Private sector initiatives towards legality/sustainability
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Transcript of Private sector initiatives towards legality/sustainability
Private sector initiatives towards legality/sustainability
Mustapha Seidu
Coordinator
WWF -WAFPO
Forest Governance Forum
8 June 2011
Why was the GFTN established?
The GFTN was established by WWF to eliminate illegal logging and improve the management of valuable and threatened forests.
Creating MARKETS for Certified Products
GFTN Framework & Tools:
Stepwise Approach for Responsible Purchasing
Increasing Supply of Certified Products
GFTN Framework & Tools: Stepwise Approach for Credible Certification
GFTN Participants Across the Globe
GLOBAL TOTALS (January 2011)
More than 275 Companies 27.1 Million Hectares 19% of the Global Forest Products Market30 Countries 20.5 Million Hectares FSC $73 Billion USD Sales in Forest Products
2.8 Million People Employed
Forest in Ghana & the statistics….
Less than 20% of original forest remains
-a deforestation rate of about 115,000 ha 0r 2% p.a
-Off-reserves are estimated to last less that 60year (1996)?
-success rate of govt plantation in the 1990s was only 30%
-Illegal logging estimated at 2.8m (2003)
-Biodiversity-rich Guinean Moist Forest
The results of years of unsustainable exploitation
Forest burning Needless destruction
Illegal logging
Degraded Forest
Destination of Ghana’s wood export: by value(Euro million)
Approaches by companies in Ghana
Market trend and other initiatives1. Samartex2. John Bitar
3. Logs & Lumber4. Ghana Primewood
5. Scanstyle (Mim) Ltd6. Ayum
7. Coppon8. BLLC.
9. Sunstex10.Ehwiaa
11.SIPL12.GVPCL
13.Form Ghana
Along the line, some have collapsed, other have changed hands and others are
stagnant in certification
Compliance with laws or operating legally
Efforts for legal compliance
- compliance with national & local laws
-payment of all statutory fees, taxes, royalties & other charges
-Binding international agreement eg CITES, CBD, ILO
-protection against illegal harvesting, settlement etc
-continuous training esp. Free Zone companies
-compliance with FSC Controlled Wood Standard for forest management enterprises
Compliance with laws or operating legally
Operating legally & waiting FLEGT• Development of protocols & procedures • Commitment by Top Management to the process of legality • But Dances to the rhythms of buyers pressure
In-progress
Many SMEs
(current
situation)
certification
legality
FLEGT process
Reqs. incentives & Tech. Support
Reduced Impact Logging
Reduced Impact Logging (RIL) training
RIL is the range of techniques of forest harvesting that is
used to reduce the impact on the forest and risks field
workers during harvesting operations.
It comprises several operations eg inventory,
mapping, felling, 1st aid, road construction etc
7 companies managing >60% of on-reserve concessions
have been trained
Community relations and workers rights
-Established protocols for community engagement
-Reduced or no incidence of blockage-SRA payment
-Employment policy-up-to-date payment of social security
-vibrant workers unions-Clinics and 1st Aid
Safety gadget for field workers
But also a lot more needs to be done
High Conservation Value
• 6 companies have conducted HCV assessment to identify & manage outstanding biological, ecological, social & cultural values
Example for HCV action plan
Action plan Cont…..
The results so far …not enough for the effort
• Considering the current challenges in the forestry sector, we have come a long way and we encourage the companies leading the process to continue. For the effort:
• 3 Chain of Custody certificates, awaiting one
• 2 FSC Controlled Wood Certificates, awaiting one
• 1 FSC Forest Management Certificate
The impacts
• Manages more than 60 % of forest reserve concessions in Ghana
• Employs more than 12,000 people
• Support over 45,000 people
• Certification is prompted payment of statutory taxes and obligatory fees sometimes 5 years overdue.
• Condition of employees in terms of insurances, social security
The hurdles
• Forest management plans; only 20 officially developed
• Environmental impact assessment in forest reserves
• Increasing small nature of concessions
• Seemingly high cost of achieving and maintaining certificate
• Inadequate supporting role of forest authorities
• FLEGT is a double-edge sword
Is this our vision for global forests?Is this the vision for our National Forest?
… or this?
Can forest authorities in Ghana show higher interest in sustainability initiatives?
• Perhaps we can learn from other countries
Conservation through Collaboration:GFTN Allies in Responsible Forestry
Thank You
Local Forests. Global Markets.
For more information, visitgftn.panda.org