Rescind decision to degazette Achimota Forest – CSOs to government

12 different Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) have highlighted the environmental effects concerning the decision of the Akufo-Addo administration to degazette the Achimota Forest Reserve as a commercial or residential zone.

In a statement, the CSOs namely Legal Working Group, A Rocha Ghana, EcoCare Ghana, Civic Response , Nature and Development Foundation, Viridis Environmental Consult, Kasa Initiative Ghana, Ghana Wildlife Society, Bureau of Public Safety, Advocates for Biodiversity Conservation, Forest Watch Ghana and 350 Ghana Reducing Our Carbon noted that the Achimota Forest is “Accra’s one and only precious urban forest” and thus, any decision forthwith should seek to enhance the value of the Reserve.

“We, the undersigned Civil Society Organisations are deeply concerned that part of the Achimota Forest, Accra’s one and only precious urban forest, has been degazetted and is no longer a Forest Reserve. We are shocked that “the President is satisfied that the land specified in the schedule is no longer required as a Forest Reserve”, especially now when government is inviting companies to invest heavily in Forest Reserve restoration for the Green Ghana Day 2022.

“We do not understand how degazetting part of Achimota Forest Reserve will “ensure development that is consistent with the area of the Forest Reserve” and instead believe the opposite is true: That ceding its Forest Reserve status will open it up to all types of development which will adversely affect the integrity of the area as a Forest Reserve” part of the statement reads.

The statement added, “Accra cannot afford to lose any portion of its only Forest Reserve. Urban forests provide critical ecosystem services including removing Accra’s extremely high pollution, storing carbon, producing oxygen, and helping mitigate the floods that Accra is so prone to.

“The particular area of the forest that the EI 144 refers to is a critical section of the Forest Reserve due to its position alongside the motorway, providing a protective barrier for the wildlife in the Forest Reserve and performing key ecosystem service functions to help control pollution from vehicles on the motorway and N1 George Bush Highway. Maintaining natural areas in urban centres is also critical for people’s welfare, exercise, relaxation, and mental health. They also provide corridors for wildlife moving through the landscape.”

Concern of the CSOs comes after an eight-page document was widely circulated on social media, which purported to mean that the classification of the Achimota Forest Reserve has been lifted to pave the way for a possible redevelopment for other purposes.

The Instrument gazetted on behalf of President Akufo-Addo by the Lands Minister, Samuel Abdulai Jinapor, stipulated that effective May 1, 2022, the land on which the Forest is located shall cease to be a forest reserve, pursuant to Section 19 of the Forest Act, 1927 (CAP. 157).