GHANA VPA

Ghana was the first country to conclude a FLEGT VPA with the EU. Negotiations on the agreement concluded in September 2008, and the VPA was formally signed on 20 November 2009. The first FLEGT-licensed products are anticipated in December 2010.

Under the VPA, timber exported to the EU must be certified as legally harvested. Ghana must develop transparent systems, funded by the EU, for collecting timber taxes and ensuring legal compliance in the forest sector.

Environmentalists are cautiously optimistic about the VPA, although there is concern that the agreement initially only covers a limited range of products and that it does not prevent the export of illegal timber to a non-EU country, where logs could be processed and re-exported to the EU market. However, the EU argues that the mechanisms put in place by the VPA will help Ghana to tackle all illegal logging in the country, regardless of the intended destination of the timber.

For other news stories, documents and further information about Ghana, see the Ghana country page.

DOCUMENTS

DATE	TITLE	AUTHOR
01/07/2010	Timber Legality, Local Livelihoods and Social Safeguards: Implications of FLEGT/VPA in Ghana Tropenbos International is assessing the potential effects of VPA implementation via a research project ...	Tropenbos International
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01/07/2010	EU FLEGT News, June/July 2010 Bimonthly news on common efforts of the EU and its partner countries and institutions to combat illegal ...	EFI (European Forest Institute)
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22/04/2010	EFI EU FLEGT News, April/May 2010 Bimonthly news on common efforts of the EU and its partner countries and institutions to combat illegal ...	EFI (European Forest Institute)
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01/01/2010	Chainsaw Milling in Ghana: Context, Drivers and Impacts In spite of being banned in 1998, chainsaw milling continues to be a major supplier of Ghana’s ...	CSIR FORIG / Tropenbos International (Emmanuel Marfo)
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20/11/2009	Ghana – European Community FLEGT Voluntary Partnership Agreement Briefing Note Brief summary, explanation of background, and 'FAQ' on the EC-Ghana voluntary partnership ...	European Commission Delegation to Ghana and VPA Secretariat, Forestry Commission Ghana
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20/11/2009	Ghana-EC Voluntary Partnership Agreement Complete text, including annexes, of the Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) between the European Community ...	European Community and Republic of Ghana
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30/06/2009	Ghana Gazette: FLEGT Special Edition This is a special edition of the Ghana Gazette on developments on Ghana's FLEGT VPA. ...	Ghana Forestry Commission
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01/01/2009	The EU's Policy with Respect to Imports of Illegally Harvested Timber and the Commission's Regulation on the Matter - An African perspective Looks at the background to the EU's measures to control import of illegal timber, gives the history ...	Forestry Commission of Ghana (Chris Beeko)
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20/10/2008	Cross-border flows of timber and wood products in West Africa Recognizing that regional and cross-border timber trade may have important implications for the FLEGT ...	European Commission
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01/10/2008	Promoting China's Engagement in Africa: Chinese forest delegation study tour to West and Central Africa The overall intent of the 2008 study tour was to engage China, as a major consumer of African forest ...	IUCN
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01/06/2008	Communique from Industry on EU-Ghana VPA The Ghana timber industry accepts the objectives of VPA and considers it as an important mechanism to ...	Ghana Timber Industry VPA Representatives
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01/06/2008	Communique from Civil Society on EU-Ghana VPA Since December 2006, Ghana and the European Union have been negotiating a Voluntary Partnership Agreement. ...	Ghana Civil Society Contact Group
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01/06/2008	Forest Governance Learning Group Update June 2008 This Update highlights the impacts and plans of the Forest Governance Learning Group in its country-based ...	IIED
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06/09/2007	Implementing the EU FLEGT Action Plan: promoting good governance in the forest sector Description of FERN project to support legal, institutional, and policy reform within the framework of ...	FERN
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03/08/2007	Communique from civil society meeting on EU-Ghana VPA Civil Society representatives from across Ghana met at the Institute of Local Government Studies, Accra, ...	Ghana Institute of Local Government Studies
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15/06/2007	Notes from the second Ghana-European Commission VPA Negotiation Session The second Ghana-European Commission negotiation session on a Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and ...	Ghanaian Government and the European Commission
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01/04/2007	Ghana VPA Discussion Paper 2 Ghanas preparation for the Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) commenced in May 2005 when a multi-stakeholder ...	Ghanian Ministry of Lands, Forestry & Mines
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21/12/2006	Joint Statement on a Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) between Ghana and the European Community This statement is jointly released by both parties to highlight progress to date and outline the next ...	Ghanaian Government and the European Commission
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01/12/2006	Arborvitae Issue 32: The IUCN/WWF forest conservation newsletter The focus of this issue of arbor vitae is illegal logging and forest governance. It contains informative ...	IUCN and WWF
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01/06/2006	Forest Governance in Ghana: Recommendations for a VPA One of a series looking at forest governance from an NGO perspective, other reports in this series cover ...	FERN
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01/01/2006	Planned Research: Regional Trade Patterns – West and Central Africa The aim of the study is to identify any potential trade distortions that might arise as a result of the ...	DFID
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01/01/2006	Forest Governance Learning Group Update January 2006 Describes the group's activities, impacts and outputs over the last year and outlines the path ahead. ...	FGLG
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01/12/2005	Ghana VPA Discussion Paper 1 This discussion paper is meant to stimulate thinking on the broader implications of the EU FLEGT Voluntary ...	Ghanian Ministry of Lands, Forestry and Mines
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NEWS

