A Chronological Assessment of Ghana’s Forestry Policies in Precolonial and Colonial Era: Lessons for Forest Management in Contemporary Ghana

Abstract

This article examines historical trends in the character of forest management in the Gold Coast (now Ghana). Relying on the Socio-Economic Approach to policy analysis, the paper discusses the influence of changing socio-economic factors and power structures on forest management in pre-colonial and colonial Ghana. In so doing, the article also interrogates the real motives behind the colonial forest reservation policy in the Gold Coast. Contrary to the belief that colonial reservation policy was a ploy take the management of lucrative forest resources from local people; the paper argues that centralised forest reservation policy was adopted by the British colonial administration in response to genuine environmental concerns. Finally, the effects of colonial forest policies on forest governance in modern Ghana are discussed