Ghana
All about the Ghana-EU Voluntary Partnership Agreement
Ghana has around 2.6 million hectares of forest reserves dedicated to timber production, and an additional 2 million hectares of crop land that also produce timber. The country also has 500 000 hectares of unreserved forests. The forest sector is the fourth largest contributor to Ghana’s GDP. Ghana has a strong reputation for innovation in timber processing, making products particularly suited to the European market. Around 11% of Ghana’s timber exports are sent to the EU. Ghana has ratified a VPA with the EU, and is developing the systems needed to control, verify and license legal timber. Once this system will be fully operational, Côte d’Ivoire will issue Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade (FLEGT) licences.
Christophe Hertecant
Ghana and the EU advance toward FLEGT licensing in their joint effort to combat trade in illegal timber
The Ghana-EU Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) has reached a major milestone. During the meeting of the implementation body of the Agreement, the Parties took an important step toward issuing FLEGT licences, that will attest to the legality of Ghanaian timber products exported to the EU.