DATE	TITLE	AUTHOR
03/08/2010	EU Delegation commends progress on development of Wood Tracking System The Head of the European Union (EU) Delegation in Ghana, Ambassador Claude Maerten, has commended the ...	My Joy Online, Ghana
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17/07/2010	Africa looks to vast forests for carbon credit Banco, Ivory Coast - They inhabit a polluted part of Ivory Coast’s main city with few jobs and ...	Arab News
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15/07/2010	European Commissioner talks tough in fight against illegal logging Andris Piebalgs promises to come down hard on member states that fail to adequately enforce illegal timber ...	BusinessGreen.com
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01/07/2010	Ghana in the vanguard of new logging laws London - New laws should be in place in Europe by the end of this year obliging timber importers to ensure ...	Reuters AlertNet
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19/11/2009	Swedish EU Presidency - Government of Ghana and the EU sign a voluntary partnership agreement On Friday 20 November, the Government of Ghana and the EU will sign a Voluntary Partnership Agreement ...	ISRIA
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23/07/2009	The need to check deforestation in West Africa Achieving long-term development in West Africa requires much more than just exploiting the region's ...	Business Day, Nigeria
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17/07/2009	TIDD organises roundtable discussion on timber trade procedures Takoradi - Mr Alhassan Attah, Executive Director of the Timber Industry Development Division (TIDD), ...	Ghana News Agency
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20/05/2009	Forestry Commission appeals for sustainable timber industry The Forestry Commission has appealed to Ghanaian timber producers and exporters to join hands and support ...	The Statesman (Ghana)
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06/05/2009	FC appeals to timber industry players to support initiatives The Forestry Commission (FC), has appealed to Ghanaian timber producers and exporters to join hands and ...	GhanaWeb
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07/11/2008	Ghana: Locals hail EU pact to end illegal logging Accra, Ghana - A long queue of trucks loaded with timber, freshly sawed from Ghana's fast-depleting ...	IRIN
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23/09/2008	Ghana-EU Voluntary Partnership Agreement - What benefits? Treaties, conventions and protocols governing international trade in specified commodities are becoming ...	Graphic Online (Ghana)
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19/09/2008	EU-Ghana trade deal takes aim at illegal logging The EU and Ghana clinched a deal last week aimed at reducing illegal timber harvesting in the forested ...	Bridges Trade BioRes
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14/09/2008	Ghana achieves historic VPA first Ghana has become the first country to sign a Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) to prevent illegal ...	Timber Trades Journal (UK)
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04/09/2008	Timber imports to be licensed to combat illegal logging Timber imported to Europe from Ghana is to be certified in an attempt to stamp out illegal logging costing ...	Telegraph (UK)
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04/09/2008	Ghana: Country, EU Sign Pact The Minister of Lands Forestry and Mines, Mrs. Esther Obeng Dappah, has noted that Ghana, under the first ...	AllAfrica.com
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03/09/2008	Ghana, EU sign trade deal on timber Ghana and The European Union on Wednesday signed a groundbreaking trade agreement that would stop imports ...	Joy Online (Ghana)
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14/08/2008	Ghana to sign agreement to protect forest resources Accra, Ghana - Government will next month initial an agreement with the European Union (EU) to ensure ...	GhanaWeb (Ghana)
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13/06/2008	Forest resources in danger - report Ghana - Preliminary reports from the ongoing voluntary partnership agreement (VPA) negotiations on how ...	Modern Ghana (Ghana)
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22/05/2008	The voluntary partnership agreement and Ghana Ghana depends on its forest resources for economic, environmental and cultural benefits. Despite their ...	Ghanian Times (Ghana)
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16/05/2008	Ghana: Government-EU Negotiation On Timber Trade Ends The on-going round of negotiations in Accra between the government of Ghana and the EU aimed at establishing ...	AllAfrica.com
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15/05/2008	Ghana and EU poised to formalize VPA In June 2008, the European Union (EU) and Ghana will formalize a Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) ...	ITTO Tropical Timber Market Report (Japan)
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30/04/2008	EU-Ghana To Stem Illegal Timber Trade Beginning from June this year, Ghana and the European Union (EU) will formalise a voluntary partnership ...	Modern Ghana (Ghana)
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10/03/2008	FLEGT update from the EU Support Team Cameroon, Ghana, Indonesia and Malaysia continue to negotiate Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPAs), ...	CPET (UK)
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12/12/2007	Ghana: Country, Others Losing U.S.$10 Billion Through Illegal Logging Ghana - Illegal logging has been identified as one area where the government and custodians of the country's ...	AllAFrica.com
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02/10/2007	Ghana hopes for EU timber deal Giant trucks thunder out of Ghana's tropical forests, loaded high with huge logs. ...	BBC (UK)
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31/08/2007	VPA negotiations yield mixed progress EU Forest Watch reported progress in the EU Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Voluntary ...	ITTO Tropical Timber Market Report (Japan)
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30/04/2007	Ghana VPA process based on five deliverables Ghana's preparations towards the Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) process are based on a five-point ...	ITTO Tropical Timber Market Report (Japan)
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31/03/2007	Ghana and EU hold first VPA meeting The Lands, Forestry and Mines Ministry, Professor Dominic Fobih, said Ghana was determined to protect ...	ITTO Tropical Timber Market Report (Japan)
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02/03/2007	Ghana and the EU hold the first round of negotiations on a FLEGT voluntary partnership agreement Joint Ghana-European Union press release on forest law enforcement governance and trade (FLEGT). ...	Ghanaian Government/European Commission
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22/02/2007	Ghana: Saving the Country's Forest Ghana - Government and the Forestry Commission must be congratulated on their announcement of a November ...	AllAfrica.com
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15/12/2006	Validation of Legal Timber Project set for completion Ghana - Preparations for the Validation of Legal Timber Project (VLTP) and the competitive tendering ...	ITTO Tropical Timber Market Report (Japan)
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25/07/2006	EU To Help Streamline Timber Industry Ghana - The European Union (EU) is to support the government to streamline the operations of the timber ...	Daily Graphic (Ghana)
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24/07/2006	"We will buy only legal timber" Ghana - Mr. Gareth Thomas, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State of Department for International Development ...	Accra Daily Mail (Ghana)
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PRESENTATIONS

