Trade in Rosewood in Ghana has become the fastest and most expensive commodity in Ghana. Unfortunately, there is very little known about the species in Ghana, and yet the institutions and ministries responsible for lands and natural resources has given permits for trade without due recourse to existing national timber management regulations and laws. Its an elite capture, holding poor forest fringe communities to ransom as poor community members have become victims of the timber market. We need proper leadership in the forestry sector in Ghana, else we loose what is left of the about 1.8 million hectares of remaining national forest cover.

1. The Case of Illegal Harvesting and
Trade in Rosewood in Ghana

2. Species Description
• Rosewood is a characteristically dark, highly
grained wood from trees in the genera
Dalbergia nigra, Tipuana, or
Pterocarpus,
• Rosewood belongs to a category of
hardwoods to any number of fine-grained
lumbers.
• Distribution in Ghana – Northern Region,
Volta Region and Brong Ahafo
• 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.

3. Uses of Rosewood
Essential Oil
Medicinal purpose
Skin tonner
Dye and fuel wood
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

4. Global Trade and Markets
• Chinese demand mainly influencing global trade.
– In 2010, the number of companies trading traditional ‘redwood’ or ‘Hongmu’ furniture in
China rose by 30-40 per cent,
– Chinese timber traders spent more than US$3 billion on rosewood in Vietnam alone.
– Annual rosewood furniture price increases of 15-40 per cent are considered normal in
China’s luxury markets – a trend exacerbated by speculative investments in ‘rare
wood’ products by China’s super-wealthy elite.
– The finest rosewood furniture sets now fetch hundreds of thousands of US dollars.
Consequently, unprocessed Thailand rosewood can fetch up to $50,000 per cubic
meter in China
• Markets mainly in Asia, ending up on the European and North American
markets
• China is the dominant importer of Ghanaian rosewood,
contributing averagely 96% of total imports based on last 3 years.
(Source TIDD)

5. Trade in Rosewood in Ghana Driven
by China’s Demand
Figure 1 China's imports from Ghana of "rosewood" and other logs (by "location of importer")
Source: based on General Administration of Customs of the People's Republic of China
Note: China's commodity code 44039930 relates to "rosewood" (and some similar species)

6. Threats and Current Status
• Globally rosewood species are really under logging pressure
everywhere they are located. Sometimes involving violent crime and
corruption.
• Protection actions have been focussed at the regional level due to the
variety of different species classified as rosewood
• In Thailand, ‘rosewood’ is listed in CITES Appendix II.
• Other examples show that a number of hardwood species which were
previously under threat have seen a drastic reduction in harvesting and
trade since listed on CITES Appendix II

7. The Situation in Ghana and Sub-region
West Gonja District North Gonja District Central Gonja Bole District
• Damongo
• Larabanga
• Mole
• Mognori
• Murugu
• Busunu
• Mpasem
• Achubonyo
• Buroto
• Kananto (Kenikeni
Forest)
• Kabampe
(Kenikeni Forest)
• Grupe
• Sori No 1
• Sor No 2
• Yipa
• Sor No 3
• Tachali
• Kaden
• Yazori
• Bawena
• Kopoto
• Lingbinsi
• Kuplumbo
Mpaha
Mankpang
Tuluwe
Boachipe
Sonyo
Seripe
Tinga
Sakpa
Banda
Nkwanta
Mandari
Salvage permits used as
entry into West and
North Gonja. Now
rosewood felling spreads
all across the Northern
Regions.
Later permits salvage
permits were issued in
areas which was not
experiencing any
infrastructure
development acitvity to
warrant salvage felling of
rosewood.
In one instance the
permit indicated trees
to be felled in Mole

9. Tools of the Trade

10. Transportation

11. Overview of Revenue Charges within the informal sector
Service / Product description Range of Service
/Product Charge (GH ¢)
REMARKS
Cost of a full Container to
Buyer at site (Cutting and
Dumping)
7000-10000
4000 to 7000
Early Stages of harvesting and trade (Negotiable)
Later stages of trade (Negotiable and depending on quality of logs)
*Average Volume of logs per 40 foot truckload (20m3)
Operator Cost 300 to 500 Per Container. Cost sometimes depends on the number of trees
felled (Negotiable).
‘Royalty' paid to Divisional
Chiefs
700-1000 This is paid per 40 Foot Truck load (Non-Negotiable)
*Allowance for Chiefs in
Communities
200 to 500 Per container
Allowance for the Police 250 This is the minimum fee per container (Negotiable)
Allowance for the TO 500 Per container (Negotiable)
Log Transport to Selling
Points
4000 Paid to Driver and Truck Owner

