Akim Oda (E/R), March. 13, GNA- The Director of the Forest Services Commission (FSD) in the Birim Central Municipal, Mr Wilson Owusu Asare, on Wednesday, appealed to the government to support it with logistics, to enable it function efficiently.

He made the call in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Akim Oda in the Eastern Region on the rampant and indiscriminate felling of timber in the forest reserve. The Akim Oda area has 11 forest reserves including Mofram, Oboyow and Asuboni.

Mr Asare noted that, the lack of adequate logistics to control the nefarious activities in the forest reserves was hampering their efforts. He mentioned transportation, inadequate staff, and unarmed forest reserve guards, as some of the problems facing the commission. The Director urged the public, especially those living around the forest reserves to help arrest the culprits, whose activities were depleting the ecosystem. Mr Asare said his outfit was trying to discourage people from felling trees in the reserve, and mentioned the sentencing of one Kwesi Ansah by a court. Kwesi Ansah, 30, who was described by the police as a notorious chainsaw operator, was sentenced to six months imprisonment in hard labour by the Akim Swedru Circuit Court, presided over by Mr. Edward Kwame Bosompem Apenkwa.

Mr Asare said the convict was a member of a group, which called itself Al-Queada, and had been sawing indiscriminately, economic trees like bako, sapele and asanfina, causing considerable damage to the Asuboni Forest Reserve in the Birim Central Municipal, reserved for a scientific research. He said the Executive Director of the Forest Services Commission, Mr Mathew Owusu-Abebrese has inaugurated the "Oda District Forest Guards Association", to minimise the rate at which forest resources were being plundered.

Mr Asare expressed his worry about the alarming rate at which the forest was being depleted through the activities of illegal chainsaw operators and said if those activities were not halted, the country would soon be importing lumber from other countries. To buttress his point on their difficulties in operating in the forest, Mr. Asare said on Tuesday, May 23, 2006, Mr Emmanuel Brew, a Forest Range Supervisor of the 'Akim Oda District Forestry Services Division (FSD)' in the Birim Central Municipal, narrowly escaped death when a driver, who was carting illegal chainsaw lumber ran over his motor bike.

The Municipal Director said the appeal was necessary, since his outfit needed improved logistics to help conserve the forest.