Relevance of Trees and Forests to Sustainable Development: Perspectives of Key Rural Actors in Selected Communities, Ghana

Abstract In consonance with the universal quest for sustainable development, the United Nations (UN) declared 17 global goals in 2015 known as the sustainable development goals (SDGs). Scholarly literature has highlighted the relevance of trees and forests (TFs) to this quest from various perspectives. However, the perspectives appear elitist, as they tend to exclude those of some seemingly ordinary but actually crucial actors whose activities directly affect the growth, health, and population of TFs, namely small-scale farmers, chainsaw operators, and artisanal miners operating particularly in rural areas in developing countries. The study examined the excluded perspectives of the said actors in selected rural comminutes in Ghana on the relevance of TFs to SD. The study was guided by the SDGs in its data collection, analysis, and reporting approach. Focus group discussions were held with the farmers and miners, while in-depth interviews were held with the chainsaw operators. The actors‘ perspectives generally indicated that TFs were relevant to seven, not relevant to six, and somehow relevant to four of the 17 SDGs. Although the actors saw TFs as important for SD, they (actors) were not favourably disposed to tree-planting for purposes of land restoration because they saw TFs as renewable resources with natural regenerative capacity. Stronger advocacy and more intensive sensitization by the central and local governments, forestry commission, and other pro-environmental organisations, institutions, and agencies on the importance of growing, nurturing, and conserving TFS for SD are recommended. Furthermore, the government should enforce regulations to stop the destruction of TFs by the actors to ensure a sustainable green environment for sustainable development.