Project team
J. Ofori, J. K. Appiah, F. W. Owusu, A. I. Mohammed, B. Brentuo & M. Mensah

Background
Sustainable forest management has been made a priority in Ghana, and the government is now actively pursuing the use of Lesser-Used-Species (LUS) and plantation species to reduce the pressure on the more popular timber species.

Broussonetia papyrifera occur in abundance in the Afram Headwaters and Pra Anum Forest Reserves. Palmate species (including Borassus palm) are also in abundance in the forests of Ghana, and are underutilized. For the effective utilization and promotion of the ‘invasive’ Broussonetia papyrifera and palmate species as raw materials in the wood industry, knowledge of their basic and technological properties and characteristics are required to provide information concerning their suitability for specific end-uses.

Objective
To determine the basic and technological properties and develop appropriate processing techniques for the efficient utilization of Ghana’s wood resources.