CHAINSAW MILLING AND LUMBER TRADE IN WEST AFRICA PROJECT (FRP-R8509-ZF0223) REPORT ON INCEPTION WORKSHOP OF EXPERTS

VENUE: FORIG CONFERENCE ROOM, KUMASI, GHANA

DATE: FRIDAY 18 -20TH NOVEMBER 2005

INTRODUCTION: Purpose of meeting The three day meeting was held with the aim to examine the project document, revise the methodology to reflect the concerns raised by FRP on the project formulation memorandum and develop a working strategy. Attendance:

1. DR. J.R COBBINAH - Director FORIG ( Entomologist) 2. DR. K.A ADAM - Project Leader ( Forest Planning and Management) 3. DR. K.B KYEREH - FRNR-KNUST ( Ecologist) 4. DR. M.A PINARD - University of Aberdeen (Tropical Ecologist) 5. PROF. I. POPOLOO -University of Ibadan (Forest Economist) 6. MR. OWUSU ABEBRESSE - Ag. Chief Executive, FSD, Ghana 7. MR. K.S. NKETIAH - Programme Team Leader, Tpg,(Socio-economist) 8. MR. LAWRENCE DAMNYANG - FORIG ( Socio-economist) 9. MR. ERIC NUTUKOR - FORIG ( Socio-economist) 10. DENNIS OSEI-HWERE -Legal Practitioner 11. MR. KWAME -Tpg, Communication Officer 12. MR.CHARLES NYARKO -Internship, FORIG(Project Secretary)

The team leader from Cameroon, Dr Bernard Foahom could not make it to this meeting. He is to be advised to visit Ghana immediately for a briefing session or lose out of the project. Briefing by the Project Leader Before the general discussion the project leader gave an overview of Chainsaw lumber production in the West Africa sub-region. He noted that in most countries the operations are associated with high levels of waste due to inappropriate working practices and the type machinery used. However, due to its low capital investment and availability of abundant rural labour, it has become the most common method of lumber production for the local market. He noted that the inappropriate usage of this device for harvesting and milling and the illegal practices relating to access to trees pose serious threat to biological diversity conservation and the environment. The negative concerns about chainsaw milling expressed by various stakeholders were also recounted.

It was learnt that while chainsaw milling and sale of chainsaw lumber is legal in Cameroon and some states in Nigeria it has been banned in Ghanaian. The measure in Ghana was to ensure that good quality and legal timber was supplied by the traditional saw millers to the local market. It was also to increase the foreign exchange earning of the country and improve royalties paid to traditional authorities. Amidst all these measures, it is surprising to have timber market stalls and carpentry benches stocked largely with illegal chainsaw lumber. This situation raises many questions, which have necessitated this project to be executed in the West Africa sub region. The project leader stressed that the activities outlined for the study seeks to unravel the root causes of the failures in the implementation of forest harvesting controls, policy and legislation governing forest harvesting and milling and to develop a mechanism that will ensure the establishment of a social, ecological and economically acceptable system of chainsaw milling in the sub-region. THE MEETING STRATEGY The meeting that was originally scheduled for one full day had to be continued into the third day to be able to finalise the protocols for the country studies. The meeting covered the following areas: Review project document

1. Review of project activities and schedule 2. Review of study methodologies 3. Adoption of agreed processes

Development of working strategy

1. Scope of the study in participating countries 2. Identifying areas where experts are lacking or if consultants may be required 3. Means of soliciting home government support 4. Management of project budget

AGREED ACTIONS AND CONCLUSIONS: It was agreed that since the three participating countries have democratic/constitutional and multiparty system of government it should be possible to use similar approach(decisive questionnaires) to conduct the case studies in chainsaw logging and chainsaw milling in Cameroon, Ghana and Nigeria. The conclusions are presented in relation to the three expected outputs. Summary of framework of activities and allocation of responsibilities is given in table1

