TIDD commends NDF for helping curb infractions by loggers

A Forest Manager of the Timber Industry Development Division (TIDD), Mr. Mawuli Samuel Doe has commended the Nature and Development Foundation (NDF), other Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and donors, for helping curb infractions caused by loggers without mills.

Mr. Doe, who was speaking at the close-out meeting of the project, “FLEGT Compliance in Ghana: Developing the Capacity of Loggers Without Processing Mils,” in Accra, said, “I would like to express our profound gratitude to NDF for complementing Forestry Commission (FC) in building the capacities of Loggers without mills on FLEGT compliance.”

He observed that, “Loggers are one of the main actors in the Ghana Legality Assurance system and the success of the FLEGT-VPA process largely depends on them and the millers, hence it was prudent that their capacities were built to enable them comply with the protocols.”

He noted that, hitherto, the Timber Industry Development Division (TIDD) had identified infractions loggers commit during their operations and that is why he is commending NDF for helping to curb them.

“Recently, as part of my responsibility at TIDD, I visited some small and medium mills in some of our area offices. I observed in some mills that logs arrive without log markings, others too use chalks to do the markings,” he stated.

He said, the worse of it all is logs arriving at the mills before the Log Measurement, Conveyance Certificates (LMCCs) are issued. “Under-measurement of logs and misnaming of species are also some of the infractions our Inspectors at the checkpoints have been recording,” he added.

He admitted that many of these infractions are as a result of ignorance. “I can’t close my eyes and say I am oblivious of some of the malpractices associated with the harvesting operations and disregard to some of the regulations especially the wearing of the PPE’s. Unfortunately, some of these infractions occur due to ignorance on the part of the loggers or their reps.”

It is, therefore, expected that, with the capacity of these loggers built through this project, henceforth the incidence of infractions in the sector would be significantly minimized for better compliance with VPA/FLEGT requirements.

For his part, Mr. Mustapha Seidu, Director of NDF disclosed that one of the difficulties encountered during the project was the selection of participants as the number of loggers under the criteria was higher than what the project could accommodate.

Also, loggers without mills were noted for their constant movements from one area to another, compelling NDF to rely on the Forest Services Division (FSD) in the selection. He expressed satisfaction at the level of commitment of participants and encouraged them to transfer knowledge acquired to their workers, especially on the need to keep to safety and health precautions.

The project, funded by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the European Union (EU), the Swedish government and UKaid, was aimed at building the capacity of loggers without mills to be able to comply with Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) requirements.