Ghana to become first African country to issue FLEGT Licence

Ghana is in the final stages of becoming the first African country to issue Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade (FLEGT) licence to cover its timber and wood products traded on the European market.

The feat was achieved during the 11th Joint Monitoring and Review Mechanism meeting held between Ghana and the EU in Brussels from September 20-26, 2023.

This places Ghana as the 2nd country in the world after Indonesia to begin the trade in legally certified wood and wood products with the EU under the FLEGT mechanism.

Ghana’s Timber Legality Assurance System, when it becomes fully operational in 2024, will mark over a decade of institu­tional and regulatory reforms in the trade in legal timber. It will also be an evidence of the government’s commitment to respon­sible management of the nation’s forest resources.

In November 2009, Ghana became the first timber-producing country to sign a Voluntary Partnership Agreement (here­inafter referred to as VPA or Agreement) with European Union (EU). The Agree­ment entered into force on December 1, 2009.

A FLEGT licence is an export licence issued by a VPA partner country for timber or timber-related products destined for the EU market, which certifies that the timber or timber-related products exported under that licence are legal. Under the FLEGT licence, timber and timber-related products covered by a valid FLEGT licence auto­matically meet the requirements of the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR) and prohibits the placing onto the EU market illegally harvested timber and timber-related prod­ucts.

The Minister of Lands and Natural Re­sources, Samuel A. Jinapor, led a high-level Ghanaian delegation made up of repre­sentatives from the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, the Chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Lands and Forest, and key stakeholder groups, including the Ghanaian public authorities in charge of forest administration, private sec­tor and civil society, at the 11th Joint Mon­itoring and Review Mechanism (JMRM) meeting in Brussels. The JMRM sought to advance the final procedural steps towards the issuance of FLEGT licences.

This meeting marks a major milestone in the global fight against illegal timber trade, and testaments to achieving the VPA objec­tive of improved forest governance.

This session of the JMRM was the first since May 2019, and also the first one to be convened outside of Ghana. During the technical meetings, the parties reviewed and discussed the status of implementation of the Agreement.

The parties also agreed on the Joint Action Plan towards FLEGT licensing, and raised outstanding procedural issues to be addressed before FLEGT licences can be issued. The FLEGT licence attests to the legality of Ghana’s timber, and facilitation of trade in timber and timber-related prod­ucts for both exporters and importers.

In 2016, Indonesia became the first country in the world to issue FLEGT licences. With the conclusion of the VPA, Ghana will become the second country in the world and the first in Africa to issue FLEGT licence.

According to Koen Doens, Director General at the European Commission’s Directorate General for International Partnerships (INTPA), “Over the years, we have witnessed a remarkable dedication to sustainable forest management and the combatting of illegal logging.”

 ” The dedication of Ghana’s govern­ment and its forestry sector, alongside the support and cooperation of our European partners has brought us to the cusp of FLEGT licensing. This achievement under­scores the power of international coopera­tion in addressing critical global challenges such as deforestation and illegal logging. We look forward to the positive impact that FLEGT licensing will have on Ghana’s timber industry and the broader environ­ment, demonstrating how partnerships and persistent efforts can lead to meaningful change.”

Ghana has undertaken major legislative reforms in its forestry sector to enhance forest governance which supports the ob­jectives of the VPA and Ghana’s commit­ment to sustainable forest management and the fight against climate change.