Degradation of Forest Reserves in Asunafo Forest District, Ghana

*Kenneth Peprah, Raymond Aabeyir and Gervase Kuuwaabong*

## **Abstract**

Forest reserve degradation is a global concern because it is a storage facility of global biodiversity. In addition, forest reserves contain the wealth of several poor countries, particularly in Africa. Such is the situation in Ghana, which possesses portions of the tropical African rainforest. The timber species thereof has been harvested to create wealth since the 1800s. The wealth of the soils for cocoa production was realised in the first decade of the nineteenth century in Asunafo. Hence, the desire to reserve portions of the forest as protected areas began in 1910. Therefore, the aim of this study is an investigation of the degradation of the forest reserves of Asunafo. The methods of the study include a survey of farmers, key informant interviews, community meetings, and transect drives. The results reveal a progressive increase in the human population, expansion of settlements, and a drastic reduction in the forest reserves by –24.59%. The timber industry, cocoa farming, and population increase have caused forest reserve degradation, a loss of wildlife habitats, an out-migration of elephants, buffalos, and chimpanzees, a loss of plant biodiversity, and an invasion by weeds. The Government of Ghana should increase efforts to halt forest reserve degradation.

**Keywords:** degradation, forest reserve, close forest, Asunafo, Ghana
