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Article

26 May 2006

Author:
Julia Cass, for WWF

Making markets work for forests and people in Ghana

The ride from Accra...to Samreboi...reveals the impact of 50 years of indiscriminate logging...This loss of forest is not only threatening Ghana’s fragile economy, but the livelihoods of people who depend on forests...The GFTN [Global Forest and Trade Network] is WWF’s initiative to eliminate illegal logging and improve the management of valuable and threatened forests...A breakthrough...came...when Samartex Timber and Plywood Co. Ltd, one of Ghana’s leading producers of forest products, signed an agreement with WWF and FOE to work towards independent certification of environmentally-sound forest management practices...Since then, eight other companies in Ghana have applied to join the network, six of which have undergone baseline audits of their operations. Samartex took this important step with the encouragement of two of its major buyers: Timbmet Silverman...and Travis Perkins...