Transboundary monitoring of timber trafficking in Ghana-USFS

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Project Purpose

The aim of the project is to develop a robust 3rd party monitoring programme that empowers CSOs and communities to contribute to addressing the challenges posed by illegal logging and timber trafficking in Ghana. A major goal is to make this programme so useful that it finds a permanent place in the forestry sector of Ghana where it can be maintained, expanded, and updated on an ongoing basis, thereby ultimately contributing to sustainable forest management and conservation efforts.

Project Goal

Contribute to effectively addressing drivers of illegal logging and timber trafficking along the supply chain by implementing a robust third-party monitoring framework led by CSOs in Ghana; in partnership with communities and the Ghana’s VPA third-party monitor.

Target Landscapes

Upper East, Upper West, Bono, Western North Regions.

Project Objectives

  1. A Rocha Ghana and its CSO network’s capacity enhanced to confidently identify timber species and process timber identification as well as understand the relevant regulations governing timber logging, processing and trade in Ghana.
  2. Increase awareness on timber trafficking with evidence gathered from the monitoring programme.
  3. An inclusive monitoring system and tools developed by A Rocha Ghana and networks partners adopted for joint monitoring activities with communities, Forestry Commission and CEPS.

More Info

The project aims to establish a reliable third-party monitoring system that enables Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and communities to play a role in combating the issues associated with illegal logging and timber trafficking in Ghana. Here are the key points of the initiative:

  • Strong partnerships will be forged with local stakeholders, including community members, environmental groups, and law enforcement agencies.
  • Training sessions will empower CSOs and community members to monitor and document instances of timber trafficking effectively.
  • Advanced technologies like the Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool (SMART) application, utilizing satellite imagery and GPS tracking, will enhance monitoring accuracy and efficiency.
  • The use of tools such as the Xylorix pocket wood app and Xylorix Inspector for wood identification will address challenges related to wrong identification of wood within the timber value chain.

Project Duration: 10 Months
Funded by: US Forest Service
Project Implementing Lead: A Rocha Ghana
Implementing Partners: ORGIIS Ghana,  Community Partners For Development-Ghana (COMPAD-GH), The Resource Foundation 

Technical Support: Timber Industry Development Division (TIDD) of Forestry Commission

Project Launch: Gallery
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Press Release: Notice of Civil Action Against the Government of Ghana

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Recent developments resulting from the active actions of the Government of Ghana, which has led to unprecedented risk to convert Ghana’s protected forests such as Globally Significant Biodiversity Areas (GSBAs) into logging and mining areas have compelled us to issue a formal notice of intent to pursue civil action against the Government of Ghana.

Our constituent team of CSOs include, A Rocha Ghana, Tropenbos Ghana, Civic Response, Nature and Development Foundation, and EcoCare Ghana. We have taken this critical step in accordance with Section 19(1) of the State Proceedings Act, 1998 (Act 555), to fulfil our constitutional duty in safeguarding the natural environment, as enshrined in Article 41(k) of the 1992 Constitution.

While acknowledging the Government’s developmental objectives and the imperative need to utilize natural resources for national progress, we are of the conviction that such utilization must strictly adhere to legal frameworks outlined in the 1992 Constitution, the Timber Resources Management Act, 1998 (ACT 547) as amended, and the Timber Resources Management and Licensing Regulation, 2017 (LI 2254). Of particular concern is the recent declassification of Globally Significant Biodiversity Areas (GSBAs) within some forest reserves including the Subri River Forest Reserve and Krokosua Hills Forest Reserve, and the subsequent awarding of a Timber Utilization Contract to some logging Companies to operate in same.

