Forests in Ghana - ecosystem-based strategies and climate change mitigation

For the past 25 years (1990-1015), the state of Ghana forests have experienced loss of cover by 2% annually. Deforestation has therefore, characterised the state the forest ecosystems all these years. Severally drivers of deforestation mostly anthropogenic, have caused the diverse degrees of forest loss in the various forest sub-types within the studied area. Notably are; agriculture which was predominate driver in 1990-2010 while mining and mineral exploration from 2011-2015 as the most principle cause of the forest calamity. Deforestation has contributed to the fast rising effects of climate change in Ghana of which evidences are clearly shown in rising temperatures and drought and flooding cases resulting from unannounced rainfall patterns