DATE	TITLE	AUTHOR
24/06/2010	An update on Ghana's VPA process - implementing a National Wood Tracking System	Chris Beeko, Forestry Commission & Patrick Newton, Helveta
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20/01/2010	EU FLEGT Update	Julia Falconer, European Commission
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24/06/2009	FLEGT VPA update	Julia Falconer, European Commission
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19/01/2009	Overview of VPA negotiations and their challenges	Philip Mikos, European Commission
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19/01/2009	Ghana's VPA process - lessons learned	Chris Beeko, Ghana Forestry Commission
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17/01/2008	EU FLEGT Action Plan Update, January 2008	Julia Falconer, DG Development European Commission
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17/01/2008	Ghana's VPA Multi-Stakeholder Platform: Opportunities and Challenges	Ghana Forestry Commission (Chris Beeko)
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17/01/2008	Ghana: Assessing the Impacts of a FLEGT Voluntary Partnership Agreement	James Mayers, IIED
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01/11/2007	FLEG in Africa and its potential relevance and its potential relevance for China	IUCN Forest Programme (Guido Broekhoven)
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25/01/2007	The VPA - Ghana's process	Ghana Forestry Commission (Alhassan Attah and Chris Beeko)
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20/07/2006	Ghana and the VPA	Ghana Forestry Commission (Alhassan Attah)
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20/07/2006	EU FLEGT and forest reform in Ghana	Ghana Forest Watch (Kyeretwie Opoku)
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EVENTS

DATE	TITLE
Thursday 17th January 2008	Illegal Logging Update and Stakeholder Consultation Number 11 The eleventh in a series of update meetings coordinated by Chatham House and funded by DFID, the meeting ...
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Thursday 25th January 2007	Illegal Logging Update and Stakeholder Consultation Number 9 The ninth in a regular series of meetings coordinated by Chatham House and funded by DFID. The meeting ...
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Thursday 20th July 2006	Illegal Logging Update and Stakeholder Consultation Number 8 The eighth in a regular series of meetings coordinated by Chatham House and funded by DFID. The meeting ...
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Friday 7th October 2005	Tropical Forest Governance and Trade - Ghanian and UK Initiatives The meeting aimed to share information about current understanding of the EU FLEGT Licensing scheme and ...
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