Mr Tweneboah Donkor, Goaso District Manager of the Forestry Service Division has expressed concern over the felling of young trees by chainsaw operators in the Asutifi District and has called for a halt to the practice.
He appealed to Alhaji Collins Dauda, Minister of Lands, Forestry and Mineral Resources, and Member of Parliament for the area, to step in to arrest the situation.
"It was important to halt the situation to save our virgin forest from being turned into a desert," Mr Donkor said in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Goaso.
Mr Donkor said he had circulated letters to chiefs in the area to advice those engaged in the activity to stop, since anyone caught would be prosecuted.
He said the illegal chainsaw operators often carried out their activities at Nkaseim and it was "unfortunate that they are cutting different species of trees," contributing to the depletion of the forest cover.
Mr Donkor said the illegal chainsaw operators transported about 10 KIA truck loads of the young logs everyday from Mim, Nyamebekyere, Asuadai and Bediako to where they operated.
He said information reaching his office indicated that the operators had extended their activities to Bediako Forest, near Mim and if the trend continued it would be disastrous for the district.