The CEO of the Forestry Commission, John Allotey, has highlighted the significant challenge of resource shortages in combating illegal activities in the country's forest reserves.

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During the Forestry Commission’s Chief Executive’s briefing and Staff recognition awards in Takoradi, Allotey acknowledged the persistent issues of illegal mining and logging in forest reserves, emphasizing the limitations of the Rapid Response Team due to insufficient resources. He urged the Board and Management to develop programs for additional funding to equip and support these units effectively.

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Deputy Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Benito Owusu Bio, commended the Forestry Commission for its role in the Green Ghana project, noting that Ghana has planted over 21 million seedlings since 2021. He praised the government's commitment to environmental restoration and emphasized the historic scale of tree planting under the Green Ghana initiative.

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Meanwhile, Western Regional Minister Kwabena Okyere Darko Mensah urged the Forestry Commission to prioritize bamboo plantations as a sustainable alternative to timber. Drawing attention to successful bamboo utilization in other countries, he encouraged fundraising for forest plantation and machinery to process bamboo for various purposes, emphasizing its potential to alleviate poverty and contribute to economic development.

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“The key challenge confronting us today is how to combat the issue of illegal mining. Though our Rapid Response team is doing so well, we need to equip them, (because)they have limited logistics to be able to move in their numbers and run multiple operations at the same time.

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“So this area we will need support from the board and the management to develop some programs that will yield more funds that will be able to resource some of these units”,he stated.

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