OUTPUT 1 A decision support system that indicates where and when in the West Africa chainsaw logging and chainsaw milling are appropriately (socially, economically and ecologically) developed; Activity 1.2 is to have a timeframe of two weeks, within which the socio-economists and ecologists are to evaluate the social, economic and ecological impacts of chainsaw logging and milling as compared to traditional industrial logging and fixed-saw milling. The lawyer and policy expert in the team they should also examine the legal, policy and regulatory provisions that govern access to legal and illegal timber and the constraints to their implementation. For activity 1.3 the resource economist should ensure that quantitative description of the national annual lumber production by the chainsaw outfits and traditional sawmills are adequately provided for Cameroon and Ghana. A three member working team developed a structured questionnaire for this activity (See Annex1-4). University of Aberdeen is to review the experimental design and protocols for data analysis. As part of the activity a frame work for data analysis and interpretation should be developed within a week by the University of Aberdeen. To ensure the completion of the activity on schedule regular working meetings are to be convened by team leaders in each country to review information collated. The annotated bibliography should help to understand the main factors influencing the social, economic and ecological sustainability of chainsaw timber production in the various countries. This activity will be concluded with discussion seminars to be held at the three respective home countries. This is expected to come off in the second week of January 2006 after a focus group discussion to be held in December, 2005. OUTPUT 2 An assessment of the structure and characteristics of corruption that undermines the regularization of chainsaw timber production and equitable distribution of benefits and identification of anti-corruption tools that could be used to control timber harvest and chainsaw milling With a competent activity leader, the structure of corruption in the forestry sector generally is to be described. This should be done first through the identification of all potential stakeholders. To facilitate the characterization of corruption and selection of anti-corruption tools for the forestry sector, certain key institutions like Ghana Institute of Manpower and Administration (GIMPA), Transparency International (TI), are to be brought on board.

Activity report should be produced and disseminated by 16th December 2005. Corruption tool kits developed should be publicised through the various media. Advertisements are to be included in the dissemination strategy. OUTPUT 3 Provide guidance on the transition from current state necessary and sufficient for chainsaw logging and milling to be legalized. The activities under this output are essentially to be carried out by the core team members from the three participating countries. The team should congregate in Ghana for the working meeting. Relevant stakeholders and policy makers are to be consulted through personal contacts, telephone calls and by e-mails. A possibility of holding radio conferencing should be considered. It is agreed that, since the project has a trans-boundary implications, it should be given a wider publicity by not limiting participation in the end of project seminar to only partner countries, but also inviting key Forestry, Environmental, Agriculture and Judicial officers, as well as legislature from other West African countries with high forest. In this case, the project could take care of their boarding and lodging while their home organizations pay for their travelling cost. This seminar is expected to take place fro the 19th -20th January 2006. A half-day dissemination workshop should be held latest 31st January 2006 in the three participating countries.

TABLE 1: SCHEDULE OF ACTIVITIES AND RESPONSIBILITIACTIVITY LOCATION AND LEADER OUTPUT

ACTIVITY TIME FRAME

(Completed By) UA CAMEROON GHANA NIGERIA1 1.1

1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6(a)-Focus Group 1.6(b)- All Groups 1.7 1.8

18th Nov. 30th Nov. 10th Dec 23rd Nov. 12th Dec. 31st Dec 14 Jan 06 February 3rd Wk Jan 06

- M A Pinard

- To be provided To be provided To be provided To be provided

K A Adam K A Adam L Damnyag L Damnyag Meeting in Ghana K A Adam K A Adam K A Adam K A Adam

- To be provided To be provided To be provided To be provided To be provided To be provided To be provided

2 2.12.2 2.3

16 Dec 05 16 Dec 05 14 Jan 06

M A Pinard

To be provide K S Nketiah K S Nketiah K A Adam

To be provided

3 3.1 3.2 3.3

11th Jan 06 20th Jan 06 February 06

MAP M A P

BF BF

Working meting in Ghana- KAD/LP/BF KAD

LP LP

METHODOLOGIES: Sampling Sites for field studies For possible variation in ecological impact due to chainsaw milling it was noted that sample sites should be based on the main forest types in each country. So field studies must be conducted in all the various ecological zones NIGERIA: In the light of the variation in federal and state laws governing chainsaw lumber and the variation in environmental impact due to vegetation type, the study will be carried out in the south/west, savannah and the Cross River State to give a fair representation of vegetation types and state laws some of which allow or disallow chain-sawing GHANA: The field studies will be carried out in Kade, Techiman, Goaso and Nkawie forest District. These areas have varying records of illegal timber and chainsaw milling operations. For instance Techiman serves as exist for movement of timber to the savannah zones and the Sahelian countries of Bourkina Faso, Mali and Niger. Kade district is notorious for illegal logging. CAMEROON: ABSENT. The project leader is to contact him as soon as possible. BUDJECT: It was presumed that since FORIG is the main client to the contractual agreement with DFID, it is expected that a sub-contract will be signed between FORIG and the other collaborators. Clarification and further directives on this issue has to be sought from NRI. If this presumption proves to be the case then we should expect delays in the transfer of funds to the other collaborators. In event of this situation collaborators should work out local arrangements to pre-finance the activities especially since we are working against time. CONCLUSION: Chainsaw operation needs to be regularized to ensure optimum benefit to all segments of society. It is a requirement for all stakeholders to put fore their expertise to see this problem resolved.

