1

Issue No.4, July 2013

An annual project update of the EU Chainsaw Milling Project, Ghana, funded by the European Commission Programme on Environment in Developing Countries

What is Chainsaw milling?

Chainsaw milling in the context of the project means the on-site conversion of logs into lumber using chainsaws.

Chainsaw Milling ProjectGhana

The ProjectThe EU chainsaw milling project ‘Developing alternatives to illegal chainsaw milling (CSM) through multi-stakeholder dialogue (MSD) in Ghana and Guyana’ aims to find sustainable solutions to the problems associated with the production of lumber for local timber markets by involving all stakeholders in dialogue, information gathering and the development of alternatives to unsustainable CSM practices.

Following four years of implementing the EU CSM Project satisfactory, the project has been awarded a second phase which will run till March 2015. The second phase, titled ‘Supporting the integration of legal and legitimate domestic timber markets into Voluntary Partnership Agreements’ will continue to provide and broaden the necessary

platform for stakeholders to discuss domestic timber market issues and support the implementation of outcomes of the dialogue in policy and practice. With this, two new district platforms have been established in Nkwanta and Takwa forest districts.

The project is being implemented by Tropenbos International (TBI) in collaboration with the Forestry Commission (FC) in Ghana and the Forestry Research Institute of Ghana (FORIG), and the Training Centre (FTCI) and Iwokrama in Guyana. In Ghana, the project is currently being carried out in ten forest districts namely Nkwanta, Wassa West, Sunyani, Asunafo, Atwima, Assin, Birim South, Kwaebibirem, Asante Akim South and Fanteakwa.

COUNCIL

FO

R S

CIENTIFIC AND INDUSTRIAL R

ESEARCH

GHANA

In this issue:

> The Project 1

> Summary 2

> The multi-stakeholder dialogue 3

> Policy proposal for legal domestic lumber supply 3

> Artisanal milling defined 4

> Broadening the chainsaw discussion 4

> Embedding the principles of stakeholder engagement in the forestry sector 5

> Alternative livelihood needs assessment 5

> Capacity building 6

> Chainsaw operators organise themselves to plant trees 6

> Learning from Guyana 7

> Publications 6

Contact Details Tropenbos International Ghana, FORIG, Fumesua.

P. O. Box UP 982, KNUST, Kumasi, GhanaTel: +233 3220 603 10/613 61 Fax: +233 3220 613 76

euchainsawprojectghana@gmail.com

www.chainsawmilling.org

The contents of this publication is the sole responsibility of the Chainsaw Milling project in Ghana and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union.

SummaryThe year 2011- 2012 marked the end of the first phase and the beginning of the second phase of the project. During these years, the project developed a proposal for a policy on supply of legal lumber to the domestic market in collaboration with the Timber Industry Development Division. The policy was officially accepted by the government of Ghana in March 2012. Following this, artisanal milling which is the thrust of the policy was defined by stakeholders after almost two years of deliberations.

However, not all stakeholders directly involved in illegal chainsaw milling can change to artisanal milling under the new policy due to dwindling forest resources. Therefore alternative livelihoods that do not depend on timber is important. In this regard the project conducted an alternative livelihood and livelihood needs assessments to identify stakeholder’s preferred alternative occupation and areas for capacity building.

Meanwhile, discussion on illegal chainsaw milling has been broadened. Two new project districts have been added bring the number to a total of ten. Multi-Stakeholder Dialogue (MSD) platforms for these districts have also been established and functioning. After reflections on the successes of the MSD platform, stakeholders have suggested that the platform should be embedded in the forestry sector to gain from its benefits of solving complex societal issues. The agreed pathway to that was institutionalization of the platform. To this effect, the Steering Committee of the platform and project staff have been trained and a roadmap developed together with stakeholders on how to institutionalize the MSD.

2

3

The multi-stakeholder dialogue

The MSD which is the main strategy by which the project seeks to achieve its objectives continues to provide the necessary platform for stakeholders to discuss issues concerning chainsaw milling and the domestic timber market. Between January 2011 and December 2012, five national and 18 district level MSDs were organized. The main activities of the MSDs were the development of a policy proposal for

supply of legal lumber to the domestic market, together with accompanying strategies and actions for its implementation, evaluation and review of the MSD process (MSD 1-6), and definition of artisinal milling.

