Ghana has become the first counattempt in Africa, and only the second in the world after Indonesia, to issue a Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) licence, marking a historic milestone in global forest governance. The licence—granted under the Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) with the European Union—provides automatic access for Ghana’s timber exports to the EU market, affirming the counattempt’s commitment to sustainable foresattempt, legality, and transparency.
This achievement follows more than 16 years of sector-wide reforms involving government, civil society, private sector actors, and local communities. The process has strengthened forest governance, digitised timber traceability systems, and built confidence in Ghana’s capacity to balance economic growth with environmental stewardship.
The EU Timber Regulation requires importers to exercise due diligence to avoid placing illegally harvested timber on the market. With the FLEGT licence, Ghana’s certified timber enjoys a competitive edge, as it is automatically considered legal in all EU member states. The licence also signals to international acquireers beyond Europe that Ghanaian timber meets the highest standards of legality and sustainability.
Officials emphasised that the licence will boost Ghana’s timber indusattempt—one of the counattempt’s key non-traditional export sectors—by improving access to premium markets, enhancing the reputation of Ghanaian wood products, and opening new opportunities for trade diversification.
“Ghana’s FLEGT licence demonstrates that sustainability and competitiveness can go hand in hand,” stated senior representatives of the Minisattempt of Lands and Natural Resources. “This is not only a victory for Ghana, but also a precedent for Africa, revealing that legal and sustainable foresattempt is possible when government, indusattempt, and communities work toobtainher.”
The European Union hailed Ghana’s progress as a landmark in Africa’s green trade agconcludea, underscoring the role of the FLEGT process in tackling illegal logging, protecting biodiversity, and supporting livelihoods in forest-depconcludeent communities.
As Ghana launchs issuing FLEGT-licensed shipments, stakeholders believe the achievement could catalyse broader reforms across Africa’s timber-exporting nations, positioning the continent as a future leader in legal, sustainable forest trade.
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