Cabinet has approved the conversion of 156 timber concessions and permits into Timber Utilisation Contracts (TUCs) to promote export of legal timber.
This will be ratified by Parliament, in accordance with article 268(1) of the Constitution and section 9 of the Timber Resources Management Act, 1997 (Act 547).
The introduction of TUCs is a major policy reform in the forestry sector to provide for a competitive system of allocating timber resources.
With cabinet approval and subsequent ratification, Ghana is making significant progress in the legal trade of timber and will become the first African country to meet the European Union’s (EU) requirement to trade in legal timber and the second in the World, next to Indonesia.
It also affirms the Government’s commitment to ensure the legal and sustainable management of Ghana’s forest resources.
Government, through the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources in a statement issued, is confident that Parliament will ratify these long-overdue TUCs, to ensure the sustainable management of our forest resources.
The Ministry assured Ghanaians of its commitment to the efficient and sustainable management and utilisation of the natural resources of the country in general, and our forest resources, in particular.
The Timber Resources Management Act, 1997 (Act 547), which came into force on 18th March, 1998, prohibits the harvesting of timber without a TUC. Prior to this Act, timber rights were granted in the nature of timber concessions, leases and permits under the Concessions Act, 1962 (Act 124).
Under Section 19 of Act 547, all existing timber rights prior to Act 547 were to be valid for only six (6) months, and holders of those timber rights were to apply for TUCs within six (6) months of the coming into force of the Act.
However, for almost 25 years after the coming into force of the Act, these concessions and leases have not been converted into TUCs.
The conversion of these extant leases and permits into TUCs to be ratified by Parliament will among other things, provide Government with the legal backing to fight illegal trade in timber, both on the domestic and international markets; enable the country to derive appropriate revenue from holders of these contracts through the payment of Timber Right Fees and other statutory charge and put Ghana on track in discharging her obligations under the Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) with the EU to issue Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Licenses by the end of 2022 to cover all timber exports to the EU Market.
