1. The fourteenth session of the African Forestry and Wildlife Commission was held in Accra, Ghana, from 18 to 21 February 2004, at the kind invitation of the Government of Ghana. The session was attended by 83 representatives from 29 member countries and observer countries, and four UN agencies. Observers from 22 international intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations also attended. A full list of participants is given in Annex B.
2. FAO was represented by Mr. El Hadji Sène, Director, Forest Resources Division, Forestry Department. Mr. Pape Djiby Koné, Senior Regional Forestry Officer, FAO Regional Office for Africa, served as Secretary.
3. The inaugural ceremony was presided over by Prof. Daniel Adzei Bekoe, member of the Ghana Council of State, who commenced the ceremony with a strong statement on forestry issues facing Africa and the need for the Commission to help address them. The Honourable I.C. Quaye, Regional Minister for the Greater Accra Region, welcomed participants and thanked FAO and the Commission for choosing Ghana and Accra to host this session. He underlined local efforts to green the metropolitan region and stressed the importance of all tree areas in this endeavour. His welcome remarks were followed by a statement by the Honourable Prof. Dominic K. Fobih, Minister for Lands and Forestry, who highlighted the importance to Ghana of hosting the fourteenth session of the African Forestry and Wildlife Commission. He gave an overview of Ghana’s priorities in forestry and stressed the needs for closer cooperation between African countries on forestry issues of common concern.
4. The FAO statement was presented on behalf of the Assistant Director-General of the Forestry Department, Mr. Hosny El-Lakany, by Mr El Hadji Sene. He conveyed FAO’s gratitude to the Government of Ghana and the Minister of Lands and Forestry for taking up at a very short notice the invitation to host the Fourteenth session of the Commission and for providing all facilities for its smooth running. He referred to the outcome of the Sixteenth session of the FAO Committee on Forestry (COFO) which strongly recommended the strengthening of Regional Forestry Commissions and the integration of their deliberations into the work of COFO.
5. His Excellency Alhadji Aliu Mahama, Vice-President of the Republic of Ghana, delivered the opening address. Before declaring the Fourteenth session of the Commission officially open, the Vice-President pointed out the need for broad-based education on the ecological functions of forests and the goods and services they provide. He emphasized that sustainable forest management is a key to providing social and economic support to rural African communities. The Vice-President further expressed concern about the many threats that African forests are currently facing and suggested that sustainable forest management be considered as an integral part of overall national strategies.