Programme Officer of the European Union (EU) Delegation to Ghana, Mr. Chris Ackon, is urging Ghana to latch onto the Union’s Green Deal Policy to ensure biodiversity conservation.

Addressing the inception meeting of the project, “Developing the capacity of Loggers without processing mills” organized by the Nature and Development Foundation (NDF) in Accra, Mr. Ackon reiterated that, “every action must have aspects of this Green Deal aimed at biodiversity conservation”.

He enjoined that the objective of the new policy is to ensure biodiversity is restored in line with actions to combat climate change, insisting that, the EU would require the policy of its partners in future projects.

The European Green Deal aims to transform the 27-country bloc from a high- to a low-carbon economy, without reducing prosperity and while improving people's quality of life, through cleaner air and water, better health and a thriving natural world.

For her part, Madam Abena Woode, Capacity Building Expert of the Nature and Development Foundation (NDF), disclosed that, the decision to develop the capacity of loggers without mills was borne out of the realization that, “many of them have little understanding of critical requirements of the sector.”

She explained that, as initiators of harvesting operations in the timber supply chain, the actions of these loggers impact significantly on the Ghana Legality Assurance System (GhLAS), thus the need to train them to abide by the requirements of legality under the Forest Law Enforcement and Governance Trade (FLEGT) programme.

Ultimately, their failure to abide by the laws affect the issuance of FLEGT License, Export Permit, Domestic Timber Inspection Certificate (DoTIC), along the chain of custody, she stated.

Under the project, NDF, with support from the EU and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), will build the capacity of 40 concession holders without processing mills to comply with Ghana’s timber legality definition.

The Organization will also develop the capacity of an additional 24 identified concession holders without processing mills to have knowledge and be able to comply with Health and Safety Standard requirements under the Ghana Legality Assurance system.

The project, a component of the EU FAO FLEGT Project, has the Forestry Commission (FC), the Forest Services Division (FSD), the Ghana Timber Association (GTA), the Forest Industries Association of Ghana (FIAG) as well as the Factory Inspectorate Division (FID), and the Labour Commission as partners