Nine months ago, Ghana made history as the first African country to formally issue the Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Licence to enable timber companies trade in legal timber with the European Union (EU).
Since the launch event at the Forestry Commission’s (FC) conference hall in Accra on Friday, August 15, 2025, the country’s timber trade with the EU has been steadily progressing. That day demonstrated the beginning of verified legal timber exports from Ghana to the EU. Several timber firms were awarded their FLEGT Licences, thereby certifying that the timber products exported by these companies have been harvested, processed, transported and exported in accordance with agreed upon legality standards under the Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) between Ghana and the EU.
From September 1, 2025, to April 30, 2026, the government through the FC issued 572 FLEGT Licences to EU destinations covering a total volume of 27,881.0 m³ of exported timber products, fetching a total value of 16, 143,312.50 Euros, according to statistics from the FC’s Timber Industry Development Division (TIDD).
Germany emerged as the leading destination, importing 5,113 m³ worth €3.39 million. Belgium followed with 5,904 m³ valued at €2.85 million, while Italy received 2,062 m³ worth €2.2 million.
The milestone marked the end of Ghana’s 16-year saga toward FLEGT licensing, positioning the country as the second globally after Indonesia to achieve this feat. It signalled a turning point in efforts to curb illegal logging, strengthen forest governance, and secure full access to EU timber markets.
Multistakeholder Platforms in Focus
Forestry experts credit Ghana’s success to robust multistakeholder platforms (MSPs), particularly the involvement of civil society organisations. This led to the development of fundamental structures including the Ghana Wood Tracking System (GWTS), which is a refined traceability system that flags irregularities in the chain of custody and strengthens enforcement.
These structures laid the groundwork for the first batch of licences issued in August 2025.
In April 2026, the Legal Working Group (LWG), hosted by the TaylorCrabbe Initiative, convened stakeholders in Accra to reflect on lessons from the pre-FLEGT era. Discussions centered on sustaining the functioning and relevance of these platforms, interrogating emerging issues and charting the way forward.
Highlighted Perspectives
Executive Director of TIDD, Dr. Richard Gyimah, credited the rise in timber exports to the FLEGT licence system. He noted challenges such as missing consignee information on licences, which forces exporters to maintain parallel documentation, and the exclusion of briquettes from the list of covered products. Therefore, exporters must prove legality and sustainability to origins through due diligence under the EU Deforestation Regulation requirements.
On matters arising after post-FLEGT Licence, Director of the Timber Validation Department (TVD), Kwabena Akyeampong Boakye, emphasised that new guidelines for the Timber Validation Committee (TVC) have been developed, designed to ensure credible, independent verification of legality. Also, the monitoring of VPA’s impact is ongoing in the seven impact areas of livelihoods, forest conditions, forest governance, market performance, forest management, revenue generation and VPA Stakeholder deliberative process.
A TVC member, Mustapha Seidu, signalled that limited operational budgets and technical capacity were undermining the committee’s effectiveness. He stressed the need for resources to fulfill its mandate of impartial oversight and complaint resolution.
On behalf of industry, Dr. Kwame Asamoah Adam, raised concerns about tenure security for Timber Utilisation Contracts (TUCs). He called for amendments to L.I. 2254 to allow well-performing companies to retain their contracts beyond expiry and criticized the Timber Rights Fee (TRF) as an unjustifiable levy that fails to provide security.
Civil society voices underscored the importance of sustaining multistakeholder platforms. Albert Katako of Civic Response traced their origins to the VPA negotiations (2006-2009), when government, industry, and CSOs debated Ghana’s participation. He highlighted the role of the Multi-Stakeholder Implementation Committee (MSIC) in overseeing implementation of the VPA, stressing that its advisory, consensus-driven approach remains vital in the post-FLEGT Licence era.
Therefore, Albert advocated for the MSIC to continue monitoring compliance, safeguarding the credibility of licences, and ensuring transparency in Ghana’s timber governance system.
Some Key Issues and Proposals
By the close of the meeting, consensus was clear: in Ghana’s post-FLEGT licensing era, the challenge is no longer proving the system works but ensuring it endures. Multistakeholder platforms (MSPs) emerged as the credibility guardians, directly engaging industry, regulators, and civil society.
Documentation gaps, where exporters maintain parallel systems due to missing consignee information highlight the need for dialogue. MSPs can bridge regulators and industry to harmonize processes and reduce compliance burdens, while industry must strengthen its own capacity for documentation rather than relying on FC staff. The exclusion of briquettes from FLEGT licences further underscores the need for adaptive reforms, with MSPs positioned to align legality frameworks with new EU deforestation rules.
TVCs weak budget and capacity are a threat to its oversight role. MSPs can mobilize advocacy and resources to reinforce transparency and restore the TVC’s original adjudication role. Such a confined role will be less dependent on technical expertise than auditing, which is currently part of its mandate.
Broader industry frustrations with Timber Utilization Contracts and Timber Rights Fees point to structural issues; MSPs can facilitate consensus-driven legal reforms that balance state authority, industry security, and community rights.
Beyond the meeting, EcoCare’s Obed Owusu Addai in an interview captured the stakes: “MSPs under FLEGT are not just watchdogs for companies; they are governance safeguards that hold regulatory agencies accountable too.”
He added that their mandate covers scrutinising how government agencies enforce forest laws and manage resources, ensuring they are held accountable for their decisions and actions through measures including legal actions.
With VPA Impact Monitoring already tracking livelihoods, forest conditions, and governance, MSPs can ensure findings feed into responsive policy adjustments. This echo calls to sustain the Multi-Stakeholder Implementation Committee beyond the FLEGT licence period.
Their continued relevance will determine whether legality in the sector remains a milestone or becomes a lasting practice.
International Initiative Launched to Support MSPs
Meanwhile, an international initiative has signalled a new push to support multistakeholder platforms on FLEGT related issues in Ghana. On Thursday, February 12, 2026, the European Forest Institute Support to FLEGT Multistakeholder Platforms and Tree Tenure Reform Project was launched in Accra to strengthen multi‑stakeholder forest governance and tree tenure reform. The aim is to ensure that civil society, communities, and the private sector have a stronger voice in FLEGT decision‑making and emerging tenure policies.
The project is funded by the EU and implemented under the Sustainable Forest and Cocoa Programme by Taylor Crabbe Initiative with partners including EcoCare Ghana, the Nature and Development Foundation, Tropenbos Ghana, and the Rights and Advocacy Initiatives Network (RAIN).
By Ama Kudom-Agyemang | FWG Independent Member
