Nii Osa Mills (right), Minister of Lands and Natural Resources jointly signing an agreement with Mr William Hanna (left), European Union Ambassador to Ghana.

Voluntary partnership agreement on timber reviewed

Emmanuel Ebo Hawkson Mar - 17 - 2016 , 09:14

The Government of Ghana and the European Union (EU) have reviewed the Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) on timber exports from the country to EU member states.

The VPA that was signed between Ghana and the EU in 2009, is aimed at ensuring that timber products were acquired through legal means.

This was the eighth time that the Joint Monitoring and Review Mechanism (JMRM) which oversees the implementation of the VPA had met to review the agreement since it came into force in December 2009.

Importance

The Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Nii Osah Mills, explained that the review was a step in the right direction since it would help in the development of the country’s timber legality assurance system and further address the legal issues involved in the country’s domestic and external trade matters.

“It will also help us to make our forest management systems more transparent. This will also bring improvements in our forest governance as Ghana will get closer to the EU’s Forest Law Enforcement Governance Trade (FLEGT) licensing for easier access to EU markets,’’ he said.

Issues

Some of the issues discussed during the review session included the status of Ghana’s timber legality assurance system and the progress made on the country’s quest to acquire FLEGT licence.

Nii Osah Mills, who is also the co-chair of the JMRM, explained that with FLEGT licence, EU importers of the country’s timber would not be required to do further checks on the products.

The EU’s Ambassador to Ghana, Mr William Hanna, said the VPA would help the country curtail and control illegal logging, modernise its timber operations and also ensure that people derived maximum benefits from forest resources in the country.