Empowering civil society organizations and other non-state actors to effectively contribute to forest law compliance in Ghana
Background
Ghana is recognized as one of the countries with beautifully crafted forest laws and legislation in Africa. However, ineffective forest law enforcement and the consequent non-compliance undermine the rule of law, reinforce forest level corruption and represent major threats to the forest ecosystems and the associated biodiversity in Ghana. Theses ineffective forest law enforcement also threatens the livelihoods of local communities and undermines the efforts of both private and public sector organizations to develop sustainable approaches to forest management. However, it is acknowledged that civil society organizations and other non-state actors can play a critical role in ensuring effective forest law enforcement in Ghana.
The project “ Empowering civil society organization and other non-state actors to effectively contribute to forest law compliance in Ghana” therefore sought to promote the expansion and diversification of international trade in tropical timber from sustainably managed and legally harvested forests and to promote the sustainable management of tropical timber producing-forests.
Achievements
As part of implementation of the project, a practical training model to equip civil society personnel to help address management challenges along the timber supply chain, non-compliance with laws and regulation and the complacency of forest law enforcement authorities was provided. This included a learning tour with members of various CSOs to the Asenyo forest reserve and Logs and Lumber Limited (LLL), a timber industry in Kumasi to have first-hand information about checks-and-balances along the supply chain and how timber is processed for export.
The project also led to the development of a Video Documentary on the level of illegal forest activities and actions that individuals and businesses can take to contribute to forest law compliance in Ghana.
Duration
Jun 2013 – Nov 2014
Sponsor
