Stakeholders rallied for FLEGT licence implementation

The Acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Forestry Commission, Dr Hugh Brown, has asked stakeholders in the forestry sector and timber industry to gird their loins as the country prepares to issue Africa’s first ever Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) licence by June 30, this year. 

He said after almost 15 years of going through rigorous processes, the right systems had been put in place for the effective implementation of the FLEGT licence to guarantee sustainable management of the country’s timber resources.

"After over 15 years of back and forth, we are seeing an end in sight to the FLEGT licencing process. We told the world that we will issue the licence on June 30, and we are committed to achieve this feat.

"We still have a few issues to clear for the licences to be issued by June 30, and I am hopeful that all stakeholders will play their part for this to happen," he said. 

Stakeholder meeting

He stated this at a stakeholder’s meeting held in Accra to discuss the implementation of the FLEGT licencing and the role of industry players in ensuring smooth transition.

The meeting was meant to prepare the minds of the major players in the timber industry towards the implementation of the new FLEGT regime.

There were presentations on the overview of the FLEGT licencing regime; the legal requirements and compliance under the Timber Resource Management and Legality Licensing Regulations, 2017 (LI 2254); guidelines for export permits and licence issuance and application.

The stakeholders were also sensitised to the dos and don'ts for industry players in the FLEGT regime.

Context

Also known as the timber legality licence, FLEGT licence is a document issued by timber-producing countries that have ratified a voluntary partnership agreement (VPA) with the EU.

The FLEGT confirms that shipment of timber or timber products has been legally produced in accordance with the relevant laws of the country of harvest.

It also ensures that timber exported to the EU by partner countries is harvested legally, thereby promoting sustainable forest management.

While the FLEGT licence eliminates the risk of trading in illegal timber products for EU traders, its added advantage is that traders in FLEGT-licenced timber products do not need to undertake further due diligence, which can be time-consuming and costly.

Beginning June 15, this year, all timber products that will be exported from Ghana to the European Union (EU) market are expected to conform to the FLEGT licence requirement.

Dr Brown had told the Daily Graphic in an interview last month that although the move would make Ghana the first African country and the second in the world to meet the requirement, the opportunity risks fizzling out due to Parliament’s failure to ratify the timber rights before rising last month.

Dr Brown had also told the Daily Graphic that it was important for Parliament to ratify the Timber rights because apart from being on the brink of making history, that milestone would help to eliminate illegal logging and ensure the sustainable management of the country’s forest resources.

Paradigm shift

The Director, Timber Validation Department of the Forestry Commission, Kwabena Akyeampong Boakye, said with Ghana inching towards the historic feat of FLEGT licencing, it was important that all players in the timber value chain aligned their activities with new regime.

He said the FLEGT regime had the potential to promote sustainable management of the country’s forest resources.