ANNEX 1: {DRAFT} Household Survey Questionnaire for chainsaw and saw milling Name of enumerator________________________________ Introduction

General information 1. Name of district 2 Name of village/community 3 Name of head of household 4 Household number 5 Name of respondent

6. Family information Name Relation

ship with H/H

Age Work away from home

Sex Education

Primary Occupation

How long have you been involved in this activity

Annual income from primary occupation

Gender Code: Male ….1, Female…2 Education code: Primary…1, Middle school…2, JSS..3, Secondary…4, JSS…5, SSS…6, Tertiary….7, University…8 Primary occupation Code: agriculture…..1, hunting…2, timber…3, laborer…….4

No Questions and filters Coding categories Skip Household attributes 7 Are you a native or settler in this

village/community a. native b. settler farmer c. other ( specify)

8 Before your primary occupation in Q 6 what did you do previously

a. farming b. trading c. tapping

9 How did you enter your present primary occupation in Q6

a. Own volition b. through family member c. through someone in the

community d. Learning through observation

and trial and error.

10 What type of experience have you (or anyone in your household?) had with chainsaw logging and lumbering

a. No experience b. lumber carrier/porter c. Transporter d. Saw operator e. Lumber miller f. Chainsaw owner g. Chainsaw mechanic

h. Others

11 Have you (or anyone in your household) had any experience with large scale logging and/ or milling company

a. logging company b. Milling company

c. None

Assets 12 What type of land do you own/ work on a. Farm land

b. Forest land c. Fallow land d. Land for building e. Sacred growth f. Others

13 How much land do you own / work on

14 What work equipment do own a. chainsaw b. tractor c. vehicle d. others

Indicate other livelihood assets that you have ……

a. cattle b. goat and sheep c. birds/fowls d. rabbits e. corn mill d. shop

15 Do you have access to loans (financial assets/credits)

a. Yes b. No

Social network 16 Which associations or groups do you belong to a. Farmers association

b. Chainsaw operators association c. Cooperative credit union

Which traditional associations do you belong to

a. church association b. Youth association c. others

17 Do you (or does anyone in your household) participate in local government

a. Yes b. No

How closed are you to the assembly man in your community

a. Close b. Not close c. Not on good terms d. Formal relation ship

How about the chief, how closed are you to him a. relative b. close c. not close d. Not on good terms

Benefits from large scale logging and milling 18 Is there any company doing logging in the

forest near you

a. Yes b. No

19 Do you or any one in your household participate in this company logging activity

a. Yes b. No

20 If yes in 23, what role do you or your household member play

a. skidder operator b.

21 If yes in 23 how are you employed a. Permanent employee b. Casual laborer

22 How much do you earn in this activity per month per year

23 What benefits does your household derive from large scale logging activities in your area

a. employment b. Social amenities (school, road,

toilet, clinic, etc) c. Wood residue d. Access to sawn timber e. Use of forest roads f. Transportation on contractor’s

vehicles g. others

Costs associated with the activities of large scale logging and milling near the village

24 What costs or disadvantages does your household bear due to having large scale logging and milling in your area

a. Conflicts, b. damage to crops, c. accidents d. pollution (health) e. forest degradation

25 Indicate the social responsibility agreement benefits that your community has derived from saw milling companies in your area

a. Schools b. roads c. toilets d. Not aware of SRA e. Others

Benefit from chainsaw milling 26 Is there chainsaw (small scale) logging activity

in the forest near you a. Yes b. No c. Don’t know

27 Do you or any one in your household participate in this chainsaw logging activity

a. Yes b. No

28 If yes in 24, what role do you or your household member play

29 If yes in 24 how are you engaged 30 How much did you earn in this activity the last

time

How much of the year are you engaged in chainsaw logging?

31 For the past 3 months how many chainsaw operations have you been involved in

32 What benefits does your household derive from chainsaw activities in your area

a. Employment b. Lumber for construction c.

Social Costs associated with small scale milling operations 33 What costs or disadvantages does your

household bear due to having large scale logging and milling in your area

f. Conflicts, g. damage to crops, h. accidents i. pollution (health) j. forest degradation k. scarcity of forest resources l. vandalism and breakdown of

law and order

34 Does it negatively impact on your agricultural production?

m.

