SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPACTS OF LOGGING ON RIVERINE COMMUNITIES ALONG THE OFFIN RIVER BASIN IN THE ASHANTI

The vulnerable forest dependent people face huge issues in terms of water supply, health, food security, employment, and shelter as a result of the loss of forest cover owing to anthropogenic influences. The goal of the study was to see how logging affected people's social lives in riverine settlements in the Tano-Offin and Tano Shelterbelts. The study looked at seven different communities. Data from satellite photography and structured questionnaires were collected and analysed. Over an eleven-year period, the Offin Shelterbelt and Tano Offin forest reserves saw a total of 21.3 percent forest loss. This could have had a role in the Offin River's inconsistent flow in previously documented perennial areas, the frequency of waterborne infections and guinea worm infestations, and the youth's subsequent exodus to urban areas. Such a situation could have far-reaching consequences for these forest-dependent populations, whose main source of income (work, water, food, shelter, and so on) is inextricably related to these forests.

Please see the link :- https://www.ikprress.org/index.php/JOGAE/article/view/1885