Designated for conservation of biodiversity 4.Designated for social services 5.Designated for multiple use

FOREST DESIGNATION AND MANAGEMENT FOREST MANAGEMENT Area of Permanent Forest Estate Forest area within protected areas Forest area under sustainable forest management Forest area with management plan

FOREST AND VEGETATION RESOURCES Ecology: “It is the study of the relationship between living organisms and with their environment, It is the study of the structure and function of nature.” Ecosystem: “It is a self-sustaining and self- regulating community of organisms and their environment.” Population:“ It is a group of individual organisms of the same species that live in a particular area” Awuah, E. (2011). Environmental Studies and Sanitation for the Tropics (2nd revised ed.). Kumasi.

FOREST AND VEGETATION RESOURCES Community: “It is a group of individual organisms of the same species that live in a particular area.” Ecosphere/Biosphere: “It is the sum total of all the various ecosystem on the planet along with their interactions with the sphere of water, air, and land in which all life is found. Ecological niche: “This is a species total role and function in an ecosystem” Awuah, E. (2011). Environmental Studies and Sanitation for the Tropics (2nd revised ed.). Kumasi.

PROBLEMS IN FOREST RESOURCE MANAGEMENT Some of the problems in managing and protecting such resources include: 1.Deforestation & Degradation 2.Institutional constraints 3.Conflict management in resource ownership

PROBLEMS IN FOREST RESOURCE MANAGEMENT Deforestation & Degradation 1.Logging activities by timber firms 2.Bushfires 3.Illegal exploitation of forest resources 4.Agricultural expansion 5.Expansion of Settlement 6.Provision of social infrastructure 7.Industrial growth and expansion

PROBLEMS IN FOREST RESOURCE MANAGEMENT WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DEFORESTATION & FOREST DEGRADATION?

PROBLEMS IN FOREST RESOURCE MANAGEMENT Institutional constraints 1.Low institutional capacity for management. 2.Inadequate staff and skill for resource management. 3.Low enforcement of forest resource regulations 4.Inadequate provision of logistics such as transport, communication.

PROBLEMS IN FOREST RESOURCE MANAGEMENT Conflict management in resource ownership Ownership of resources Low participation of community(s) in resource management. Misunderstood roles of stakeholders