Boosting private sector support for legal timber trade in Ghana
Accra, Ghana – Experts are meeting in Accra, Ghana, today to discuss how to boost private sector involvement in the Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) process to address illegal logging and strengthen the legal timber trade in the country.
Around a third of Ghana’s timber exports are sent to the European Union (EU), and Ghana is one of six countries worldwide implementing a legally binding trade agreement known as a Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) with the EU.
The agreement establishes mechanisms to demonstrate the legality of timber produced in the country and can eventually lead to the issuance of FLEGT licences, opening a ‘green lane’ for timber entering the EU.
Representatives from the Forestry Commission of Ghana, international organizations and the country’s private sector will today agree on the needs of the private sector in the process and develop a common agenda for all new initiatives under FAO’s FLEGT Programme, which is helping Ghana to implement the VPA.
FAO will also sign letters of agreement to support private sector actions in Ghana that seek to build operational and technical capacity while promoting market transformation to increase supply and demand for legal timber.
FAO Deputy Regional Representative for Africa and FAO Representative to Ghana, Abebe Haile-Gabriel, will be among speakers addressing the meeting.
The event is organized by the Timber Validation Department of the Forestry Commission of Ghana and the FAO FLEGT Programme.
More information:
FAO FLEGT Programme
Ghana FLEGT VPA website