35 Has anyone in your household been injured?

What suggestions do you have that can make chainsaw logging more socially acceptable or sustainable?

a. Regularize the employment opportunities

b. Legalize the activity so people can work without fear and pay their due to government

c. Give concessions and monitor operators

d. Ensure that farmers get their due compensation to crop damage

Benefits from forest 36 What ownership right to do you have to the

forest and its products

a. timber trees for commercial purposes

b. Timber trees for domestic use c. for NTFP d. No access f. Others

37 Where do you obtain your wood/building materials from

a. chainsaw operators b. sawmills c. Seized lumber from FSD

Others

38 In obtaining wood for building what difficulties do you face

a. Transportation b. Permits process c. Scarcity of wood at sawmills

others

39. Indicate the age and the working conditions of the following equipment that you own in question 12 Equipment age type condition Chainsaw Vehicle Type code: Yamaha…1; Kawasaki…2, Honda…..3, Shtel….4; Suzuki…5; Others (specify) Condition code: Hardly breaks down…..1; breaks down sometimes….2; breaks frequently…..3; Not in working condition….4

40 Indicate quantities of forest resources you use and their monetary value Qty (units of measure) Unit price Total income/value

Forest resource use Home use Sale

Wild vegetables (fresh/dried) {local name)

a. mushroom Bundle(fingers)/basket

b.

c

Wild fruits

a. cola nuts

b.

c.

d.

Other wild foods

a. zebra/antelope/rabbit Meat bundle

b. dove Single bird

c. mice Single mouse

d.

Firewood Bundle Truck load

a. firewood

Small & large carpentry items

a. Cook stick one

b. Hoe handle one

c. mortar one

d. Pestle one

e. Chewing stick bundle

Grass and woven goods

a. sleeping mat one

b. crop basket one

c. winnowing basket one

others

a.

b.

c.

ANNEX 2

{DRAFT} Survey of chainsaw firms for improved production Introduction Name of enumerator________________________________

General information 1. Name of district 2 Name of village/community 3 Name of Proprietor/manager/owner 4 Name of respondent 5 Type of business enterprise Sole proprietor/one man, family, partnership

6. Attribute of firm Equipment Type age Condition of machine Chainsaw

Means of transport

Type chainsaw code: Yamaha…1; Kawasaki…2, Honda…..3, Shtel….4; Suzuki…5; others (specify) Condition code: Hardly breaks down…..1; breaks down sometimes….2; breaks frequently…..3; Not in working condition….4 Type of transport code: Tractor….1, vehicle……2, Push truck…..2, head Porter…..3 7. Attribute of firm Employment Total

Number Number Migrants

Number Native

Number Casual

Number Permanent

Employees

Number of years firm has been operating

No Questions and filters Coding categories Skip Firm attributes 8 From question 7, indicate the sources of your

start up capital a. Family resources b. Loan from bank c. Loan from money lender d. Property sale e. Funds from abroad e. Others (specify)

9 Indicate the association you belong to d. Farmers association e. Traders association f. Chain saw operators g. Others

10 Does your firm share experiences/expertise with other chainsaw/ operators in your area

e. Yes f. no

Resource Attribute Where do you usually cut your timber trees a. Forest reserve

b. Cocoa farms c. Other Crop farms d. Fallow land e. Others

11 How do you select your trees for felling a. By tree age b. Nearness to road c. Accessibility in terms of terrain d. Others

12 What tree species do you fell Refer to list

13 What are the sizes of the different trees you fell Refer to list

14 How frequently is your work interrupted by lack of access to trees

a. Most of the dry season b. Most working days, where

enforcement is heightened

15 Over the time you have been operating have you noticed any change in access to trees

a. yes b. no

16 What has been responsible for the change in question 15

a. reduction of tree stock b. increase enforcement c. more operators in the business d. others

Cost of operation

17. Indicate wages and the mode of payment to the various employees in your firm

Employees Mode of payment Amount paid Frequency of employment Foreman Chainsaw operator Assistant saw operator 1 Assistant saw operator 2 Porter Code for mode of payment: daily …..1, per operation ….2, Per volume of tree felled……3

18. Enumerate the cost involved in using the sawing machine in the last three months cost amount Cost of machine maintenance Running/recurrent cost Transport cost (by volume) On the whole how much does it cost you to extract one tree and sent to the buyer.

