The Forestry Commission of Ghana (FCG) has developed a’ National Map of Forests and Land Use‘ as part of their commitment to build world-beating earth observation capability which represents the culmination of a three-year project.
The development was supported by Forests 2020, a system that is managed by Ecometrica, the space information company, and supported by the UK Space Agency’s International Partnership Programme (IPP).
Ecometrica uses data from satellites and drones to supply monitoring that supports the creation sustainability reporting insights for business and government.
With a track record for sustainability and earth observation services, the companies satellite mapping technology is being used to protect 300 million hectares of tropical forests as part of the Forests 2020 project.
It helps businesses to easily track and map their impact.
IPP is a £150m programme, with the costs spread over a number of years, that originally launched in 2015. It uses the UK’s space knowledge, expertise and capability to provide a sustainable, economic or societal benefit to developing nations and economies.
Projects included in the IPP are;
- Climate/disaster resilience and improving agriculture
- Supporting deforestation
- Reducing or eliminating maritime pollution and illegal fishing
- Maximising the benefits from renewable energy production
- Improving access to affordable financial services.
The launch of the map is the latest in a big push by Ghana to improve sustainability in important agricultural commodities, notably including cocoa, The country wants to be active in contributing to deforestation efforts, promote forest restoration, and align protection throughout supply chains.
The country will make this product the official system for climate reporting and building transparency in the supply chain with regards deforestation.
Yakubu Mohammed, the Head of Geo-Information Unit at the Resource Management Support Centre of the Forestry Commission of Ghana and Principal Investigator for Forests 2020, said:
The map is an important outcome from the Forests 2020 project, which has enabled us to create a resource centre from which we will further develop our new land cover map.
Importantly, FCG and our partner agencies will now be in a much stronger position to determine progress towards the Cocoa & Forests Initiative objectives and other international commitments and initiatives.
The maps provide authoritative and accurate information about the extent of forests, shaded and unshaded cocoa production areas, forest reserves, admitted farms and other agricultural areas.
For three years, the Forestry Commission and Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology have been developing the countries national maps showing land use. Their efforts have been supported by International partners.
Dr Richard Tipper, executive chairman of Ecometrica, added:
This is a significant achievement by FCG and represents the first 3rd generation land use map to be produced at national level by a middle income country.
It is also a testament to the ongoing success of Forests 2020 and its long-term legacy, with Ghana now in a position to identify key commodity crops, such as cocoa, but also whether these crops are grown under tree shade or in shade free condition.
The multi-purpose map will be kept up to date and Ghana will use it for reporting national climate change under the UNFCCC Paris Agreement.
