The Case of Illegal Harvesting and Trade in Rosewood in Ghana

Species Description• Rosewood is a characteristically dark, highly

grained wood from trees in the genera Dalbergia nigra, Tipuana, or Pterocarpus,

• Rosewood belongs to a category of hardwoods to any number of fine-grained lumbers.

• Distribution in Ghana – Northern Region, Volta Region and Brong Ahafo

• In the northern parts of Ghana, they grow up to about 20 m high. They constitute an important tree canopy species in the fragile woodland savannah ecosystems in Northern Ghana

• Regional Distribution - Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, central African republic, Chad, Cote d’Ivoire, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Togo.

Uses of Rosewood

Essential OilMedicinal purpose

Skin tonnerDye and fuel wood

Up until the late 2005, Rosewood was not a commodity on the timber market in Ghana…just used for firewood on the

local market mostly

Global Trade and Markets• Chinese demand mainly influencing global trade.

– In 2010, the number of companies trading traditional ‘redwood’ or ‘Hongmu’ furniture in China rose by 30-40 per cent,

– Chinese timber traders spent more than US$3 billion on rosewood in Vietnam alone. – Annual rosewood furniture price increases of 15-40 per cent are considered normal in

China’s luxury markets – a trend exacerbated by speculative investments in ‘rare wood’ products by China’s super-wealthy elite.

– The finest rosewood furniture sets now fetch hundreds of thousands of US dollars. Consequently, unprocessed Thailand rosewood can fetch up to $50,000 per cubic meter in China

• Markets mainly in Asia, ending up on the European and North American markets

• China is the dominant importer of Ghanaian rosewood, contributing averagely 96% of total imports based on last 3 years. (Source TIDD)

Trade in Rosewood in Ghana Driven by China’s Demand

Figure 1 China's imports from Ghana of "rosewood" and other logs (by "location of importer") Source: based on General Administration of Customs of the People's Republic of ChinaNote: China's commodity code 44039930 relates to "rosewood" (and some similar species)

Threats and Current Status• Globally rosewood species are really under logging pressure

everywhere they are located. Sometimes involving violent crime and corruption.

• Protection actions have been focussed at the regional level due to the variety of different species classified as rosewood

• In Thailand, ‘rosewood’ is listed in CITES Appendix II.

• Other examples show that a number of hardwood species which were previously under threat have seen a drastic reduction in harvesting and trade since listed on CITES Appendix II

The Situation in Ghana and Sub-regionWest Gonja District North Gonja District Central Gonja Bole District

Damongo Larabanga

Mole Mognori Murugu Busunu Mpasem Achubonyo Buroto Kananto (Kenikeni

Forest) Kabampe

(Kenikeni Forest) Grupe Sori No 1 Sor No 2 Yipa Sor No 3

Tachali Kaden Yazori Bawena Kopoto Lingbinsi Kuplumbo 

MpahaMankpangTuluweBoachipe 

SonyoSeripeTingaSakpaBanda NkwantaMandari 

Salvage permits used as entry into West and North Gonja. Now rosewood felling spreads all across the Northern Regions.

Later permits salvage permits were issued in areas which was not experiencing any infrastructure development acitvity to warrant salvage felling of rosewood.

In one instance the permit indicated trees to be felled in Mole

Tools of the Trade

Transportation

Overview of Revenue Charges within the informal sector

Service / Product description Range of Service /Product Charge (GH ¢)

REMARKS

Cost of a full Container to Buyer at site (Cutting and Dumping)

7000-100004000 to 7000

Early Stages of harvesting and trade (Negotiable)Later stages of trade (Negotiable and depending on quality of logs)*Average Volume of logs per 40 foot truckload (20m3)

Operator Cost 300 to 500 Per Container. Cost sometimes depends on the number of trees felled (Negotiable).

