tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:/xml/Ghana1Ghana news from mongabay.com2008-12-16T10:15:25Ztag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/33452008-09-04T14:30:39Z2008-12-16T10:15:25ZGhana becomes first country to sign sustainable timber pact with the E.U.The European Union has signed a sustainable forestry deal with Ghana that would stop imports of illegally-harvested timber from the West African nation, according to a statement released by the European Forest Institute. The agreement comes under the European Commission's 2003 Action Plan on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT), which seeks to address illicit timber imports. The regulation requires chain-of-custody documentation for timber to be imported into the E.U. Rhett Butlertag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/31122008-07-24T14:30:39Z2008-12-16T10:14:34Z14 countries win REDD funding to protect tropical forestsFourteen countries have been selected by the World Bank to receive funds for conserving their tropical forests under an innovative carbon finance scheme.Rhett Butlertag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/25662007-12-06T14:30:39Z2008-12-29T06:47:32ZPictures of new species discovered in West AfricaScientists have discovered significant populations of new, rare and threatened species in one of the largest remaining blocks of tropical forest in West Africa, reports conservation International (CI). The findings underscore the need to conserve the area's high biological richness.Rhett Butlertag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/14122006-12-14T17:00:39Z2008-12-29T06:43:57ZLooming desertification could spawn millions of environmental refugeesAfrica may be able to feed just 25% of its population by 2025 if soil degradation on the continent continues at its current pace, according to a water expert presenting at an upcoming United Nations University (UNU) conference on desertification in Algiers, Algeria. Karl Harmsen, Director of UNU's Ghana-based Institute for Natural Resources in Africa, says that should soil conditions continue to decline in Africa, nearly 75% of the continent could come to rely on some sort of food aid by 2025.Rhett Butlertag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/13422006-11-06T17:00:39Z2008-12-29T06:43:47ZForest protection could earn tens of millions for GhanaGhana could earn tens of millions of dollars for reducing its deforestation rate under a carbon-trading initiative proposed by a coalition of developing countries and under discussion this week at U.N. climate talks in Nairobi, Kenya.Rhett Butlertag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/7442006-01-22T15:19:39Z2008-12-29T06:42:33ZGoodbye to West Africa's RainforestsWest Africa's once verdant and extensive rainforests are now a historical footnote. Gone to build ships and furniture, feed hungry mouths, and supply minerals and gems to the West, the band of tropical forests that once extended from Guinea to Cameroon are virtually gone. The loss of West Africa's rainforests have triggered a number of environmental problems that have contributed to social unrest and exacerbated poverty across the region.Rhett Butlertag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/4092005-09-21T15:19:39Z2008-12-29T06:42:12ZCocoa innovations could help West Africa escape povertyGhana is leading efforts to use waste from cocoa farming to produce household products and drinks -- from fertilizer and soap to wine and brandy -- that will boost income for poor farmers.Rhett Butlertag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/3912005-09-20T15:19:39Z2008-12-29T06:42:11ZBuilder of rainforest canopy walkways believes conservation can be profitableThis month's issue of The Ecological Finance Review details Greenheart conservation Company, a for-profit company that designs, builds and operates conservation based canopy walkways (canopy trails) and other nature-based attractions around the world. Operating on the premise that conservation can be economically viable, Greenheart believes that is has already become a "model of how to shift gears from an industrial to a green economy." Greenheart has developed or is developing canopy walkways in Peru, Nigeria, Madagascar, Ghana, Brazil, Guyana, the United Kingdon, and Canada.Rhett Butlertag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/772005-04-21T15:19:39Z2008-12-29T06:42:02ZStudying the rainforest canopyThe Global Canopy Programme, a groundbreaking new project dedicated to studying rainforest canopies, is about to enter the implementation stage in five tropical forests across the globe. Headed by Dr. Andrew Mitchell of Oxford University, the project will place giant cranes in Brazil, Ghana, India, Madagascar and MalaysiaRhett Butler