Interest payment on loans Payment of sweetness (bribes) Compensation to farmers Drinks to traditional land owners (customs) 20. Indicate factors that influence your extraction cost: a. distance to tree source, b. labour, c. weather conditions, d. law enforcement agency operations, e. others (specify) 19. How much do you sell your produce Produce by specie Number of

pieces obtained per tree

Price per one bush cut lumber/piece (cedis)

Size of lumber/piece

1 2 3 4 5 6

No Questions and filters Coding categories Skip 21 What problems do you encounter with

government

22 What problems do you encounter with FSD 23 What problems do you encounter with police 24 What problems do you encounter with task force 25 What assistance do you receive from politicians 26 What assistance do you receive from chiefs and

elders

27 What conditions do you think should be created to make chainsaw operations acceptable to everybody

ANNEX 3: ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT Survey of operational efficiency and environmental impacts of chainsaw and sawmill industries Observations per day Operational details a. Total hours worked per day m.How long have you been doing this work b. Distribution of operation time n. What did you do previously idle o. What other work do you do searching for tree p. How did you get started Cleaning and preparing to cut q. How many days to you work in a month

Felling r. How trees do yo typical fell and mill during one working period Bucking s. How often do you experience breakdown milling t. Where did you learn the skills required Transporting u. What do you do to ensure your safety c. Dealing with the machine v. Do work at night cleaning w. Have you had an accident before sharpening z. Find out who the financiers are Repair

e. Number of trees felled & millled per operation Scale of the industry

f. Other products harvested in the course of operation 1.Number of chainsaw machines in the community observations per tree selected 2.Quantity of chainsaw lumber in the local market a. Specie of tree selected 3.Number of chainsaw lumber markets in one distict b. Size 4.How much lumber do you receive per week DBH 5.How much lumber do sell per week Height 6. What quantity of chainsaw lumber is in the market Quality of stem 7. what quantity of sawmill lumber is in the market c. Find out how the tree was selected: Is it by measuring, observation etc

8. What is the unit price of chainsaw lumber in the market (Do by specie and given specification)

d. Time taken to fell the tree 9. What is the unit price of sawmill lumber in the market (do it by specie and given specification)

e. Volume of the log to be converted 10 Direct revenue accruing to forest authority through license and stumpage paid by chainsaw operators

f. Time taken to convert log to lumber 11.Direct revenue accruing to forest authority through license and stumpage paid by sawmill operators with the forest district

g. Volume of log left as waste h. Volume of boards obtained after conversion Measures of efficiency i. Extent of opening in forest to conduct and extract (distance & width of clearing 1. Interest rates of loan taken for one operation J. Number of nearby trees damaged or killed 2. wage payment

K. Extent of soil damaged (area of soil exposed) 3.Opportunity cost of family members and proprietor

L. Extent of roading (width and length from main to road 4. The firms fixed capital 5. The firms working capital Measures to improve chainsaw operations 6. Total revenue after operation What are the priorities for change to make this more sustainable 7.Total cost of inputs into this operation 8. Opportunity cost of lhired abour

9. Opportunity cost of the capital used in the operation

ANNEX 4: TUDY PROTOCOLS Meeting at FORIG, Saturday 19 Nov 05 – Sampling protocols Eric, Lawrence, Charles, Michelle, Kwame

1. What factors influence the prevalence of chainsaw milling in/near communities or the presence of large scale logging and milling near communities?

a. Status of the forest i. For example, protected, managed by FC, managed by Community, farmland ii. New innovation are community-owned forests where community holds

responsibility for management with support of the FC, 2-4 in the Ashanti region, not yet harvesting

b. Resource endowment or quality of the forest i. For example, western, central, eastern regions

c. Presence / absence of a large mill d. Presence / absence of market to meet local timber requirements e. Attitudes by community members towards the forest resource

i. Level of collaboration between community and manager ii. Level of compliance with protection authorities iii. Intensity of policing or enforcement of regulation

f. Community awareness of their rights in relation to forest resources and experience in accessing those rights

i. For example, Are they aware of the procedures specified in the Social Agreement, procedures for making claims

ii. Do they have experience making claims, the procedures can be very bureaucratic resulting in not much compensation

iii. Are they aware of the permitting process that is in place for felling timber trees? iv. Do they have experience with the permit process v. Have they worked as a group to gain access to timber (e.g., to build a school)?

g. Commitment of the Chief (and/or Assemblyman) to manage and protect the forest resource

i. Size of stool and structure of governance, is there a paramount chief that is able to capture revenue

h. Commitment of the forestry agents to manage and protect the forest resource i. FC staff, guards, range supervisor, district officer ii. Support from the FC for local enforcement efforts iii. Intensity of policing or enforcement of regulation

i. Presence of external threats to the forest resource i. Migrant farmers clearing forest without rights to forest resources

2. Implications for study design a. To get representative communities need to distribute sample sites near protected

forest, as well as FC managed forests, be sure to include sites where distance to large mill varies, where access to local market varies

b. Need to include questions that capture e, f, g, and h above c. Do we include Community managed forests as well? They are still relatively young

innovations and not so representative but may provide insights into conditions that could promote sustainability?

d. Do we interview representatives from the migrant farmer community? If they have different costs and benefits, and if they are an interesting or significant group, then maybe yes?