‘Royalty' paid to Divisional Chiefs

700-1000 This is paid per 40 Foot Truck load (Non-Negotiable)

*Allowance for Chiefs in Communities

200 to 500 Per container

Allowance for the Police 250 This is the minimum fee per container (Negotiable)

Allowance for the TO 500 Per container (Negotiable)

Log Transport to Selling Points

4000 Paid to Driver and Truck Owner

Overview of formal charges for rosewood logs

Estimated Revenue to the formal and Informal Sector

>$5MILLION

< 30% to formal sector

Traditional, Political & Law Enforcement Agencies Perpetuating the trade

•The involvement of local leadership and failure to curb the situation

•Illegal permits, poor monitoring and helplessness of FSD staff at various District offices

•The failure of Police to enforce forest regulations and laws

Rise in Trade & Issue of ‘Permits’

Official records from the TIDD, indicates that the trade rose from 126 (M3) in 2005 to over 40,000

(M3) by Volume in 2013We however believe that unrecorded trade could

be over 60,000(M3) all together

Rosewood is now the fastest selling timber species in Ghana

Trade Bans

• Since 2005, when rosewood exports began in Ghana, the trade has suffered two export bans. The first in January 2012 and lifted May 2012.

• The second and current ban in effect was from 1st January 2014. However, certain companies have still been given exemption permit from the Forestry Commission to continue the ‘Collection of billets’ till September 2014. The excuse is to prevent the logs from been burnt by fire.

• The hardest hit districts are North Gonja, West Gonja, Central Gonja, Bole and East Gonja Districts as well as a few others in Upper East and Upper West Regions.

Current Extent of the trade

Traded as common as firewood in Gonjaland Districts

Fragile savannah eco-zones have become Timber harvesting and loading

Ports

Exigencies of the unchecked trade in rosewood

Non targeted species like Afzelia africana has now become of interest to these timber merchants

Activities extended to Forest Reserves in Damongo and Bole Forest Districts.

Mole National Park is currently on emergency alert to avert any felling activities within its boundaries. Some activities in the northern parts of the park have already been recorded.

Several questions???????• What do we even know of this species in terms of its real status in Ghana its

distribution, production and regeneration rates to ensure sustainable management and exploitation of the species?

• Why do the authorities, particularly the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources and also the Forest Services Division, continue to issue salvage permits for abandoned logs for areas where there is no developmental activity?

• If Salvage Permits are issued to enable the collection of abandoned logs, how did these logs come to be lying on the forest floor? Did they just fall from the sky?

• Who is monitoring the activities of these timber merchants?• Who is enforcing the countries’ laws and regulations on timber management in

Ghana?• If, according to existing laws and regulations, felling these trees is illegal, , then these

logs are therefore illegal. So the question is, who do they eventually get exported to? what syndicate at the ports or at the forest services division is aiding this illegal logging and trade?

• The two major developmental activities which prompted the issuance of salvage permits for areas in Northern region are almost at their end, but the salvage permits continue to be issued even beyond the project completion dates. Why? How is this possible?

Questions, Questions , Questions ???????

• If we cannot ensure compliance of existing timber management regulations can we as a nation keep our part of the bargain under the Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) and Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade (FLEGT) in our partnership with the European Union?

• Is it asking too much if we request the establishment of a national task force to investigate why the harvesting and trade in rosewood is getting out of hand? Without dictating the terms of reference for this task force, may we suggest that the investigation should focus on the licenses that are issued, the sources of these licenses, the actual revenues lost to the state and, even more importantly, the authenticity of the timber companies who keep receiving permits to continue salvaging abandoned logs?.

• There are serious allegations of political expediency at the root of this illegal harvesting and trade, to the extent that all permit holders are connected to the ruling party.

• Today a lot of money is changing hands so the rosewood trade can thrive. Are the authorities really concerned about the long-term implications of this massive logging in critical ecosystems like the savannah zones of this country?

Conclusion• Rosewood export is the new phenomenon in Ghana, the harvesting

however raising several concerns that needs serious investigation and compliance to protect fragile ecosystems in the semi-arid savannah zone of Ghana

• We just can’t sit down as civil society and government, traditional authorities, and law enforcement agencies continue business as usual in the manner and way they have handled the harvesting and trade in rosewood in Ghana.

• We are asking for the due diligence in the Timber sector in Ghana. Otherwise our true commitment to VPA will just be a charade to ourselves first and also to the international community.

ROSEWOOD LIES BLEEDING

Thank you