This presentation shares up-to-date state of African Rosewood logging in Ghana, shared during a forestry sector legal working group session held in Accra in September 2016. A key recommendation is for the Forestry Commission of Ghana to change its present leadership and review its vision and mission. Things are really falling apart in Ghana.

1. ROSEWOOD ALERT!!
Legal Working Group Meeting
19th -20th September 2016
Prepared By:
Daryl Bosu
A Rocha Ghana

2.  Rosewood is a characteristically dark, highly grained wood from
trees in the genera Dalbergia nigra, Tipuana, or Pterocarpus,
 In Ghana, depending on where you are its called Krayie,
Gyankilia for Gonjas.
 The Chinese buyers and traders call it Kosso. And so it has
been named in our official books
 Rosewood belongs to a category of hardwoods to any number
of fine-grained lumbers.
 Distribution in Ghana – . Ashanti, Brong Ahafo, Northern,
Upper East, Upper West and Volta regions
 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.
Species Description and Distribution

3. Resources are not, They Become
Essential
Oil
Medicinal
purpose
Skin
tonner
Dye
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
The World Ghana

4. The Beginning of an End
 First reported trade of Kosso was in 2005 with a trade volume of 126 (M3) in
2005 to over 40,000 (M3) by Volume in 2013.
 Officially listed Stumpage Fee right up until 1st March 2014 was GHS 2.39.
without any indication of minimum diameter
 Major harvesting and trade begun in 2008 and continues till now with no signs
of abatement.
 Two major development projects escalated the comparatively insignificant
trade to the fastest selling timber commodity on the Ghanaian
 Bui Hydro Dam – 400 Mega watts of Electricity ( Bole District and some others in
Brong Ahafo)
 Fufulso-Sawla - 147.5km ((3) districts namely Central Gonja District, West Gonja
District and the Sawla-Tuna-Kalba)

5. Beginning of an End continued..
 Critical Points to Note
 Both Projects had an EIA
conducted
 Both Projects were executed by
Chinese Companies
 There is information to the fact
that with respect to the Bui Hydro
Dam project a stock survey was
conducted to determine the
volumes of hardwood species that
had to be salvaged for the project
to commence. A copy of the stock
survey report has not been sighted
as yet.

6. Value Chain of Rosewood
Source: The Rise of Environ mental Crime – A Growing Threat To Natural
Resources Peace, Development And Security.A UNEP-INTERPOL Rapid Response
Commu
nities
Local
Merchant
Middle
Man
China
Market
32 USD
per
cubic
meter
129 USD
per Cubic
Meter
325
USD
per
Cubin
Meters
2000
USD per
Cubic
Meter of
Rosewo
od
The Ghanaian Context

7. Comparative Trade Volumes For Ghana
0
5000000
10000000
15000000
20000000
25000000
30000000
35000000
40000000
45000000
1 2 3
4041143
0
7560767
4141193
7
TRADEVALUEINUSD
YEAR
Ghana's Rose Wood Trade Value Trend - 2014 to 2106 Ghana received the total revenue of
$89,384,134 in rose wood trade from
2014 to 2016. In 2015, Ghana received
the trade value of 7,560,767, reflecting
a dip of $32,850,663 down from
40,411,430 in 2014. The value indicates
that Ghana saw 81.3% loss in 2015
compared to 2014. 2016 saw an
increase in revenue of 41,411,937,
2.34% more than 2014 trade value. The
percentage increase in trade volume in
2016 from 2015 was 36.69%.
Sad Note: Least known, least
researched, most fragile and yet now
the second highest traded timber
species in terms of volume.

8. Comparative Trade Volumes for Sub-Region
108051311
92292425
78758744
58541113
28123874
20118383 18020505
11599299
1709460 188830 22000 0
0
20000000
40000000
60000000
80000000
100000000
120000000
Trade in KG
Trade in Volumes 2014
Ban in Place
109966551
46902255
26298068
18009583 15364143 14578920 14304364
5264825
86000 0 0 0
0
20000000
40000000
60000000
80000000
100000000
120000000 Trade Volume
Trade Volumes in 2015
Ban in Place – Evolving
Pressure from Civil
Society and Ministerial
Reiteration of Ban

9. Comparative Trade Volumes for 2016 – Sub-Region
188353193
81241273
57252268
31211221 29692912
9011244
4371680 2867900 329300 20800 0 0
Nigeria Ghana Gambia sierra Leone Benin Cote d'Ivoire Togo Mali Guinea-Bissau Guinea Liberia Senegal
Data Sources:
• Rosewood is second highest traded
timber species in Ghana
• Second Largest trader in the Sub-
region
• Current Stumpage approx. GhS55
from 2.39 just about 2 years ago.