3. Historical context in Ghana

a. In the 1980s, lots of Ghanaians returned to Ghana from overseas where they had accumulated capital, set up businesses in Ghana, now play a role in providing capital to support chainsaw milling firms, providing chainsaws, . . .

4. Study of Chainsaw Milling Operators and Firms a. Importance stressed of clearly stating the objective – recognise that we need two

different types of study here, one directed at the chainsaw milling firms and one that is done in the field, focused on quantification of operational efficiency and environmental impacts

i. We want to be able to determine if a change in policy and regulation will influence the profit margins of chainsaw milling

b. Opportunity to go through the Chainsaw Association to identify a representative sample c. A study was conducted by Eric’s father as part of the ITTO project on Silviculture and

Economics in 2003 (?) that included data collection from a sample of operators involved in large-scale industrial logging in Kumasi – we could look here to see if there are estimates of economic variables that we could use in a comparison

d. Also Presteman and Laarman in world Forest Resource Management 1989, 4: 111-126 that includes a comparison of chainsaw milling with large scale operations in Ecuador, includes useful set of variables related to economic efficiency, technical efficiency, . . .

e. TIDD might be useful source of information 5. How to determine national production? Sampling of markets

a. Repeated sampling of main markets, for volume and percentage of total volume available sourced from chainsaw milling, sourced from sawmills

b. Number of suppliers this past week? c. How can we determine how December figures relate to those in other months of the

year? i. What is the seasonal variation in production and consumption? ii. Suggestion that a jump in consumption is associated with the period of time

when family members return home (Sept-Nov) 6. What factors influence the cost and benefits and their distribution within chainsaw milling firms?

a. Scale (for large scale operations: small, medium, large): based on export volumes; staff strength; number and total area of concessions

b. Scale for chainsaw milling firms i. number of machines ii. staff strength iii. production (volume, regularity of production)

c. resource availability, resource quality, location i. resource rich, resource poor

d. market accessibility is unlikely to be constraint because the market is so hungry for timber

e. consider cropping systems in the location i. e.g., where there are lots of cocoa farms find resource available

f. political contacts of the manager, entrepreneurial survey i. how to determine this with an interview? ii. how many fines or how much have you paid in fines during the past two

weeks? Month? iii. have you ever been arrested for your activities? iv. need to triangulate by talking with secondary sources

7. Implications for the sampling design a. Ensure that the sample of firms represents the variability in scale and incorporates the

variability in resource quality and resource availability, differences in cropping systems as it relates to access to trees

b. Need to be sure that the interviewing includes questions that reveal the political connectedness of the manager or owner of the firm

c. Want to include questions about safety, how do you ensure the safety of the people working in the field?

8. How will we be able to compare the above with large scale, conventional logging/milling firms?

9. Need to check to see if there are student projects that have examined some aspects of the costs and benefits (e.g., safety and accidents) in the industry

10. Check that the questions in the interviews will also contribute to our understanding of what is the preferred state.

11. tasks a. Kwame will sketch out the problem, dividing points up under different headings of social

problems, ecological problems, economic problems, legal and political problems b. Michelle will type up her notes of the meeting, revise the drafts of protocols for the field

studies based on the discussion from today c. Next meeting Sunday morning at 8am, FORIG

Protocols for Field Research BROAD AIMS

• To assess how social, environmental and economic costs and benefits are distributed in relation to chainsaw milling as compared with large scale logging and milling operations;

• To determine under what conditions chainsaw milling is appropriate and to contribute to the definition of the desired state

Part One – rural household costs and benefits Part Two – chainsaw milling firms costs and benefits Part Three – chainsaw milling economic analysis, efficiency and environmental impacts Part Four – market analysis – production and consumption statistics PART ONE – Rural households Aim and objectives

• To identify the costs and benefits to households in rural communities in the forest zone of logging and lumbering activities and to compare small scale, chainsaw milling operations and large scale, industrial operations;

• To characterise the extent of activity in and economic reliance on logging and lumbering in households in various communities in the forest zone;

• To determine associations between household activity and economic reliance on logging and lumbering and physical and non-physical assets of households and the attributes of the community in which they live

o household demography; past experience; social status? o resource quality; attitudes of the chief, district assemblyman, forestry agents and other

members of the community towards forest protection and management; awareness of rights related to forest resources; experience with regulatory system (e.g., permits, compensation claims); distance / access to local timber market

• To identify the attributes of the households that are most reliant on chainsaw milling for their livelihoods

• Will we also be able to identify what attributes of communities / villages make them more reliant on chainsaw milling? If we have 9 communities, maybe it will be enough?