 

See Full Statement HERE

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BRACE project launched to improve sustainable mining to safeguard the environment and protect people

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The European Union (EU) has launched the, “Building Resilient and Active Communities in Extractive Landscapes in Ghana (BRACE)”, project aimed at improving sustainable mining to safeguard the environment and protect individuals living in mining areas. BRACE underscores EU’s strong commitment to fostering responsible resource extraction practices that prioritize environmental preservation and the well-being of local communities. With EUR 1.718 million funding from the European Union, the BRACE project, implemented by a consortium of not-for-profit organisations (Wassa Association of Communities Affected by Mining (WACAM) and Nature and Development Foundation (NDF)) led by A Rocha Ghana, also aims to ensure adherence to human rights, transparency, and accountability in mineral governance by contributing to sustainable and equitable environmental management and good natural resource governance in Ghana. See Full Press Statement HERE
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Building Resilient and Active Communities in Extractive Landscapes In Ghana (BRACE)

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The European Union-funded Building Resilient and Active Communities in Extractive Landscapes in Ghana (BRACE) project, seeks to ensure Human Rights adherence, transparency and accountability, and respect for communities’ ERs in mineral governance.

Project Context

Ghana’s extractive sector remains one of the country’s biggest exports as it contributes over a third of export revenues. There are plans to make Ghana the mining hub of Africa. Already, the sector has adversely impacted lives and livelihoods, stripping communities off their rights leaving them with no voice and channels to seek justice.

 

Mining licenses are often granted without the requisite due diligence, particularly in socially and environmentally sensitive areas such as farmlands, forests, and rivers, despite bans on prospecting in forests and mining in rivers. The boom and expansion in the extractive sector for gold and transition minerals has led to the displacement of communities, loss of farmlands, and contamination of water sources with mercury, zinc, and arsenic, resulting in exposure to health risks ranging from respiratory problems to cancer. Compensation for affected individuals is often inadequate, with minimal benefits flowing back to the communities impacted.

 

Furthermore, there’s a looming threat to Ghana’s Forest Reserves (FRs), critical ecosystems where communities, especially women, rely on non-timber forest products (NTFPs) for their livelihoods and benefit from various ecosystem services essential for social well-being. The enactment of the ‘Environmental Protection (Mining in Forest Reserves) Regulations L.I 2462′ in November 2022 has opened the door to mining activities within Forest Reserves, jeopardizing their ecological integrity and sustainable management. Already, several mining permits have been issued targeting globally significant biodiversity areas (GSBAs), demanding urgent policy and legal reviews to safeguard communities’ rights to benefit from the public goods and services provided by forests.

 

In response to these challenges, the European Union-funded Building Resilient and Active Communities in Extractive Landscapes in Ghana (BRACE) project has been initiated. The project seeks to ensure human rights adherence, transparency and accountability, and respect for communities’ environmental rights in mining and mineral governance in Ghana.

 

Goal

Contribute to achieving sustainable and equitable environmental management and good natural resource governance by communities, government, and private extractive sector actors in Ghana.

Target Landscapes

Eastern, Ashanti, Western North, Western, and Ahafo Regions.

 

Strategies for effective implementation of the intervention include

  1. Empower selected stakeholders to hold institutions accountable over environmental damage, poor governance, and environmental rights violations in Ghana’s extractive sector by 2025.
  2. Capacity development of stakeholders as Community Paralegals to use community-based courtroom advocacy to seek redress over natural resources violations and governance.
  3. Lobby and advocacy to seek redress over violations of environmental rights using Ghana’s Business and Human Rights Action Plan and complementary initiatives by end of 2025.
    Strengthen local environmental protection and NR management through capacity development of CREMAs Executive Committees to implement their Action Plans with communities for sustainable NR use by mid-2026.

Expected Outcome

  • Trained groups defend communities ERs/NRs through national and local level campaigns using evidence gathering, advocacy, and media reporting.
  • Communities receive legal services through Community Paralegals, Community based Courtroom Advocacy (CCA), committed pro bono legal practitioners, and a Legal Access Funds.
  • Strengthen collaboration among stakeholders to engage duty bearers and seek redress on extractive sector environmental and ER violations.

Project Duration: 3 YEARS.
Funded by: European Union
Project Implementing Lead: A Rocha Ghana
Implementing Partners: Nature Development Foundation
Wacam 

See details of BRACE launch here