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JUDGMENT
The plaintiff filed the instant suit against the defendants jointly and severally for
(a) A declaration that “TAIN TWO” forest reserve compartments 200, 223 and
222 being at a place commonly known and called “Farm 36 Antokrom” on
the Berekum stool lands and bounded by the properties of Antokrom,
compartment 201 and River Tain is the property of the plaintiff .
(b) An order of the court to restrain the defendants, their agents and anyone
claiming through them from entering the said forest to cut teak trees.
The defendants’ repudiated liability and trial commenced on 24/01/22.
The case of the plaintiff is that he is a Timber contractor who operates under the
business name ATBED ENTERPRISE which is registered under the Laws of Ghana.
The plaintiff averred that in the year 2001, the government launched the National
Forest Development Programme with the aim of planting trees in degraded forest
reserves caused by several destructive factors like bushfires, illegal felling of trees etc.
In line with this policy, the Forest Services Division (FSD) of the Forestry Commission,
released a list of degraded Forest Reserves including the one in issue.
Forest Services Division therefore invited interested persons and entities to apply for
plantations in the degraded forest for the purpose of planting teak trees which upon
maturity shall be shared with Forest Services Division in terms of benefit sharing
agreement between a concessionaire and the government.
The plaintiff averred that in 2002, he thus applied to the Forest Services Division for a
concession in the Tain II Forest Reserve and he was given compartments 200, 222 and
223 which covers an area of 250 hectares.
He explained that he engaged the local people including the defendants and they
planted teak seedlings and by the year 2017, the trees had matured and to his surprise
the defendants herein unlawfully entered the concession and began felling some of
the teak trees. All attempts to stop the defendants from their unlawful conduct have
been futile.
The plaintiff corroborated his evidence with several documents. Some of these
documents are:
(a) Exhibit A – A letter of recommendation from the Regional Forest Services
Division to the National Head Quarters
(b) Exhibits B1 & B2:- Approval letter and a site plan granted to him.
(c) Exhibit C – A performance update report.
(d) Exhibit D – A letter from the Forest Services Division requiring him to enter
into a lease benefit agreemen