# Planted Timber

## Definition

### No legally defined permit

Planted timber is not a naturally occurring resource. Therefore its ownership does not by default coincide with the ownership of the land they are planted on. Rather, a planter owns the trees it has planted, even if it was not on its own land.

Planted timber | Naturally occurring timber
Timber ownership ≠ land ownership | Timber ownership = land ownership | Timber ownership = land ownership

The Timber Resource Management Act clearly forbids the granting of timber rights in respect of land with private forest plantation or land with timber grown or owned by an individual or group of individuals.

As for public forest plantation located off-reserve, the legislation is silent. Therefore, no permit is legally defined for the harvesting of off-reserve planted timber.

Relevant pieces of domestic legislation:

- Timber Resources Management Act (Act 574), 1998 - as amended in 2002 (Act 617)
- Timber Resources Management Regulation (LI 1649), 1998
- Timber Resources Management Regulation (Amendment) (LI 1721), 2003

## Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA)

### Risky type of permit

The Voluntary Partnership Agreement negotiated between the European Union and Ghana defines what legally produced timber is. The definition sets out Ghana's legislation that must be complied with in order for timber products to be covered by FLEGT licenses. The definition limits legal sources of timber to TUCs, Salvage Permits and Certificates of Purchase.

The VPA mentions another type of permit: Plantation felling permits. However, these are not mentioned in Ghanaian legislation.

## European Timber Regulation (EUTR)

### No legally defined permit

Under the EUTR, operators have a due diligence obligation (Articles 4-6) to assess the risk of the timber and timber products they place on the EU market containing illegally harvested timber. Amongst other things, the due diligence obligation requires information/ documentation to prove that the felling permit is legally recognised by Ghanaian law.

Therefore, since no legal type of permit is contained in the law, off-reserve planted timber cannot be legally placed on the European market.