LOGGING EFFECTS OF ILLEGAL CHAINSAW MILLING AND CONVENTIONAL LOGGING IN KROKOSUA HILLS FOREST RESERVE, GHANA

Abstract

Illegal logging is widely believed to have a greater adverse impact on the forest resource base of many countries, but field studies comparing activities of illegal loggers with their conventional counterparts are few, with some not supporting this general notion. We conducted field assessments in Krokosua Hills Forest Reserve in Juaboso district of Ghana to compare operations of illegal chainsaw millers with conventional loggers in relation to species felled, adherence to regulation on minimum felling diameter, extent of collateral damage at stump site and regard for protection of water bodies in the reserve. We found a total of 139 felled trees belonging to 17 species. Felling by Illegal chainsaw millers constituted 37.4% of total felling. 94% of all trees felled by illegal loggers were below minimum felling diameter and were mainly class 1 species with scarlet star rating (and including species regarded as depleted in Ghanaian forests). By contrast, conventional loggers felled from a wider range of species and conservation priorities with 59% of felling done below minimum felling diameter. Collateral damage at stump site was higher for conventional than illegal loggers, with damage to residual stems being mainly broken stems. Average distance of stump sites to nearest water bodies was 24.2 ± 16.7m for conventional loggers, significantly greater than distance for illegal loggers at 15.2 ± 9.7m, suggesting that illegal loggers were felling closer to water bodies. Findings in this study have important implications for forest resource conservation.