Photos By Rebekah A. Frimpong and Ethan Budiansky (c) 2010
From Haiti to Ghana with Trees for the Future
Click to Link to Trees for the Future
HAITI
Once known as "The Pearl of the Antilles," Haiti is one of the most environmentally degraded and poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere. A long history of unsustainable land use practices and a continuing dependence on trees for fuel wood and charcoal, has left Haiti with about 2% of the country's original forests remaining. Deforestation in Haiti is primarily due to people's dependence on fuel wood and charcoal for their cooking and heating needs. Deforestation is causing poor soil fertility, flooding in some regions, and depleted water sources.
GHANA
Ghana’s richness in natural resources provides the country with a strong economy in comparison to other countries in West Africa. However, overexploitation and mismanagement of these resources and a general lack of environmental awareness threatens Ghana's stability and its people.
With Ghana's economy being highly dependent on subsistence agriculture sector, accounting for 50% of the annual GDP and employs 85% of the county's workforce, deforestation is a huge concern. In the past 50 years, Ghana's primary rainforest has been reduced by 90% and Ghana is currently losing about 2% of its forest cover annually. This is primarily due to factors such as deforestation for subsistence agriculture, fuelwood collection, uncontrolled bush fires, overgrazing, widespread logging and mining for gold. In the north of the country, the Sahelian desert is quickly encroaching on deforested lands and soil erosion is rampant. Crop yields are decreasing, and overall agriculture productivity is threatened. Despite Ghana's richness in natural resources, 79% of the population still lives on less than $2 a day and the country still remains highly dependent on international financial and technical assistance.
Once known as "The Pearl of the Antilles," Haiti is one of the most environmentally degraded and poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere. A long history of unsustainable land use practices and a continuing dependence on trees for fuel wood and charcoal, has left Haiti with about 2% of the country's original forests remaining. Deforestation in Haiti is primarily due to people's dependence on fuel wood and charcoal for their cooking and heating needs. Deforestation is causing poor soil fertility, flooding in some regions, and depleted water sources.
GHANA
Ghana’s richness in natural resources provides the country with a strong economy in comparison to other countries in West Africa. However, overexploitation and mismanagement of these resources and a general lack of environmental awareness threatens Ghana's stability and its people.
With Ghana's economy being highly dependent on subsistence agriculture sector, accounting for 50% of the annual GDP and employs 85% of the county's workforce, deforestation is a huge concern. In the past 50 years, Ghana's primary rainforest has been reduced by 90% and Ghana is currently losing about 2% of its forest cover annually. This is primarily due to factors such as deforestation for subsistence agriculture, fuelwood collection, uncontrolled bush fires, overgrazing, widespread logging and mining for gold. In the north of the country, the Sahelian desert is quickly encroaching on deforested lands and soil erosion is rampant. Crop yields are decreasing, and overall agriculture productivity is threatened. Despite Ghana's richness in natural resources, 79% of the population still lives on less than $2 a day and the country still remains highly dependent on international financial and technical assistance.