Ghana Earns $260m From Timber Exports, Domestic Sales in 2025 - CEO Forestry Commission

Ghana earned about $260 million from timber and timber product exports and domestic sales in 2025 contributing enormously to the revenue of the government, the Chief Executive Officer of the Forestry Commission (CEO), Mr Hugh Brown, has disclosed.

According to him, a total volume of 952,000 cubic metres of timber and timber products was supplied to both local and international markets last year, while ecotourism sites within wildlife parks and forest reserves attracted about 800,000 visitors, representing an increase of more than 20 per cent over the previous year.

Mr Brown made these remarks in Accra on Friday during the launch of the 2026 edition of the Tree for Life (T4L) Reforestation Initiative, which coincided with this year's World Environment Day celebration.

It was held on the global theme: 'Inspired by Nature, For Climate for Our Future,' and the Tree for Life theme: 'Forests and Economies.'

He said forests remained critical to Ghana's socioeconomic development, noting that about 20 per cent of the country's population depended directly or indirectly on forest resources for their livelihoods, food security and healthcare needs.

Ghana's forest cover, he stated, was estimated at 6.4 million hectares, representing about 27 per cent of the country's land area, with 1.02 million hectares classified as closed-canopy forest and 5.37 million hectares as open forest.

Mr Brown said forests also played a vital role in sustaining the country's cocoa industry through the provision of favourable microclimatic conditions, while serving as important watersheds for major rivers, including the Pra, Brim, Ayensu, Ankobra, Densu, Tano and Ofin.

He indicated that the forestry sector generated direct and indirect employment for about 800,000 people through activities such as logging, timber processing, furniture manufacturing, plantation development, ecotourism, herbal medicine practice and forest management.

Despite these benefits, Mr Brown expressed concern over the persistent threat posed by deforestation and forest degradation, particularly within the high forest zone, warning that the trend continued to endanger biodiversity, wildlife habitats and the livelihoods of forest-dependent communities.

Elucidating on the achievements under the 2025 Tree for Life Initiative, he said a total of 23,600 hectares of degraded and deforested lands were restored through enrichment planting and plantation development.

Additionally, Mr Brown said 1.9 million seedlings were planted under the amenity planting programme, while 2.1 million seedlings were established on farms under the Trees-on-Farm component.

"In total, about 30.8 million tree seedlings were planted across the country by the Forestry Commission, private sector organisations and civil society groups," he stated.

Mr Brown disclosed that a recent survival assessment showed encouraging results, with seedling survival rates ranging between 65 and 85 per cent in the high forest zone and between 40 and 78 per cent in the northern savannah ecological zone.

For the 2026 planting season, he said the Forestry Commission, in collaboration with private sector partners and other stakeholders, aimed to plant 30 million seedlings nationwide.

He therefore appealed to Ghanaians to support the initiative by obtaining free seedlings from Forestry Commission offices across the country and ensuring that planted trees were properly nurtured.

Mr Brown also outlined several interventions being undertaken by the Commission to strengthen forest governance, including the review of the Forestry Commission Act, the introduction of payment-for-ecosystem-services schemes, enhanced ecotourism investments, establishment of forest protection camps and intensified training for frontline staff.

He stressed that sustained forest conservation required long-term planning, strong partnerships and collective action, urging all stakeholders to work together to halt deforestation, restore degraded landscapes and secure Ghana's forests for future generations.

This article originally appeared on Ghanaian Times.