Bolgatanga Aug. 24, GNA - The Forum Project, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), which aims at slowing-down the degradation of the country's forests has begun a four day workshop to introduce the project and share experiences with community elders, opinion leaders, assembly members and chiefs in the Upper East Region.

The Project had been operating in the Volta Region for the past 15 years to increase vegetative cover through protecting the remaining natural forests, rehabilitating some degraded forest reserves and encouraging the planting of woodlots.

It emphasises a number of components including the rehabilitation of degraded forest reserves, promotion of private and communal woodlots, buffer zone development and soil conservation. Mr Winfred Kofi Bimah, Project Leader, in a brief to introduce the scheme to participants, said before the work began in the Volta Region there was extensive degradation and disappearance of forest resources. This, he attributed to uncontrolled bush fires, indiscriminate tree felling for fuel and land cultivation by communities without regard to the value of forests.

"The situation has now turned positive and many of the practices that caused degradation have been stopped", he said. Participants at the workshop will discuss current forest laws, development of forest protection strategies, roles and responsibilities of co-operating partners and how to plan and implement forestry activities.

They will also look at the protection and management of forests outside forest reserves with the view to increasing the number of young forest trees in the project area and protecting existing forest with support from the Forestry Services Department. Mr Isaac Nsoh Amoah, Bolgatanga Municipal Chief Executive, noted that bushfires and other human activities had degraded portions of the 28 forest reserves in the Region.

He said many communities, however, were becoming aware of the importance of managing forest resources and with the support of the Forestry Services Division, were engaged in Forest Reserve Boundary Maintenance, fire prevention and tree planting. Mr Amoah thanked the Forum Project for its efforts, saying that communities in the Region would co-operate with the NGO to improve the area's vegetation cover.

The Forum Project is a collaboration of the Forest Services Division of the Forestry Commission and the German Development Co-operation.