Ghana close to obtaining FLEGT license – FC

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Florence
Afriyie Mensah, GNA

Kumasi, Feb. 27, GNA
– The Forestry Commission (FC) says Ghana is close to obtaining the Forest Law
Enforcement, Governance and Trade Action Plan (FLEGT) license from the European
Union (EU).

Mr. Chris Beeko,
Director, Timber Validation Department of the Commission, is upbeat that the
process would be completed this year, to pave the way for issuance of the
license.

This would make
Ghana the second country after Indonesia to receive the FLEGT license.

The West African
country has taken measures to make sure that legally consigned timber get to
the EU market and these include timber tracking and the setting up of a timber
validation committee.

Additionally, the
Timber Industry Development Division (TIDD) of the Commission has been
designated as the licensing authority to deal with their EU counterparts.

Mr. Beeko was
speaking to journalists after a tour of the Logs and lumber limited (LLL), a
timber processing company, in Kumasi, with a delegation from the EU and
officials of the FC.

The EU delegation
led by, the Head, Ms. Diana Acconcia, was there to assess the progress the
country is making as it readies for the issuance of the timber legality
license.

Mr. Beeko said
following the strong measures – system put in place by the FC, illegal logging
had reduced drastically, especially, within the formal sector.

The system has been
helping to identify stolen logs and making it difficult to sell or export such
timber.

He said they had
also upped efforts at restoring the forest cover through plantation development
and rehabilitation of degraded forest reserves.

Ms. Acconcia said it
was refreshing that companies like the LLL were capable of producing products
in compliance with the EU market standards.

It has a 100 per
cent of traceability of its products since the logs are from their own
plantations.  

In year 2009, Ghana
entered into a voluntary partnership agreement (VPA) with the EU, which said
that Ghana would be trading with the EU under licenses that are called timber
legality or FLEGT Licenses.

The country has
therefore in the last 10 years, been implementing systems that would enable us
to be issued with the licenses. 

GNA