12. Overview of formal charges for rosewood logs
Estimated Revenue
to the formal and
Informal Sector
>$5MILLION
< 30% to formal
sector

13. Traditional, Political & Law
Enforcement Agencies
Perpetuating the trade
•The involvement of local
leadership and failure to curb
the situation
•Illegal permits, poor
monitoring and helplessness
of FSD staff at various
District offices
•The failure of Police to
enforce forest regulations
and laws

14. Rise in Trade & Issue of ‘Permits’
Official records from the TIDD, indicates that the
trade rose from 126 (M3) in 2005 to over 40,000
(M3) by Volume in 2013
We however believe that unrecorded trade could
be over 60,000(M3) all together
Rosewood is now the fastest
selling timber species in Ghana

15. Trade Bans
• Since 2005, when rosewood exports began in Ghana, the trade has
suffered two export bans. The first in January 2012 and lifted May
2012.
• The second and current ban in effect was from 1st January 2014.
However, certain companies have still been given exemption
permit from the Forestry Commission to continue the
‘Collection of billets’ till September 2014. The excuse is to
prevent the logs from been burnt by fire.
• The hardest hit districts are North Gonja, West Gonja, Central
Gonja, Bole and East Gonja Districts as well as a few others in
Upper East and Upper West Regions.

16. Current Extent of the trade
Traded as common as firewood in
Gonjaland Districts
Fragile savannah eco-zones have
become Timber harvesting and loading
Ports

17. Exigencies of the unchecked trade in rosewood
Non targeted species like Afzelia africana has now
become of interest to these timber merchants
Activities extended
to Forest Reserves
in Damongo and
Bole Forest
Districts.
Mole National
Park is currently
on emergency
alert to avert any
felling activities
within its
boundaries. Some
activities in the
northern parts of
the park have
already been
recorded.

18. Several questions???????
• What do we even know of this species in terms of its real status in Ghana its
distribution, production and regeneration rates to ensure sustainable management
and exploitation of the species?
• Why do the authorities, particularly the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources and
also the Forest Services Division, continue to issue salvage permits for abandoned
logs for areas where there is no developmental activity?
• If Salvage Permits are issued to enable the collection of abandoned logs, how did
these logs come to be lying on the forest floor? Did they just fall from the sky?
• Who is monitoring the activities of these timber merchants?
• Who is enforcing the countries’ laws and regulations on timber management in
Ghana?
• If, according to existing laws and regulations, felling these trees is illegal, , then these
logs are therefore illegal. So the question is, who do they eventually get exported to?
what syndicate at the ports or at the forest services division is aiding this illegal
logging and trade?
• The two major developmental activities which prompted the issuance of salvage
permits for areas in Northern region are almost at their end, but the salvage permits
continue to be issued even beyond the project completion dates. Why? How is this
possible?

19. Questions, Questions , Questions ???????
• If we cannot ensure compliance of existing timber management regulations can we as
a nation keep our part of the bargain under the Voluntary Partnership Agreement
(VPA) and Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade (FLEGT) in our partnership
with the European Union?
• Is it asking too much if we request the establishment of a national task force to
investigate why the harvesting and trade in rosewood is getting out of hand? Without
dictating the terms of reference for this task force, may we suggest that the
investigation should focus on the licenses that are issued, the sources of these
licenses, the actual revenues lost to the state and, even more importantly, the
authenticity of the timber companies who keep receiving permits to continue
salvaging abandoned logs?.
• There are serious allegations of political expediency at the root of this illegal
harvesting and trade, to the extent that all permit holders are connected to the ruling
party.
• Today a lot of money is changing hands so the rosewood trade can thrive. Are the
authorities really concerned about the long-term implications of this massive logging
in critical ecosystems like the savannah zones of this country?

20. Conclusion
• Rosewood export is the new phenomenon in Ghana, the harvesting
however raising several concerns that needs serious investigation
and compliance to protect fragile ecosystems in the semi-arid
savannah zone of Ghana
• We just can’t sit down as civil society and government, traditional
authorities, and law enforcement agencies continue business as
usual in the manner and way they have handled the harvesting and
trade in rosewood in Ghana.
• We are asking for the due diligence in the Timber sector in Ghana.
Otherwise our true commitment to VPA will just be a charade to
ourselves first and also to the international community.

21. ROSEWOOD LIES BLEEDING
Thank you