Method - Experimental Design

This research will be based on semi-structured interviews with members of households in the forest zone. The households will be selected from focal communities using a stratified random sampling strategy, where strata are based on household asset holdings (wealthy, middle, poor) determined using Rapid Appraisal Techniques or key informants and the sample is distributed across the three strata. The focal communities will be selected to represent the variability amongst communities in the forest zone, particularly in relation to the level of logging and milling activity (both small, i.e., chainsaw milling, and large scale). In selecting focal communities for the study, the following variables will be taken into account because they are thought to influence the prevalence and profitability of chainsaw milling:

• Status of the forest o protected, managed by the FC, managed by Community, farmland

• Resource endowment or forest quality o High, moderately degraded, degraded o Western Region, Central Region, Eastern Region

• Presence / absence or degree of threats to forest by outside forces o For example, presence of migrant farmers

• Presence / absence of a large mill nearby • Variability in the accessibility of market selling to local market

If the expectation is that the research results are generally applicability to communities across the forest zone (or the region in which they are located) it is important that the communities selected are representative. By identifying the associations between variables that describe the household and the community where the household is based we should be able to describe the factors that best explain

household activity and economic reliance on chainsaw milling (objective 3). The information will help scale up the results. It looks like we made need to work in a miminum of 9 communities in Ghana (each status type in each of the three regions = 3 x 3 =9). To have an adequate estimate of variability within each community, a target sample size may be 40 households, giving us a total of 360 households. If it is necessary to reduce the total sample size, it would be better to reduce the number of households sampled within a community rather than reduce the number of communities sampled because the expectation is that the variability in community-based or location factors will be more important in explaining variability in the costs and benefits accruing to rural people than are the household factors. If the community managed forests are to be included, they would be in addition to the above 9; if villages with a migrant farmer population are to be include, they would also be in addition to the 9. Sample size – how will we determine when we have a sufficient sample? For the costs and benefits, within a community, when you have stop getting new information The questionnaires /semi-structured interviews will be used to solicit information on current and historical information on household resource use, sources of income, physical and non-physical assets, family demographics and migration, environmental conditions, changes, shocks or uncontrollable events that have influenced the livelihood options.

There will be sections of the questionnaire dedicated to the following aspects: Household attributes / family members / assets / Community-level attributes / forest or tree resource / governance structure Benefits associated with forests, logging and milling (including economic reliance) Costs associated with forests, logging and milling Attitudes around forest resource management and protection (of the household, and the

household’s perspective of the wider community, of the chief and assemblyman – the later might need to be confirmed by triangulation)

Conditions necessary to make chainsaw milling socially sustainable? (would it be worth trying to incorporate a section for only those households that are directly involved to ask them to rank the changes that need to be made to make chainsaw milling more useful for their livelihoods?)

Data Analysis A profile of the households interviewed will be developed by summarizing household attributes across the regions and forest status types. The types of costs and benefits associated with the two types of milling activities will be described and compared qualitatively. The proportion of households realising each type of cost and benefit will be calculated and summarized by community. The extent of household activity in logging and milling, whether small scale chainsaw operations or large scale operations will be calculated as the number of households and proportion of households interviewed. Economic reliance is defined as the relative importance of a particular activity as an income source or a form of insurance. We will calculate economic reliance by household on 1) large-scale logging and milling, 2) small-scale chainsaw milling, 3) forest product use. We compared the mean economic reliance among the three regions (west, central, east) and by the status of the forest (protected, managed, farmland) using analysis of variance. A multivariate analysis will be used to identify the variables that are more strongly associated with household activity and economic reliance on large-scale logging and milling, small-scale chainsaw milling, and forest product use. Bivariate correlation analyses will be conducted on pairs of variables to describe the strength of associations amongst variables. (We could also use regression analyses to do this, the characteristics of the data will determine what approach is more appropriate). PART TWO – Chainsaw Milling Firms Aim and objectives

• To examine the economics of chainsaw logging and lumbering and the environmental and ecological impacts as they compare with large scale operations;

• To characterise the distribution of costs and benefits within a firm • To characterise the variability in costs and benefits across firms

