Impact of Land Cover Change on Carbon Stocks in the Moist Semi-Deciduous Forest Zone of Ghana: The case of Bobiri Forest Reserve and its surroundings

Sat, 11/24/2012 - 16:41

The country’s attempt to implement land-based carbon projects is hampered by lack of baseline information especially on carbon stocks. Presently, our knowledge of Ghana’s carbon budget is limited by inadequate data on carbon stocks in the various cover types as well as the spatial distribution of these sinks. Moreover, quantifying forest cover changes is a key requirement in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Kyoto Protocol
implementation. Though there is national awareness about the alarming pace of forest cover change in Ghana, estimation of this change is however based on “best guesses” rather than on scientifically robust methods. Thus, there is an urgent need to determine more reliable estimates of forest cover
changes and associated carbon stocks at a resolution consistent with the scale of deforestation in the country.

Responsible party
Forestry Research Institute of Ghana