Ghana undertakes to control timber exports to EU.
At the beginning of September, Ghana signed a cooperation agreement with the European Union to combat illegal trading in timber felled in its forests.
Dead Trees.
© Cornel Acuirei. BigstockPhoto.com
The first of its kind, this agreement commits Ghana to put into place a production tracking system by 2010 while Europe – the leading importer of African tropical timber – must step up its border controls. The result of three years of negotiations, this “voluntary partnership agreement” (VPA) is the key element of the FLEGT Action Plan to “improve the governance and application of laws concerning logging and trading in timber products” adopted by the EU Council of Ministers in 2005. By the terms of this VPA, no export of Ghanaian timber to the EU will be allowed unless accompanied by a licence confirming its legality. For its part, the EU is offering Ghana technical and institutional assistance.
Other countries that export tropical timber have shown an interest in the FLEGT process. Assisted by a number of Member States (Germany, United Kingdom, the Netherlands, France), the European Commission is engaged in informal discussions with producing countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Gabon, Congo-Brazzaville and, most recently, the Democratic Republic of Congo. Formal negotiations with Cameroon commenced in September 2007.
