The characteristics and impact of small and medium forest enterprises on sustainable forest management in Ghana

Small and Medium Forest Enterprises are considered promoters of local development and growth due to their contributions to over 50% of forest-based employment in some countries like Brazil, Uganda, and India. Despite the many potentials of these enterprises, their operations go unchecked, which poses a serious threat to the sustainability of tropical forests. This study highlights the characteristics of SMFEs and the impact of SMFEs on sustainable forest management in Ghana from a survey of 80 randomly sampled enterprises in seven communities in the Amenfi West Municipality in Ghana. Data was gathered using structured questionnaires and key informant interviews and analyzed with statistical tools in SPSS version 25. The findings show that 71.25% of the SMFEs are not registered with the appropriate authorities like the Registrar General’s department and the Municipal Assemblies. In addition, 55 (68.8%) of these enterprises have a direct dependency on the forest for raw materials with 21.8% of this number claiming to have obtained the needed permits/licenses to harvest the raw materials they need from the forests. For 91.25% of the enterprises, factors such as resource availability and profits drive their activities and 8.75% are driven by access to labor and job creation. The analysis showed that belonging to an association is a significant determinant of business registration at p = 0.001. Forest policies must seek to promote sustainable management of forest resources by enforcing registration and permit laws. SMFEs must be consistently monitored and supervised to ensure that their activities are guided by policy and their compliance rewarded through capacity building and government support.