00:00The scene of the crime, where perpetrators began secretly chopping down trees, but were then chased away.
00:09Kevin Eninkwe and Frank Adadie want to protect Ghana's forests, and they've succeeded here in the Ashanti region.
00:18People came in to mine illegally.
00:22And it's a report from one of the monitors that actually brought about us stopping them from mining.
00:29And we even realized that this mining activity, the Minerals Commission knew nothing about it.
00:34So when we got the Minerals Commission involved, they actually did the needed stuff from them, and this came to a halt.
00:43So we could see that it's only a portion that got destroyed, and the remainings are still there.
00:50So at least all the alerts are very, very useful.
00:53Frank Adadie lives close by. Back then, he raised the alarm.
00:58An app on his cell phone lets him report illegal logging and forest fires.
01:05The report is sent directly to the headquarters of Civic Response Ghana.
01:10The NGO started the monitoring program.
01:13It then informs the authorities so that they can respond directly.
01:18This app is in two phases, or it has two interfaces.
01:22We have the web interface and that of the mobile interface.
01:25The mobile interface is basically for reporting forest disturbances.
01:30And that is the one the community monitors use.
01:34Yao Asiti also lives in the Ashanti region, in the Abuabuja community, not far from the Kanwe forest.
01:43He grew up here, and he and his family live from the forest, where they also grow vegetables and palm oil trees.
01:52We used to be able to hunt and gather animal products in the woods.
01:58The destruction of our forest has deprived us of all these things.
02:03This has had a negative effect on our livelihoods.
02:07Rain doesn't used to be a problem either, but now there is hardly enough rain for our crops.
02:13And people are cutting down our trees with chainsaws.
02:17They are burning them to make charcoal.
02:19So we are really suffering.
02:25He has joined the Forest Conservationists to try to put a stop to it.
02:30He attends Civic Response Ghana's monthly meetings.
02:34The group is now active throughout the country's forest conservation areas.
02:39Kevin Kwe and Frank Adade are always joined by newcomers who live near the woods.
02:45They explain how the app works and talk about what else each person can do to protect the forest.
02:55After they taught us how to report these incidents,
02:58there was a significant reduction in some of these negative human activities in this community.
03:07Such measures are long overdue as Ghana continues to lose forest cover.
03:12The Food and Agricultural Organization, FAO, estimates
03:16the West African country has lost around 20% of its forest areas in the last 20 years.
03:23When you talk about the regulatory agencies like the Forestry Commission,
03:27they have some limitations.
03:30For example, in terms of logistics,
03:33to even be able to monitor what is going on in the forest.
03:37The forest is vast, some areas are difficult to access.
03:40So the forest guards, range supervisors and other officers of the Forestry Commission,
03:45they have these challenges of movement.
03:48The non-governmental organization's app could become key to protecting the forest.
03:55The rate at which these things used to occur has reduced.
04:00And then it has also increased communities' interest or willingness to protect forests.
04:07Because through this process, communities' attention has been drawn to a series of benefits
04:12that they stand to gain.
04:17Yaw Asite will definitely keep campaigning to save the trees.
04:22After all, he and his family only have this one forest from which to feed themselves.
04:28As for everyone who lives near Ghana's woodlands,
04:31protecting the forest also secures their own lives.
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