FOREST GOVERNANCE FORUM WEST AFRICA Accra June 7&8, 2011 Richard Gyimah Chris Beeko TVD, FC-Ghana

Outline Introduction- Importance of Ghana’s forest Ghana’s commitment under the VPA Where are we in the VPA process?  What systems have been developed? Indicative Road map Emerging Lessons

Introduction- Importance of Ghana’s Forest  In early 20 th century forest cover about 30% (≈8 million ha) of the Ghana’s land area;  Forest cover today is about 1.6 million ha  Forest sector contribute about 3.5% GDP  Timber exports earn the country aboutUS$170 million per annum which accounts for about 18% of total exports  Timber sector provide direct employment (120,000 people) and indirectly provide supplementary income to about 2.5 million people  Though Annual Allowable Cut (timber harvest) is set at 2 million 3 /yr, actual harvest is about 3.5 million 3 /yr including illegal harvest Ghana’s forest cover- south of the country

VPA- What was negotiated? An Agreement on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade in Timber Products VPA initialed on September 3, 2008 in Accra Ghana and the EU ratified the Agreement in June & Nov 2009 respectively at their parliaments

Ghana’s commitment under the VPA Establish a Legality Assurance System (LAS) Issue legality licenses on all European Union bound consignments  Non-European bound consignments will still go through LAS but will not carry FLEGT license  Domestic Market included … Conduct a legislative review (two tier review) Work within an agreed time frame as set in agreement with EU (Voluntary Partnership Agreement – VPA)

WHERE ARE WE IN THE VPA PROCESS?

Annex VIII: Schedule for the Implementation of the Agreement Year 1Year 2Year 3 No. Milestones Q1Q2Q3Q4Q5Q6Q7Q8Q9Q10Q11Q12 1. Capacity building 2. VPA Awareness Campaign 3. WTS Provider Selected 4. Subsidiary Legislation Introduced 5. TVD Established 6. Piloting of LAS begins 7. LAS Pilot Reviewed 8. LAS Implemented Nationwide 9. FLEGT Products Promotion begins 10. FLEGT Licensed products exported 11. EU ready to import FLEGT products 12. Independent Monitor appointed 13. Procurement Policies Introduced 14. Promotion of verified legal timber on Domestic Market 15. Forestry laws reviewed and consolidated Moths 48

Where are We in the Process? Jan Nov Sept Mid Nov. 2009

What Systems are being Developed? Legality Verification Protocols Improvements on the existing Wood Tracking System  To deliver an auditable and credible wood tracking system Institutional Adjustments to meet requirements of the VPA Review of areas of Legislation that assist in the implementation of the VPA

Legality Verification Protocols PrincipleSubject AreaNo. of Criteria 1Source of Timber2 2Timber Rights Allocation4 3Timber Harvesting Operations7 4Transportation2 5Processing3 6Trade2 7Fiscal Obligation4 Legality Matrix helps determine the legality of the timber Consists of 7 Principles and 24 Criteria

THE WOOD TRACKING SYSTEM (WTS): simply a system for tracing wood products from export to forest including record keeping/documentation

Supply Chain Types of Ghana’s WTS

TOOLS/TECHNOLOGIES OF THE WOOD TRACKING SYSTEM

Tools to Improve Transaction Data Management System TRANSPORT HARVESTING Stock Enumeration Mill Arrivals & Processing

WTS Piloted

Interface for Financial Transactions on Wood Flows Generate electronic maps through ARC-GIS software INVOICE FORESTRY COMMISSION Internet/web -based application Examples of WTS Improving Forest Management

The System Components Wood Tracking System CoC Wood Tracking System CoC Application of Legal Standard Record of Compliance Application of Legal Standard Record of Compliance Licensing System (TIDD) FLEGT Licenses Licensing System (TIDD) FLEGT Licenses Independent Monitor IM Reports Independent Monitor IM Reports TIMBER VALIDATION DEPT (TVD) AS INTERNAL AUDITOR OF FC. FC (DIVISIONS & UNITS) + INDUSTRY TIMBER VALIDATION COUNCIL-MULTISTAKEHOLDER BODY PRIMARILY FOR DISPUTE RESOLUTION

‘Indicative’ Timeline/Roadmap

EMERGING LESSONS

VPA Negotiation Lessons Create ownership of the process beyond the technical nuclear group (VPA Secretariat) The agreement is binding. Targets, objectives and milestones must be realistic Keep the capacity of your institutions in mind when setting implementation milestones/timelines Combined core team of lawyers and technical personnel need to thoroughly acquaint themselves with content of agreement before concluding negotiations (initialling) Keep your legislature (Senate/Parliament etc.) on board

VPA Negotiation Lessons cont’ Development of VPA-LAS systems:  Project approach vs implementation through established structures of bureaucracy Selling the VPA to stakeholders  Government: make a case for revenue, SFM & good governance  Industry: make a business case  Civil Society: case for good governance and livelihood improvement

VPA Negotiation Lessons cont’ May be a good idea to develop chain of custody systems together with legality verification protocols on one platform - WTS

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