REFORESTATION AND EDUCATION PROGRAMME - KOKOAGO PROJECT
International Federation of Building and Woodworkers' (IFBWW) and Ghana Timber and Woodworkers Union (GTWU)
Kokoago, Ghana

In order to raise awareness of the importance of forests to the working people of Ghana and in order to demonstrate the potentialities and viability of reforestation, the GTWU embarked on an aggressive forestry education programme. In Ghana, where about 70% of the population live and work in the rural areas with agriculture and forestry as their main source of livelihood, the health and well-being of the region's forests are very important. In 1957 Ghana had 23 million hectares of forest, but today only has 8.3 million, a fact which prompted the GTWU to initiate a campaign for the sustainable management of this resource. The trade union also began a 240 hectare pilot reforestation project complete with a nursery and Technical Officer on loan from the Forestry Department. Since this is a long-term programme, the objectives cannot be immediately measured, but the signs are that they have been able to create the necessary awareness within the trade union circles, the local community, and the project has been recognized and appreciated by the government.

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