Bridges Trade BioRes • Volume 8 • Number 15 • 5th September 2008
Underwater timber harvest in Ghana could reduce deforestation, help climate
A plan to salvage timber at the bottom of the world’s largest man-made lake has caught the attention of climate change experts. The project, and potentially others like it, aims to cut the amount of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere by offsetting traditional above-ground harvesting.
On the sidelines of a recent UN climate change conference in Accra, forestry officials in Ghana announced on 25 August that up to 14 million cubic metres of timber lying on the bottom of Lake Volta will be recovered and sold on the market. The wood has been submerged since the building of the Akosombo hydroelectric dam in the 1960s.
Ghanaian officials say that the project will reduce the country’s levels of above-ground timber harvesting, thus reducing the amount of carbon emissions that come with traditional logging.
Despite these potential carbon offsets, the Volta plan does not qualify for carbon credits under the Kyoto Protocol, which grants credits only for afforestation and reforestation projects. But some hope that the new treaty that takes effect when the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012 will reward countries for ‘avoided deforestation’, not just for planting new trees. Such a treaty could make submerged timber harvesting more lucrative than regular logging.
If the Lake Volta project goes smoothly, experts say other developing countries could engage in similar operations. Robert Bamfo of Ghana’s Forestry Commission says there are “five million hectares of salvageable submerged timber in the hydroelectric reservoirs in the tropics with the potential to supplement global demand for timber,” Reuters reports.
“There are very similar circumstances in numerous countries around the world including Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Brazil, Surinam, Malaysia and others,” Bamfo said. “The potential is there — they are awaiting to see the outcome of the Ghana project.”
Despite the additional costs associated with harvesting underwater, officials say that the project could still be a money-maker given current timber prices. Indeed, Bamfo told Reuters that the wood harvested from the bottom of Lake Volta will have a market value of about $4 billion.
The Canadian firm CSR Developments will conduct the longing, which is set to begin in October.
“Ghana Timber Plan Shows Vision for New Environmental Regime,” VOA NEWS, 26 August 2008; “Submerged Forests to be Harvested in Ghana, Touted as Way to Slow Tropical Deforestation,” TREEHUGGER, 25 August 2008; “Submerged Ghana Forest May Point to Timber Bonanza,” REUTERS, 25 August 2008.