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NASA highlights Ghana’s declining forest reserves
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In southwestern Ghana, a patchwork of tropical forest lies among widespread farmland dotted with towns. These forest fragments are remnants of the Upper Guinean forest of West Africa, a biodiversity hotspot that has been diminished by human activity and fires.
Primates, elephants, hippopotamuses, and butterflies are among the thousands of animals that live in the region’s primary forests, which are almost entirely within a network of forest reserves. But satellite images indicate that these protected forest remnants have become even smaller in recent decades.
The false-colour images above, acquired by the Landsat 4 and Landsat 9 satellites, show 12 protected forest reserves and Bia National Park in the Bia-Goaso forest district in 1989 (left) and 2023 (right). The forested canopies of the reserves are dark green, whereas the surrounding landscape is lighter green.
“This area has historically been an important forest habitat for biodiversity, but elephant populations have declined precipitously because of human encroachment and habitat degradation,” said Michael Wimberly, a professor of geography and environmental sustainability at the University of Oklahoma. The photograph below, taken by Wimberly, shows intact forests in a reserve east of the Bia-Goaso region.
Wimberly and a team of researchers in the United States and Ghana used Landsat data to study forest degradation, loss, and recovery in the reserves across Ghana from 2003 to 2019. Although vegetation change was relatively slow from 2003 to 2015, it picked up significantly between 2015 and 2019.
Overall, there was more forest loss and degradation than recovery, resulting in a gradual decline of tree cover.
The drivers of change here are multifaceted, noted Wimberly. In 2016, drought associated with El Niño parched forests and promoted fires across more than 12 percent of Ghana’s moist semi-deciduous and upland evergreen forests. Forest loss was especially prevalent in a reserve known as Bonsam Bepo, south of the city of Goaso.
In a reserve southeast of this image, mining operations contributed to forest loss. In the reserve north of Bia National Forest, widespread logging for timber from 2017 to 2019 led to forest degradation. In other reserves, such as Krokosua (the u-shaped reserve at the bottom of the image), the expansion of cocoa farms has consumed forest. Ghana and neighbouring Côte D’Ivoire produce about two-thirds of the world’s cocoa.
A 2024 United Nations report on the state of the world’s forests highlighted the Forest Data Partnership, an effort to help people in Ghana access remote sensing data to track commodities linked to deforestation and prevent forest loss.
The approach is being field-tested in Ghana and at the joint NASA-USAID SERVIR program’s regional hub for West Africa to help make agricultural production and food systems more sustainable.
Wimberly and colleagues continue to monitor Ghana’s tropical forest landscapes and forest reserves using Landsat data and models to classify the health of forests. Their updated results can be explored in this interactive map.
Source: earthobservatory.nasa.gov
Minister for Education Haruna Iddrisu has questioned why Ghana continues to import toothpicks despite having the resources to produce them locally.
Speaking in Parliament, Mr. Iddrisu, who previously served as Minister for Trade and Industry, said he feels ashamed that the country still depends on imports for such a basic product.
“I have been Minister for Trade and Industry before and I carry the shame. How come that in Ghana we cannot produce toothpicks and we have to import them?” he asked.
According to him, Ghana has enough resources to support local businesses to manufacture products such as toothpicks instead of relying on imports. He said the country should encourage private sector investment in manufacturing to create jobs and reduce dependence on foreign goods.
Mr. Iddrisu alleged that some people who received government support under private sector initiatives failed to use the funds for their intended purpose.
“If you want, Honorable Kojo, because you… I can’t go there. There are people who took money in the name of the private sector and said they were going to farm. That money never went to their farms. You know that,” he told Parliament.
On job creation, the Education Minister said he agreed with the views expressed by a colleague on the need to create more employment opportunities. However, he argued that the One District, One Factory (1D1F) programme did not provide the solution to Ghana’s employment challenges.
Mr. Iddrisu made the remarks during parliamentary proceedings while contributing to discussions on job creation and the country’s industrial development.
By: Jacob Aggrey
New Patriotic Party (NPP) communications officer, Dennis Miracles Aboagye, has dismissed reports linking him to an alleged GH¢55 million case, insisting that no such issue was raised during his detention by the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO).
In a Facebook post after his release from EOCO custody, Mr Aboagye stated that at no point during his detention was he questioned about any GH¢55 million.
“For the records: There was no discussion of any GH¢55 million with me by EOCO. None,” he wrote.
According to him, he was detained for four days, a day after announcing his intention to contest for the position of National Communications Director of the New Patriotic Party.
Mr Aboagye alleged that false narratives were circulated about his arrest but expressed confidence that the truth would eventually prevail.
He thanked NPP supporters who demonstrated and called for his release, saying news of the protests reached him while he was in detention and encouraged him.
Mr Aboagye indicated that the support shown by party faithful strengthened his resolve and reaffirmed his commitment to serve the NPP.
He maintained that his detention had not discouraged him from pursuing his political ambition.
“If the intention was to break me, it has failed. If the intention was to scare me, it has failed spectacularly,” he stated.
Mr Aboagye expressed appreciation to his legal team, the leadership of the NPP and all supporters who stood by him throughout his detention.
He reiterated his determination to lead the party’s Communications Directorate, declaring that he remained “ready to win” and committed to what he described as the party’s mission to “command the narrative.”
By: Jacob Aggrey