• To identify the factors that explain efficiency, access to resources (what else?) • To identify factors that could make chainsaw milling more appropriate (socially, economically,

ecologically) • [this is supposed to be done as a comparison with large scale operations – we need to be clear

about what data are available for the large scale operations so that we can structure this part of the research to facilitate a comparison]

Methods Experimental Design This research will be based on semi-structured interviews with individuals within chainsaw milling firms. The firms included in the sample will be selected to include variability in access to forest resources (western, central, eastern region?), variability in the size of the firms or the scale of their operations (small, medium, large?), ……….. what else? How will we determine what is an adequate sample size here? Are there key variables that we can use to generate confidence intervals and standard errors and set ourselves a target ratio of standard error to mean? The questionnaires /semi-structured interviews will be used to solicit information on

• Attributes of the firm – number of machines (types, age, serviceability), transport vehicles, number of employees (permanent, casual, from where), how long have they been in the business, what did they do previously, how did they get started, what was the source of capital for investment (is there still an external source of support?), part of an association?, how well connected to other firms is this one? (indication of strength of network?), competition?

• Attributes of the resource that they rely on – where do they get their trees, how do they select them? What species and sizes are typically taken? How frequently is your work interrupted by lack of access of trees? Has access to trees changed much over time? What has been responsible for the change?

• Costs and Benefits – wages for various employees (is it paid daily, per volume?), how many days in a month are the various people employed? (some measure of variability, or consistency?), machine costs (running, maintenance costs, . . . who bears these costs?), transport costs (estimate on a volume basis?), what are typical extraction costs (per volume?), what influences extraction costs? Where do you sell your product? What is a typical payment? (what is the variability in payments?), what do you pay in fines, sweeteners?

• Attitudes / Attributes of the manager/owner – political connectedness, experience with regulation, police, fines

• Conditions necessary to make chainsaw milling appropriate Data Analysis PART THREE – Operational efficiency and environmental impacts Aim and objectives

• To characterise the operation efficiency and environmental impacts of chainsaw milling by small operators

• To compare the efficiency and impacts with those of large scale operations Methods

Chainsaw millers will be selected in a stratified way, where the strata will reflect the forest resource; for convenience, the strata to be used will be western, central, and eastern region. We anticipate that it will be difficult to randomize our selection of chainsaw millers, however to ensure that our sample is unbiased and representative, we will identify potential millers in each region during the interviews conducted in parts one and two of the study. From this group of potential millers, we will randomly select a minimum of 15. There may be a need to introduce another layer of stratification to ensure that the sample includes a sample representative of different levels of experience typical in the business.

Each miller will be followed in the field over the course of 3 working days during which time the following variables will be recorded:

• Per day o Total hours worked o Distribution of time spent (idle, searching, cleaning or preparing to fell, felling, bucking,

milling, transporting, dealing with the machine – cleaning, sharpening, repair, other) o Number of trees felled and milled o Other products harvesting from the forest during the period (e.g., ntfps, meat)

• Per tree selected o species of tree selected o size (dbh, height, quality of stem) o How was the tree selected? o Time taken to fell the tree o Time taken to convert the log o Volume of the log to be converted o Volume of log left as waste o Volume of boards removed from the site o Extent of opening in forest to conduct and extract o Number of neighbouring trees that were damaged or killed in the process of felling and

ripping and extracting? o Extent of soil damage o Extent of roading created

• In addition the following information will be gathered by interviewing the operators o How long have you been doing this sort of work? o What did you do previously? o How did you get started? o How many days do you typically work in a month? o How many trees do you typically fell and mill during one working period? o How often do you experience breakdowns or lose time to lack of spare parts? • Where did you learn the skills required? • What do you do to ensure your safety? • Do you work alone? • Do you work at night? • Have you had an accident? • Questions about their financiers, brokers, firm • What are the priorities for change to make this more sustainable?

PART FOUR - Scale of the industry

• number of registered chainsaw machines within communities • the quantity of chainsaw lumber on local markets • the number of markets, their turnover (per week, per month, per annum?) • the quantity of legal and illegal timber on the market • price variation between chainsaw lumber and lumber from conventional sawmill • direct revenue accruing to the forest authority through license and stumpage paid by the

chainsaw operatives and large scale operators DATA ANALYSIS The operational efficiency of the two sub-industries would be described using frequency tables, charts and cross tabulations to depict differences and similarities in operational cost, wood residue, etc. In addition, measures of efficiency such as private benefit cost ratio, social benefit cost ratio and other technical efficiency measures would be determined. The focus would be to depict the differences in operational efficiency of the two sub-industries (chainsaw and sawmill) to inform policy decisions. Employment implications for the two sub-industries would also be described