Executive summary

The Asubima Forest Reserve has been recognized as a highly degraded forest. As a result of feasibility studies conducted in the degraded forests of Ghana, FORM International is spearheading private international funding to develop forest plantation in the reserve. This will be a viable alternative to sustainable forest management that also brings economic value to the investor. FORM is determined to develop the project to meet Forest Stewardship Certification (FSC) standards and thus also meet social and environmental requirements for sustainable forest management in Ghana. In pursuance of this goal consultants were engaged to determine the social and environmental impact of the proposed project and to determine the suitable mitigating measures in case of expected negative impacts and relevant enhancements where positive impacts are determined.

The consultants undertook a number of study tours in the proposed area to collect base line information. Socio economic studies identified social economic and cultural factors and processes that would be relevant to the project in terms of impacts. Interviews were held with local communities around the site, key informants and officials of the FSD as well as FORM Project staff. Environmental auditing and flora and fauna inventory studies were carried out to determine present stocking levels in the reserve as compared to previous times. Water/hydrology studies were also conducted to determine the potential for the project's impact on water bodies and its environmental and social benefits for those living near the forest. These sources of data were fed into a social and environmental impact matrix to highlight areas of major concern for the project management.

Overall, the project mainly intends to plant over 70% of the area with Teak. In addition, the rest of the area with forest patches, riparian forest, etc. will be stocked with indigenous tree species. In the view of this the consultants, in consultation with the relevant stakeholders determined that, in view of the highly degraded nature of the forest, the project would bring overwhelming positive environmental and social benefits to the area. In future the intended forest cover will enhance water, soil, forest and general ecological integrity (bio-diversity) as well as provide sustainable sources of income and other goods and services for local people. The issues of benefit sharing and land access are key issues that the project management has to deal with expeditiously and decisively.

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