Forests for People

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700,000 people, which is almost as many as in the formal industry. The

studies revealed that the State forgoes stumpage revenue equivalent to

more than US$18 million due to illegal harvesting by chainsawmillers.

CSM became widespread in the early 1980s, when large-scale

sawmill operations decreased along with a nationwide economic

decline. The practice has continued despite various attempts by the

Government of Ghana to regulate it. Implementation of the CSM

ban has been challenging for several reasons:

• Strong market demand for cheap lumber and inability of formal

sawmills to feed this market

• High rate of rural unemployment and lack of alternatives to the

quick gains operators achieve

• Corruption in the forest sector and law enforcement agencies

• Lack of political will to enforce the ban and implement alternatives

• Political interference in forest sector operations

• Support for CSM by local communities, particularly farmers.

Based on lessons learned from the CSM ban and experiences else-

where in Africa, policy recommendations have been formulated that

advocate reconciling the demand for adequate legal timber for the

domestic market with the sustainable production capacity of the

country’s forest resources. The MSD facilitated by TBI has considered

the following three possible policy directions:

Option 1:

Only sawmills supply the domestic market with legal

timber. This implies the maintenance and full enforcement of the CSM

ban, and the development of a range of options to encourage sawmills

to supply domestic markets.

Option 2:

Sawmills and artisanal millers

supply the domestic

market with legal timber, with allocation of harvesting rights to

artisanal millers and the logging industry.

Option 3:

Artisanal millers alone supply the domestic market with

legal timber, with allocation of harvesting rights to artisanal millers.

Participants in the MSD process agreed that the integration of CSM

into the formal system in the form of regulated artisanal milling

should be explored and they endorsed policy option 2.

Dilemmas

There are a number of dilemmas that need to be addressed when

integrating the informal chainsaw millers into the formal sector.

Regularization or eradication of CSM could adversely affect the rural

economy and enterprises that depend on it for lumber. It could

also reduce employment and income earning opportunities for rural

people who are directly involved in chainsaw operations. Because

under a regulated framework only 20-30 per cent of the chainsaw

millers are expected to stay in business, attention will need to be

paid to the development of alternative livelihoods.

CSM is characterized by low capital requirements and high labour

input, making it a very attractive practice in rural areas where employ-

ment is scarce. Combined with its high mobility, the monitoring and

enforcement of the practice becomes a challenge. Community manage-

ment of forest resources is a possible solution, but the current regime of

access and benefit sharing needs major reformbefore this can be realized.

Tree tenure arrangements in Ghana are complex and tenure reforms that

recognize some ownership or management rights on the part of commu-

nities, especially outside forest reserves, are an important consideration

for addressing illegal CSM effectively. Climate financing could also be

used to offer incentives for communities to become involved in sustain-

able forest management and timber production.

If the current level of exploitation continues, Ghana

will lose much of its remaining forest and the services

they provide within 15-20 years. The annual harvest is

estimated to be approximately four times the recom-

mended allowable cut – a figure that is itself probably

outdated. Export policies should be fully aligned with

domestic market policies and the remaining forest cover

and its status must be assessed to establish the annual

sustainable harvest level. Ultimately, supplies may have

to come from plantations or imports.

Corruption is one of the key factors fostering illegal

CSM. The challenge is to develop a system that would

keep actors in the chain away from illegal practices. In

addition, the policy requirement that sawmills must allo-

cate 20 per cent of their production for the local market

is inadequate as it is not enough to satisfy local demand

in Ghana. Despite these factors, the proposal to regular-

ize artisanal millers and allocate official harvesting rights

to them provokes some resistance in the formal sector.

Finding solutions

Ignoring the large and expanding timber market in

Ghana will lead to an increase in illegal activities,

conflicts, unsafe practices, loss of revenue to the State,

corruption and a loss of forest resources. Non-regulation

will lead to forest degradation, loss of environmental

services and rural and urban poverty, as well as jeop-

ardizing the legal international timber trade. The VPA

has acknowledged this and has put the spotlight on the

domestic market, highlighting the need to resolve the

CSM issue in Ghana. Through NREG, the Netherlands

has supported the implementation of the VPA, since

it views legal timber trade as an important first step

towards reaching sustainability.

The Ghana case shows that support from NREG and

TBI in the VPA process is highly relevant in the new

Dutch policy context. Supporting multi-stakeholder

policy dialogues in Ghana is an effective way to help

balance future competition over limited resources for

export with domestic market demand. Further invest-

ments in the governance of the sector and in certification

of sustainable forest management are needed, through

increased sector budget support, climate financing and

other forms of payment for environmental services.

The rapid growth of Ghana’s population (predicted to

double by 2030 to almost 50 million) and the accom-

panying depletion of forest reserves leave the country

at risk of food insecurity, water shortage and unem-

ployment in the forestry sector in the future. The VPA,

combining environmental, trade and poverty reduc-

tion aspects, should be implemented cautiously as it

could have a significant impact on local livelihoods and

entrepreneurship. Tough choices will have to be made,

such as the adjustment of the land tenure system and

the distribution of forest resources among the various

actors. International Year of Forests, 2011 will raise

awareness regarding the need to conserve and develop

forests for the benefit of the current and future genera-

tions in Ghana.