Ghana's VPA process:
Some tactical lessons for multi-level,
multi-stakeholder engagement for
national rights and governance
reform

Ghana’s forest sector
• 150 years of repressive elite expropriation of
communal resources for corporation:
• resource devastation;
• deepening rural poverty & alienation
• massive accumulation of private wealth
• growing corruption & weakening state legitimacy
• growing internecine conflict
• brilliant rhetoric and formally decent
institutions
• Complacent “international community”
2

VPA process
• VPA de jure
• timber trade agreement
• state-state bilateral
• focus on illegal logging
• certification arrangement
• VPA de facto
• Vehicle of pro-community forces in state and
civil society in both jurisdictions in engaging
the “wall of capital”
3

Achievements: Process
• Most substantial CS participation in (Ghana) history
• Representation
• Steering Committee 0 > ±1 > 1 > 2 > 2.5 = 200%
• Negotiating Committee = 0 > 2
• Working Groups – 4/4 (including 2 chairs)
• Policy subcommittee 1 / 8
• Direct SC engagement with NGOs (FWG & non-FWG), GAWU &
TWU, RAOs, Traditional Leaders, District & Regional Forest Forums
• Improved informal channels
• GOG commitment to institutionalise & expand
4

Achievement: substantive
• Formal of governance objectives -
statement
• 3 – year participatory process towards
policy, regulatory and institutional reform
supporting Governance Objectives
• Now benchmarks for NREG multi-donor
support – threatened by FCPF

Achievement: Political
• Substantial CS mobilisation around forest
& community rights agenda
• Greater public awareness of forest crisis
and its importance
• Collapse of State-Industry consensus
6

Ghana Context
• EU buyers & EU have disproportionate
leverage over GOG/GTI
• Network’s of CSOs in Europe, Asia and
Africa worked in tandem
• CSOs cultivated important allies amongst
GOG & EU negotiators
7

Lessons
• levers for intervention & even “soft”
\"conditionalities\" often exist – not “black or
white”
• Malaysia process stuck on participation and
rights
• Ghana process will lead to “best practice”
statement that applies to others
• Issue is political will.
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Lessons
• political will can be strengthened by organised &
strategically focused CSOs engaging with clear
objectives
– e.g. EU – Ghana NGO engagement
• gave cover to EU officials
• gave cover to Ghanaian officials

Lessons
• involves using formal legal arguments
• Constant expansion of participation is crucial –
tactics must compliment not substitute for
peoples’ struggle
10

THANK YOU