Overcoming the Obstacles to Sustainability in Ghana

iv Chapter 1: Introduction 1 Ecology ....................................................................... 2 Soil/fertilizer ....................................................................... 3 Economics ....................................................................... 4 Illegal Practices ....................................................................... 6 Nutrition and Livelihood ....................................................................... 7 Basic causes of deforestation ....................................................................... 8 Chapter 2: Socio-Economic Impacts 10 Nutrition ....................................................................... 10 Poverty alleviation during the 1990s .................................................................. 12 Other livelihood measures ....................................................................... 13 Macroeconomic measures ....................................................................... 13 Exchange rate ....................................................................... 14 The neglected rural population and potential for agriculture ................................ 14 Agricultural sector funding ....................................................................... 15 The minor input subsidies of 2008 and 2009 were largely ignored .......................... 16 Lack of affordability constrains technological advancement ................................. 16 Chapter 3: Forestry Policy 18 Early policy ....................................................................... 18 Large-scale logging policy ....................................................................... 18 Forestry Estates ........................................................................ 19 Failure to regulate logging ....................................................................... 20 Policy based on environmental concerns .......................................................... 20 Communally-owned lands ....................................................................... 22 Timber marketing control ....................................................................... 22 Strict policy ........................................................................ 23 Chainsaw regulation ....................................................................... 24