Ghana’s Forestry Commission announced on Wednesday that it would issue its first set of Forest Law Enforcement, Governance, and Trade (FLEGT) licenses by the close of June to commence the export of legal timber to the European Union (EU) market.
Hugh Brown, chief executive officer of the commission, announced this during an engagement with players in the forestry and timber industries in the country.
Brown said Ghana got to the significant milestone after a successful 15-year Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) with the EU, making Ghana the first African country and the second globally to achieve this feat.
The official said the FLEGT license would allow legal timber from Ghana into the EU market and prevent illegal logging in Ghana’s forests.
Brown noted that the country has, over the past 15 years, been able to improve its forest management systems, develop many management plans, and implement the necessary prescriptions on forest and forest products management.
“We have put in place an effective chain of custody for timber to be able to track it right from the source along the entire value chain, and we have introduced an electronic verification system that helps us to do this in real time,” he added.
He said the forestry commission has firmed up its deadweight tonnage system with a strong decision support system, enabling officials to determine how much timber is being harvested from any location by the click of a button.
He added that Ghana has also introduced the independent monitor system such that somebody who isn’t part of the system comes in from time to time to ensure that the country’s practices are aligned with global standards, which Ghana’s international partners are satisfied with.
“One key aspect of the process is that civil society has become very active participants in the discussions, and together with industry and government, we have been able to resolve many challenging issues,” he added.
Brown urged players in the local timber industry to support the government’s efforts to clean up and restructure the industry to ensure sustainability.
Ghana entered into the VPA with the EU in 2009 to begin a legally binding process aimed at combating illegal logging and ensuring the legality of timber exported from Ghana to Europe.
The VPA enjoined Ghana to develop a Timber Legality Assurance System to verify the legality of its timber products and the EU to accept FLEGT-licensed timber from Ghana without additional due diligence checks.