Ghana has lost over a million dollars in revenue since 2020 for its inability to meet the supply of the seeds of khaya ivorensis, also called African mahogany, because of deforestation due to illegal mining.
The amount translates into millions of Ghana Cedis.
According to the National Tree Seed Centre (NTSC), its inability to supply the seeds to some individuals and only five organisations in Brazil, Malaysia and India, for example, denied the country $375,000 within the period.
According to the Head of the NTSC, Dr Mireku Asomaning, since 2020 to date, some five organisations and individuals in the three countries have been in dire need of the seeds of khaya ivorensis, among others, but the Centre has not been able to supply the 500 kilogrammes demand of each of them.
Interacting with the Ghanaian Times yesterday to throw light on findings of a research by the Forestry Research Institute of Ghana of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR-FORIG) into the effects of illegal mining, also known as galamsey, Dr Asomaning, said each of the demand was 500 kilogrammes and a kilogramme of the seeds sold at $150.
He said the lost revenue could have been used in so many ways such as refurbishing NTSC laboratories.
He said galamsey was preventing Ghana from living up to its obligation as an international supplier of the khaya ivorensis seeds.
Dr Asomaning said what was more worrying was that owners of cocoa and other farmlands which are the sources of the khaya ivorensis seeds had given them to ‘galamseyers’ to mine there.
Touching on its importance, Mr Asomaning explained that the bitter-tasting bark of the African mahogany is widely used in traditional medicine, especially where its decoctions or preparations are used to treat cough, fever and anaemia.
“It is also applied externally to treat wounds, sores, ulcers and tumours, and as an anodyne (soothe), it treats rheumatic pains and lumbago while the root pulp is applied as an enema to treat dysentery,” he said.
He said there were about 35 native tree species at the NTSC, and though many people had been demanding lots of seeds, the khaya ivorensis ones had been “a hot cake”, adding that efforts were being made by the Institute in the storage of seeds and regeneration of the country’s forests’ estate.
“We are doing our best by using the existing plantation to obtain our seeds, but we need to have a lot of seed sources created by ourselves, else plantation activities in the country would go down,” he said.
Dr Asomaning therefore, called on the government and all stakeholders to stop ‘galamsey,’ and promote tree planting and forest reserves.
The Director of the CSIR-FORIG, Prof. Daniel A. Ofori, said some tree species had been identified to absorb heavy metals such as cadmium and mercury in mined sites for reclamation purposes.
He mentioned some of the species as Odum, Emire, Teak and Ofram, adding that research was ongoing to ascertain whether other species like Ceiba Pentandra (Oyina) and some grass could be used to reclaim the degraded lands due to illegal mining activities.
A research scientist at the CSIR-FORIG, Mr James Amponsah, said the Institute had spent about £50,000 to conserve native trees in some of the forests in the country within the past five years.
FROM KINGSLEY E.HOPE, KUMASI
