Ghana Hosts Forum On Wood Tracking Tech.

AN international forum on wood tracking technology aimed at addressing opportunities and challenges in designing and displaying electronic-based wood tracking system in a tropical forest environment, opens in Accra tomorrow.

The forum, being organised by the Forestry Commission of Ghana under the auspices of the Ministry of Lands, Forestry and Mines, will also provide a platform for the exchange of experiences with pioneers in the wood tracking business across the globe, both at user and service provider levels.

Participating countries include Brazil, Malaysia, Cameroon and the DR Congo.

The European Union’s Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Action Plan sets out a range of measures aimed at combating illegal logging in timber producing countries.

This is to ensure that only legal timber products are traded on both international and local markets.

To achieve this objective, the EU will provide both financial and technical support to producer countries that enter into Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPAs).

The VPA, to be signed next month, is an approach by which legally-produced timber exported to the EU can be identified by using licences issued by partner countries.

At the heart of the Legality Assurance System which is deliverable under the VPA is the wood tracking system also commonly referred to as the chain of custody (COC).

The COC system to be adopted by Ghana under the VPA will be primarily owned by the Forestry Commission.