Ghana’s implementation of its Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) with the EU, intended to assure export of legal timber to Europe, has been discussed at a meeting in Accra.
The meeting assessed the social, economic and environmental impacts of the agreement, as well as providing an update on progress of components for the Legality Assurance System, which will establish systems to verify legal origin of timber through a verification and licensing scheme for all commercial timber products.
A proposal was made to establish a timber validation division at the Forestry Commission, plus a multi-stakeholder implementation committee.
Ghana says the VPA will impact livelihoods, particularly among local communities. Both the EN and Ghana have initiated studies to address the impacts.
