Africa forest cover accounts for 23 percent of its planned area. Africa is also home to the most significant proportion of forest-dependent subsistence households globally. More than half of the continent’s population relies directly or indirectly on the forests for livelihoods.

Ines Angulo, the Forest Investment Project (FIP)coordinator at the Climate Investment Funds (CIF), says Africa is the continent with the highest annual rate of net forest loss at 3.9M hectares in the last decade. The forest loss has been increasing steadily since 1990. How is the FIP project working with African countries to manage forest loss and provide suitable livelihoods to communities dependent on them?

Also, why are good policies not enough to protect forests in Kenya?

In Ghana, the Global forest watch indicates that Ghana’s forests once covered a third of its 24-million-hectare landmass. In 2020, the country lost 136kh of its natural forest, equivalent to over 30 million tons of CO₂ emissions. The Forest Investment Project Ghana has been working with local communities and stakeholders to reduce deforestation while ensuring forest-dependent communities benefits from the natural resource.

Valerie Fumey Nassah, the manager for the plantation unit at the Forestry Commission of Ghana, also talks about the project achievements and lessons learned.