Mapping Ghana's Vanishing Tree Cover: Two Decades of Regional Loss and Shifting Deforestation Hotspots (2001-2024)

Habibatu Lambon 

Ghana has lost a great deal of tree cover since 2000, but it is less clear where the loss is greatest and whether those places have changed over time. This study used satellite records of tree cover loss from 2001 to 2024 and counted the loss in each of Ghana's 16 regions. Only areas that had at least 30% tree canopy in 2000 were included. Out of about 6.97 million hectares of tree cover in 2000, about 1.75 million hectares (25.1%) were lost by 2024. Western, Ashanti, Eastern and Central regions account for most of it. Recorded loss was 311,000 hectares in 2001 to 2008, 508,000 in 2009 to 2016 and 933,000 in 2017 to 2024, but the data provider warns that loss before about 2015 is underreported because detection methods changed, so this rise is partly a measurement effect. Using only 2015 to 2024, loss rose by about 9%, from 532,000 hectares in 2015 to 2019 to 577,000 in 2020 to 2024. In that period Ashanti overtook Western as the region with the most loss, and Western North gained a larger share, while Western and Bono lost share. Western and Central regions lost the biggest share of their own tree cover (32.0% and 30.3%). The results show where and when tree cover was lost. They do not show why, so the causes discussed here are possibilities, not findings.