According to investigations by London-based watchdog group Global Witness, only 300 of the 800 logging permits in Ghana meet EU Timber Regulation standards, meaning a majority of Ghanaian timber could land European importers in jail.
"Ghana's logging permits are in a mess. Of six types of permit issued by the authorities to logging companies, only two fall within the government's own definition of what is legal. Until the government gets its house in order, European buyers should consider all Ghanaian timber products as extremely risky, and make sure they are doing thorough checks along their supply chains," said David Young, Forest Sector Transparency Campaigner at Global Witness.
Global Witness also reported recently on Ghana's use of "shadow permits," permits meant for small-scale harvesters given to large corporations. This government-level corruption was also made evident when Global Witness realized the list of permits the Ghanaian government gave it to analyze was different from the list released in response to the EU Timber Regulation.
"We have seen two lists: the one the Government of Ghana made public before the new regulations kicked in, and one it sent us. The numerous inconsistencies suggest the first step in ensuring legality-the allocation of permits-is not working," Young said.
The European Commission and the government of Ghana is meeting this week to discuss progress on the Voluntary Partnership Agreement formed in 2010. "Standardizing logging permits so that they conform to the constitution and the laws of Ghana, and reversing the historic under-pricing of timber rights should be high on their agenda," Young said.
