Rainforest

I really wanted to see the rainforest, at first I thought national park. But they said what I expected to see there. Then I simply asked if someone could take me with them when they went into the “bush”.
It wasn’t just anyone, but Justice the Forest Co-ordinator, the boss himself.
On Monday at 8 a.m. we set off, he said it was the area closest to the Samreboi (70 km). But 70 km also means only a 2-hour drive with the pickup truck.
First we drove 31 km on the dirt road to the next main road, from there 12 km on the asphalted N12. Then another 27 km on the dirt road, 22 km of which Samartex built himself to be able to transport the felled wood from the forest.
On the last 20 km, Justice got behind the wheel himself and the driver had to sit in the passenger seat. I had the feeling that he wanted to make sure we wouldn’t have an accident with me on board. He honked before every bend and then drove very slowly around the corner. Actually, none of the timber trucks should be on their way back at this time. I found out the real reason later: he was afraid that timber thieves would come towards us, and that would have been really complicated.
That day I learned a lot about the timber industry in Ghana.
The national forestry authority of Ghana allocates individual plots to the companies. Then the companies have 3 years (starting with the first felled tree) in this plot. After 3 years, the plot is closed for forestry for at least 15 years.
Only trees with a diameter of at least 80 cm may be felled. In order to find these trees, a team is sent out to clear a slit with a machete. With 3 men, they then look 10 m to the right and left to see where a suitable tree is. 10 m because in the rainforest you can’t see further than 10 m, after that it just looks like a green wall.

The trees are each given a number. Then you walk through the forest again with a forestry authority employee. Each individual tree has to be approved and documented by the forestry authority. At the same time, the tree is measured and the yield estimated in m3.
There are no paths in the rainforest, they have to be built first. Based on the selected trees, topographic maps and possible old paths, one then plans a path that is as easy as possible and passes as close to the trees as possible. Danehmen also plans collection points to be able to collect the wood as efficiently as possible.
Each trunk that is felled is clearly marked with the number of the tree and the plot number. At the same time, this identification is also noted on the tree stump. In this way, it is later possible to trace the forest from which each piece of wood originated and the location of the tree. After all the approved trees have been felled or the 3 years are up, the forestry authorities go through the forest again and check whether only the approved trees had cut down.

However, there is also a disadvantage with the roads. Once a forest is developed, it is much easier for timber thieves to enter the forest and cut down trees and steal timber.
This happens very often and is a big problem in Ghana.
By the way, I had to wear a helmet all the time – safety first.
But in return I didn’t get sunburn on my head.
But back to the wood. First we fell the trees, cut them into small pieces so that they fit on the timber truck. A bulldozer then clears a path so that the wood can be pulled to one of the collection points. You need really heavy equipment for this, as you can see in the pictures.

On this day, 6 trucks were loaded. Come to think of it, 2 trucks were loaded when we arrived. For the remaining 4 they needed another 6 hours. Well, you might think that’s a long time, but look at the huge debris. You have to stack them properly to get them home without an accident. They unloaded one truck completely and started again because it didn’t work the first time.

Since it took a while, Justice told me to come with him. I didn’t know where to go, but it didn’t matter. The three of us then walked to the Ivory Coast; about ½ of the way along a so-called smuggler’s path, until we passed the border stone. There you could already hear the chickens from the next village. But he didn’t want to go further than 50 m – too dangerous. The path is used by timber thieves to transport the wood to the neighbouring country. He then showed me a tree that had been felled in the morning or last evening. The trunks are then cut so small in the forest that they can be transported with light vehicles. What is also striking is that the rainforest ends right at the border. There used to be rainforest everywhere, but the Ivory Coast has flattened the whole forest and made banana plantations out of it. It was frightening to see that for myself. Once the forest is gone, it’s gone – it will never be the same again. Banana plants are green too, but it will never be rainforest again, it is destroyed forever. That really shocked me.
After a little more than an hour we were back at the meeting point; I was totally exhausted and needed a bottle of water. For one thing, we walked really fast, and the 35 degrees in the shade and the endless humidity did the rest.
When they wanted to load the last tree, a hydraulic hose burst on the skidder. There is always a service vehicle with all the spare parts and tools, a workshop on wheels, so to speak. But it didn’t help either, there was more than just the hose defective. Then the tree trunk has to wait a while until it is picked up.
Now we went back to Samreboi in convoy. The first vehicle I was in had warned the oncoming vehicles. When 6 timber trucks are coming towards us, there is simply no more room on the road. So convoying makes sense, and then there is only one truck a day and not every hour. In addition to its function as a lead vehicle, the pickup had another purpose. A tyre burst on one of the rear vehicles when the first ones were already on the asphalt road. There is no radio, and mobile phone reception is not always available. That’s why it took some time until we noticed the flat tyre. We got a spare tyre each from two trucks. We then drove to the end of the road and unloaded one. Changing tyres on a fully loaded truck is quite exhausting, but at least they were twin tyres. To loosen the wheel nuts, they needed an iron bar about 1.5 m long. Each lorry was manned by 3 men, who were also able to change the tyres. But it was not to be the only truck with a puncture, a second one was also hit. It was totally shredded. I have the feeling that the tyres are driven until they tear, at least that’s what they looked like. It’s probably cheaper that way than replacing the tyres regularly. Working time costs nothing here, and the teams did the tyre change so routinely that you could get the impression that it happens every 2 days, and nobody grumbled or grumbled.
It was already pitch dark when we got back.
Although I didn’t have to change any tyres, I was totally exhausted, but it was still an exciting day and I won’t forget the impressions so quickly.