Timber validation committee inaugurated
The Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, has inaugurated a Timber Validation Committee (TVC) tasked to ensure that all timber and related products leaving the country for the EU market meet the legality requirements under the Forest Law Enforcement, Governance, and Trade (FLEGT) regime.
The committee, which is chaired by legal practitioner and Member of Parliament (MP) for Kwesimintsim, Fiifi Buckman, has the mandate to oversee the processing of applications for the licensing of timber products for both domestic and international markets.
Again, the TVC is expected to make recommendations on compliance with relevant legal and regulatory frameworks regarding timber trade.
Members
Other members include the Chief Executive of the Forestry Commission, Dr Hugh A Brown; the Technical Director, Forestry, at the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, Joseph Osiakwan; the Director, Timber Validation Division of the Forestry Commission, Kwabena Akyeampong; the Paramount Chief of Lower Dixcove, Nana Kwesi Agyeman IX (representing the National House of Chiefs), and a representative of the Ghana Police Service, DCOP Frederick Kofi Blagodzi.
The rest are President, Ghana Timber Trade and Industry Association, Alex Dadzie; a member of the Trades Union Congress, Mark Ofori Asante; a representative of Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), Eric Bonney; a representative of NGOs, Mustapha Seidu, and a yet-to-be-named representative from the Judicial Service.
Diligence
The minister urged the committee to live above reproach in the discharge of their duty to the state, as any compromise on the FLEGT licensing process could have dire implications for the country at the international stage, and also affect the sustainable management of timber resources.
"The credibility of this committee is crucial to the integrity of our entire timber legality assurance system. Our international markets will rely on your work; our local industry will depend on your fairness and efficiency; and future generations will judge us by how well we protect and sustain our forest resources today," he said.
Mr Buah assured the committee that the government would give them the necessary support and resources to carry out their work.
He called on all to see the forests as a national heritage that was not only a source of economic value, but also a legacy owed to future generations.
The Chairman of the committee, Mr Buckman, assured the minister that they would work diligently to ensure that traceability systems were enhanced to promote the export of legally sourced timber.
He said the committee was aware of the devastation illegal loggers were causing to the environment and would, therefore, not allow their nefarious activities to fester, especially so when the country had become the second in the world to trade in timber with the EU under the FLEGT licence regime.
Background
Also known as the timber legality licence, the 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 under 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.
On August 18, this year, the Forestry Commission issued the first six certificates to five Ghanaian companies to export timber and timber products to the European market under the FLEGT licensing regime.
The issuance of the certificates made Ghana the first country in Africa and second in the world, only after Indonesia, to export timber and timber products to the EU market under the FLEGT licence regime.
