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Last Updated: Dec 9th, 2007 - 07:20:29 |
General News - Sun, 09 Dec 2007
Mr Andrew Adjei-Yeboah, Deputy Minister for Lands, Forestry and Mines, has called on chiefs to help fashion out workable standards to guide Ghana and the European Union (EU) in the Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) scheme for the mutual benefit of all stakeholders.
He said this was crucial because the nation had committed itself to improving the forestry sector as it prepared to enter into this agreement to trade in timber with the EU.
Mr Adjei-Yeboah was speaking at a seminar on the VPA for members of the National House of Chiefs during their general meeting in Kumasi in the Ashanti Region last Thursday. He said the negotiations between Ghana and the EU offered the opportunity for the country to improve its forest management and to create a model for multi-stakeholder consultations on important national policies.
Mr Adjei-Yeboah said, 'The steering Committee which was overseeing the country's preparatory process including the conduct of multi-stakeholder consultations that would inform the negotiations was out for consultations and ideas.'
He said the country has adopted a participatory approach in reaching a consensus on the negotiation.
Mr Adjei-Yeboah said the EU remained the most important trading partner of Ghana in timber and 'it was therefore, imperative for the country to pay close attention to what happened on the international market especially in the EU.'
Dr Ernest Asare Abeney, Senior Lecturer, Department of Silviculture and Forest Management of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and a member of the steering Committee called for education on issues affecting the nation's forest.
He said the country would continue to rely on the forests for its socio-economic development and there was the need to bring policies and programmes on forestry to the doorsteps of the people.
Source/Credits: GNA
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