10. Key Social Red Alerts
 Due to the largely illegal nature of this activity, only a
few people have received direct remuneration from the
trade upsetting suddenly and significantly local
economics and shifting social status, class, and asset
ownership.
 These illegal activities have undermined the rule of
law in the various districts, and compromised the
principles of democratic governance.
 Clear abuses and misuse of Common Public Goods have
been observed and recorded in many localities where
these illegal activities are happening
 The employment from this activity is transitory and as
such, key actors will be compelled to look for
alternative ways (which may include social vices) of
keeping up with their new found high income status.
 The associated poor legal compliance and the break
down of NRM governance structures and management
regimes breeds social disorder and may affect long
standing gains made with empowering communities for
sustainable natural resource management.
 The lack of transparency and the culpability of
leadership both political and traditional at Community,
District, Regional and National level is recipe for
mistrust for leadership and can affect social
development indirectly.

11. Key Ecological Red Alerts
• No research and data on species stock and harvestable quotas. We are leaping
bling
• Significant areas have been opened up, especially areas around rivers and
streams where these trees grow very well. In the parts where they occur they
are only located in gallery forests which mainly occur around watersheds and
river banks.
• Rosewood trees constitute an important shade tree in woodland savanna
landscape. Targeted felling will mean high surface area temperatures in places
previously shaded by these trees, which will have implications for wildlife,
understory saplings and also fuel high fire intensity.
• Small pockets of forests which serve as habitat for wildlife species have also
been comprised.
• The logging activities has also left behind a lot of residual waste as the
merchants are only interested in just about six (6) meters bole length of the
treeThe poorly managed salvage permits for hardwood species in planned
development areas in the Northern parts of Ghana has led to significant
increase in chain-saw activity with impacts on other non-specific and non-
targeted species like Mahogany and Afzelia Africana

12. Key Economic Red Alerts
 The actual revenue generated from the rosewood harvesting and trade from both
the formal and informal sector is not known.
 There is very little records to indicate how much has actually accrued to formal
revenue collection agencies like the District Assemblies, revenue collectors in the
various Area Councils and revenue accruing to Chiefs who charge ‘royalties’ per
truck load of rosewood.
• The various traditional stool lands
administrative offices have benefited from
revenue accrued to government from both
legal and illegal trade in rosewood.

13. Key Legal Red Alerts
 Generally, Timber resource allocation & harvesting is based on Timber Resources Management Act, Act 547 of 1998
and the related Regulation LI 1649 of 1999.
 For Rosewood, the issuance of permit to contractors prior to exploitation and monitoring exploitation once the
permit has been issued have been the main regulatory mechanism since the surge in its export. The question is
does permitted collection volumes equal declared trade volumes?
 Rosewood permits have been based on ‘Salvage Permits’. Is this legal?
 Are there compliance safeguards accompanying these permits? If yes is the compliance monitoring sufficient and
been implemented?
 Ban on Harvesting is still in place, that is without doubt confirmed.
 Ban on trade permitted for 13 Companies.
 Possible implications if point one is true – Is it possible that the Forestry Commission could be involved in trading in
illegally sourced timber and declaring it as legal on the international market. Can we build a strong case for VPA
and FLEGT?
 Possible implication if the Report on Wood Exports for 2016 by the Forestry Commission is authentic – Is Ghana serving
as a route for traders from other countries in the sub-region?

14. Thank You….
“…with much respect to, and
without ill intent and offense to
all those who are genuinely
serving Mother Ghana in the
forestry and the environmental
Sector, I propose that the
Forestry Commission should
Change its present leadership and
review its vision and mission. The
way it stands right now is just
pure mockery and public deceit.
And I quote..