Commercial plantation is the future of the timber industry – Dr Asamoah Adam

Dr Kwame Asamoah Adam, Executive Secretary of the Ghana Timber Millers Organization (GTMO), has called on the timber industry players to establish plantations to sustain the industry.

He said commercial tree plantation was the future and sustainability of the timber industry and it was time timber firms engaged in large-scale tree plantation to serve as raw materials for their operations.

Speaking at the 11th quadrennial delegates’ conference of the Timber and Woodworkers Union of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) in Kumasi, he said there was a need to invest to correct the damage caused by climate change on the country’s forest.

The conference was on the theme: “sustainability of the timber industry in an era of climate change: the role of social partners.”

Dr Adam, who was the guest speaker, said most timber companies in the country had collapsed because of wild bushfires which consumed their production materials.

He said climate change, which resulted in wild bushfires in the country some years ago, destroyed about 400,000 hectares of productive forest and this affected many timber companies, which depended on these forests for their raw materials.

Dr Adam pointed out that climate change was real and was affecting food production, health, and many other areas of human existence.

There was, therefore, the need for a concerted effort to address the threat posed by climate change, which had come to stay due to human activities over the years.

To sustain the timber industry and keep workers on the job, there was the need for the companies to grow more trees and make maximum utilization of material wood they have.

Workers should also increase advocacy to protect forest reserves from all forms of destruction.

Dr Adam also called on timber industry players to invest in renewable energy in their operations.

Dr Anthony Yaw Baah, Secretary General of TUC, said human beings had over the years, been destructive to the environment.

He said though climate change could not be repaired, something could be done about it and called for urgent collaborative efforts to address it.

Sister Georgina Smedley, Chairperson of TWU, said climate change posed a significant threat to the timber industry and there was a need for both workers and managers to adopt innovative strategies to sustain the industry, adding that, collective efforts would help in that direction.

The conference was going to be used to discuss and develop actionable strategies and policies not only to sustain the growth of the industry but the future generations of the industry.

Mr Mark Ofori Asante, the General Secretary of TWU said unregulated chainsaw operations, illegal mining and other activities posed a threat to the country’s forest and there was an urgent need for collaborative actions and innovative strategies to address the problem.