This case study is one of a series of publications produced by the Forest Products Service of FAO in an effort to promote environmentally sound forest harvesting and engineering practices. The purpose of these studies is to highlight both the promise of environmentally sound forest harvesting technologies as a component of sustainable forest management, and the constraints that must be overcome in order to assure widespread adoption of those technologies. The aims of this study were to: review existing forest policies and any changes to deal with chainsaw lumbering in Ghana; discuss the effectiveness of any forest policy responses to the activity; determine the size of the local timber market, the contribution of chainsawn lumber, and measures to reduce the demand for chainsawn lumber; determine the effect of chainsaw lumbering on nearby communities. The outputs are recommendations for follow-up, including suggestions: to improve forest laws with regard to chainsawing; to resolve the market/economic issues that may arise if chainsawn timber were taken out of the equation; for other livelihood ventures for persons currently involved in the chainsawing industry.

Type of Case
Printed publication (book, sourcebook, journal article…)

Publisher
FAO

Region
Africa

Biome
Tropical

Forest Type
All forest types (natural and planted)

Primary Designated Function
Production