The outcome of the review showed that the MSD process has been well organized and members were satisfied with the outputs. As a result, the platform endorsed the MSD

steering committee for a second term in office with an added representation from Domestic Lumber Traders Association (DOLTA). In fact, stakeholders have agreed that the MSD should be institutionalized to sustain it after the project period due to its usefulness as a tool for engaging different stakeholders on a common platform to find solutions to complex problems.

Policy proposal for legal domestic lumber supply

The Timber Industry Development Division (TIDD) – FC and the EU chainsaw project coordinated their efforts through a joint process to address the problem of illegal chainsaw milling and supply of legal lumber to the domestic market. The joint process has resulted in a proposal for policy on the supply of legal lumber to the domestic market.

The policy hinges strongly on giving opportunity to artisanal millers to also produce lumber for the domestic market, alongside the conventional mills. The overall aim of the document is to prescribe policy objectives and strategies to eliminate illegal

chainsaw operations. It is also to ensure the supply of legal lumber to the domestic market on sustainable basis, promote good forest governance and provide a framework that facilitates production and trade of legal timber on the domestic market.

In June 2011, the TIDD-EU CSM process consulted the parliamentary select committee on lands and natural resources and a broad multi-stakeholder meeting for inputs to fine-tune the policy document. The two entities met a couple of times in 2012 to develop strategies and actions to implement the policy. Also, the legal implication of the policy has been discussed.

The policy has been officially accepted by the Government of Ghana in March 2013. The underlying principle of the document is to provide a framework for developing and regulating the domestic timber market in anticipation of expansion and growth of the construction and housing industry while addressing the drivers of illegal chainsaw operations, deforestation and forest degradation. The policy document which is one of the key outputs from the Multi-Stakeholder Dialogue (MSD) has been endorsed by all key stakeholders in the forestry sector.

4

Artisanal milling defined

Artisanal milling is the anchor of the policy on supply of legal lumber to the domestic market, hence, the most probable solution to illegal chainsaw milling. However, stakeholders have been sharply divided on what should go into the definition of artisanal milling. In August 2012, the MSD platform agreed to a joint discussion with the TIDD to address all differences, develop criteria which will provide the basis for structured discussions on the definition and propose a definition.

The criteria developed comprised eight set of questions the definition should answer including: (1) Who should be an Artisanal Miller? (2) What should be the scale of operation? (3) What machinery type should be used? (4) What should be the percentage of efficiency? (5) Where should the target market be? (6) Where should artisanal milling take place? (7) Where should the raw material come from? and (8) What should artisanal machines be used for? Three proposed definitions from the joint process, the MSD and TIDD were subjected to the above criteria and at national

MSD 9 in November 2012, stakeholders finally reach a consensus on the definition of artisanal milling as follows:

“Artisanal milling is small-medium scale milling of timber from specified legal sources by a trained, certified, registered and licensed Ghanaian artisan, using licensed portable sawmilling equipment that excludes any form of chainsaw machines capable of recovering at least 50% of dimension lumber from logs for the domestic market only. This may be processed in-situ or ex-situ“.

Broadening the chainsaw discussion

To broaden the frontiers of multi-stakeholder participation in decision making about issues related to CSM problem and supply of legal lumber to the domestic market in Ghana, the project added two new forest districts in 2011. These districts are Nkwanta and Tarkwa forest districts in the Volta and Western Regions respectively, bringing

the total number of project districts to ten (10).

To effectively participate in MSD discussions, capacity of stakeholder groups, especially farmers, chainsaw operators, apprentices and carriers were built in the area of public speaking, negotiation, communication and conflict management. Also, the steering

committee members of the newly established MSD platforms were trained to acquire new skills to help them manage, monitor and evaluate the district-level MSD processes. In 2012, these two new districts have started dialoguing on chainsaw issues at the district-level.

