Ecometrica launches Forests 2020 testing phase in Ghana

Accra, Ghana, 31st July 2017: Ecometrica, in partnership with the Ghanaian Forestry Commission and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), has officially launched the Forests 2020 project in Ghana.

The project was launched by Mr John Allotey, the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Forestry Commission, who said the five-year programme was designed to partner UK space expertise with government and organisations in the emerging economies.

Ecometrica staff, who are project managing Forests 2020 across the six participating countries of Ghana, Brazil, Colombia, Indonesia, Mexico and Kenya, led several training, facilitation and implementation events to bring together the Ghanaian project’s key stakeholders and officially launch the testing and data collection phase. Three ecological areas have been selected for a pilot: coastal ecosystem monitoring, forest reserve loss and associated threats of deforestation, degradation and reforestation efforts.

Forests 2020 in Ghana is expected to reduce the amount of forested area that is lost annually to deforestation – currently equal to around 200,000 football pitches per year. A key component of the programme is to identify innovative ways that space technology can be used to improve forest management and conservation.

Sarah Middlemiss, Project Manager for Forests 2020, was delighted to be in Accra for the milestone.

“It’s an important day – after six months of preparation, training, workshops, discussions and planning, it’s great to officially launch the testing phase of the Forests 2020 project in Ghana. Now the hard work really begins, to collect all the data we need to start creating conservation and action plans to protect and restore the vast areas of tropical forest that might otherwise be lost.

“We’ve developed some fantastic relationships in Ghana between ourselves and our partners at the Forestry Commission and KNUST. A big part of our ongoing work is to flesh out sustainability plans so that the outputs we develop continue to add value beyond the end of the Forests 2020 project. We’re hopeful that the impact of the work and our relationships with our friends in Accra will see us work together into the future.”