Ghana, EU clinch deal to crackdown on illicit timber trade

0 Comments | AFP, September, 2008

LAGOS (AFP) — The European Union on Wednesday inked a landmark deal with Ghana to fight illegal timber exports from the west African country, the EU said.

The agreement signed in the Ghanaian capital Accra, on the sidelines of an international forum on the effectiveness of aid, would stop timber illegally logged in Ghana from entering the European Union market.

Around 60 percent of logging across Ghana in recent years has been illegal, according to the World Bank.

"Illegal logging has been responsible for rampant deforestation in the west African nation," said the EU.

The deal is the first of a series the EU is planning with various African countries, among them Cameroon, Gabon and Liberia.

Ghana has undertaken to ensure that all timber...