Embedding the principles of stakeholder engagement in the forestry sector

Over the years the MSD has emerged as a useful platform for soliciting and incorporating different views of stakeholders in decision making and implementation of jointly agreed solutions pertaining to complex societal issues. With this, it has become necessary to promote MSD especially in the forest sector. In an effort to institutionalize multi-stakeholder engagements in the forest sector and also to secure its sustainability at the end of the project, a training programme was held in July 2012 for

multi-stakeholder dialogue steering committee members, key stakeholders, project management team and project staff. The objective of the training was to find ways of effectively engaging stakeholders and embedding the MSD into existing institutions.

It was learnt from the training that the institutionalization of the MSD goes beyond shifting its management to another organization. It includes the embedding of the principles of stakeholder engagement

– on complex situations, conflict management, shifting power, fostering collective learning, enabling effective communication, reinventing institutions and promoting collaborative leadership in making and implementing forest policies. One key output of the training was an institutional analysis that identified key institutions that will influence (positively or negatively) the institutionalization of the MSD in the Ghana forest sector.

Alternative livelihood needs assessment

The selection and implementation of alternative livelihoods that do not depend on timber is important in addressing illegal chainsaw milling in Ghana. From an alternative livelihood survey conducted, stakeholders in the project districts selected tree plantation development, cocoa farming and general trading as their preferred alternative

livelihood. For easy adoption of these livelihoods the project conducted a livelihood needs assessment of 304 stakeholders made up of chainsaw operators, carriers and farmers. The assessment revealed that stakeholders required knowledge of the selected livelihood, start-up capital and kits as well as entrepreneurial skills.

The project is encouraging stakeholders to shift from illegal chainsaw milling to other non-wood based livelihoods because not all illegal chainsaw operators can be transformed into artisinal millers. It is also in line with the fact that the country’s forest resource is dwindling which has serious consequence on their current livelihood.

5

Capacity building

The project with support from the Business Advisory Centre (BAC) in the project districts have trained CSM communities in business management, group dynamics, record and book keeping, leadership and team-building. The stakeholders were also trained in organizational development and management, consensus-building, lobbying, conflict management, communication, networking and basic principles of sustainable forest management. This was to provide illegal chainsaw operators with the necessary skills and knowledge to organize

themselves into recognized groups/association to enable the project and relevant organizations facilitate their adoption of preferred alternative livelihoods. A total of 460 people involved in illegal CSM in the pilot communities have been trained and 10 associations formed.

Two of such associations have legally registered with the Registrar General’s Department and the rest are being supported to do the same. The two registered associations in Obogu (Juaso district) and Akrodie

(Goaso district) have further received technical training in the operation of AM equipments. The training was provided by Husquarva Ghana and Rabmill who are dealers in artisanal milling equipments. Also, the project supported lumber traders in the main lumber markets in the country to re-organize themselves under the Domestic Lumber Traders Association of Ghana (DOLTA). The project also supported DOLTA to develop a new constitution and an organogram.

Chainsaw operators organise themselves to plant trees

The continuous education and awareness on the impacts of illegal chainsaw milling and deforestation has created a change in attitude and occupation amongst some project stakeholders in Juaso Forest District. The Asante Akyem Wood Worker Association in Obogu, a registered group, made up of people formally in the illegal chainsaw lumber production and supply chain. This group has taken a bold

step to go into tree plantation development.

With support from the project, the association has applied for a degraded portion (Compartment 34) of the Dome River Forest Reserve under the Juaso Forest District to establish a tree plantation under the Modified Taungya System. This good example has triggered similar action by groups in Feyiase and Ando in Begoro and Assin Foso

Forest Districts respectively. The project is supporting the groups in Feyiase and Ando to apply for degraded portions of Worobong South (Compartment 32) and Supong (Compartment 14) Forest Reserves respectively. It is planned that the capacities of these groups will be enhanced in tree nursery and tree plantation establishment. Support will also be provided for the development of management plans for the tree plantations.

6

7

Learning from Guyana

To learn from international best practices on the management of domestic lumber markets, a team from Ghana visited Guyana, a country that has regulated chainsaw milling. The team was made up of key stakeholders in the Ghanaian forest sector involved in the supply of legal lumber to the domestic market. The study was aimed at learning practical lessons of how the Guyanese domestic lumber trade is organized in terms of regulatory and legal frameworks, organization and management of the millers and lumber trade

associations, type of equipment used for milling timber, the kind of support given by government and contribution of the millers and traders to community development.

The team also shared lessons and key outcomes from the VPA and joint FC-EU CSM processes in Ghana with key officials in the Guyanese forestry sector. Some key lessons learnt from the visit were that the FC should play a lead role in the organization and capacity building of all actors involved in the domestic

lumber supply chain. Moreover, the government should identify sustainable sources of timber exclusively for artisanal millers and a log tracking system for the domestic market should be simple, cost effective and efficient. Ghana was also advised to institutionalize the MSD to serve as a platform to discuss and address issues/problems that may arise during the implementation of the artisanal milling concept after the expiration of the EU CSM project.

Publication

In 2011, the project published a 20 paged book titled ‘Securing legal domestic lumber supply through multi-stakeholder dialogue in Ghana’. It was birthed by a training of the project secretariat and community forestry workers on how to identify and document success and failures on the project. This

was in preparation to start the second phase of the project. The book contains a collection of stories and news from the ten different forest districts all over Ghana.

Project Advisory Committee (PAC)

Victor AgyemanForestry Research Institute of GhanaJoseph OsiakwanMinistry of Lands and Natural ResourcesRaphael Yeboah Forestry CommissionOteng Yeboah University of GhanaSamuel Nketiah Tropenbos International Ghana

Osei Kwame Boateng-Poku Furniture and Wood Workers Association of GhanaD. F. Korsah Brown Legal Practitioner for Environmental Civil Society OrganizationsFrancis Nana Akowuah Furniture and Wood Workers Association of GhanaNana Amoako Ababio Omanhene, Kukuom Traditional Area

Anthony P. AsareDomestic Lumber Traders AssociationJames Parker Tropenbos International GhanaEmmanuel Ansong EU Delegation GhanaHerve DelsolEU Delegation GhanaAlhassan AttahTimber Industry Development Division

MSD Steering Committee

Prince Anokye Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and TechnologyEkua Ansah Eshon National Forest ForumAlexander Asare Resource Management Support Centre, Forestry Commission

Richard Agyenim Boateng Chainsaw OperatorAugustine Gyedu Forest Services DivisionRobbert Loggah National Forest Forum (replaced)Atta Yeboah National Forest Forum

Nana Owusu Aduamah Omanhene, Otwereso Traditional AreaKwamena Haizel Timber Industry Development Division, Forestry CommissionAnthony P. Asare Domestic Lumber Traders Association

Project Management Team

Samuel Nketiah Tropenbos International GhanaAlexander BoaduForestry Commission

Emmanuel MarfoForestry Research Institute of Ghana James Parker Tropenbos International Ghana

Community Forestry Workers

Dorothy DampsonGoaso (Brong Ahafo Region, 2011)Rita Mintah Goaso (Brong Ahafo Region, 2012)Lawrence FosuNkawie (Ashante Region, 2011)Mark Aidoo Nkawie (Ashante Region, 2012)Seth DuoduAssin Foso (Central Region, 2011-12)

Raymond AyepahKade (Eastern Region, 2011-12)Ben Opoku Asare Begoro (Eastern Region, 2011)Alfred Hayford Biney Begoro (Eastern Region, 2012)Isaac Owusu Boakye Juaso (Ashante Region, 2011-12)Kow Kwan Quaison Sunyani (Brong Ahafo Region, 2011-12)

Charles NketiahAkim Oda (Eastern Region, 2011)Vincent Appiah Akim Oda (Eastern Region, 2012)Nana Afia Hodibert Tarkwa (Western Region, 2012)Baba Musa Iddrisu Nkwanta, (Volta Region, 2012)

Project Secretariat

James ParkerNational CoordinatorMercy Owusu Ansah National FacilitatorJohn Amonoo Community Forestry Advisor

Jane AggreyCommunication OfficerEmmanuel Fosu Project AssistantEvans Mensa Sampene Project Assistant

Peter AckromondDriver

8