# Commercial Exploitation

## Definition

Off-reserve, naturally occurring trees can be commercially exploited under Timber Utilisation Contracts (TUCs).

- TUCs are written contracts signed by the Minister responsible for land and natural resources upon recommendation by the Forestry Commission and must be ratified by the Parliament.
- TUCs grant a timber harvesting right acquired upon a two stage competitive bidding.

## Requirements for TUCs under domestic law

### Legal type of permit if...

Under Ghanaian law, a person cannot harvest timber from naturally occurring trees unless that person holds timber rights in the form of a Timber Utilisation Contract - Timber Resources Management Act (TRMA) of 1998 (Act 547), as amended in 2002 (Act 617) (Section 1).

TUCs cannot exceed a 40 years period of time (Section 6 A (1)) Section 4 of the TRMA further provides for which type of lands timber rights can or cannot be granted.

Types of land
Land previously subject to timber rights which have expired and are suitable for re-allocation; Unallocated public or stool lands suitable for timber operations in timber production areas; Alienation holdings; | Land subject to alienation holding; Land with farms; | Land with private forest plantation; Land with any timber grown or owned by any individual or group of individuals;
Timber rights are granted in the form of TUCs. | Timber rights are granted in the form of TUCs with the written authorisation of the individual, group or owners concerned. | No timber rights can be granted.

Relevant pieces of domestic legislation:

- Timber Resources Management Act (Act 547), 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)

### Legal type of permit if...

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.

Accordingly, a product containing wood sourced from Ghana can be licensed for sale within Ghana and for export from Ghana in cases where the logger at the time of felling held a valid TUC issued by the Minister for Lands Forests and Mines and ratified by the Parliament following the prescribed competitive process.

It should be noted that in addition to confirming the legality of the type of permit, other elements are required in order to issue FLEGT licenses. All the components of legality mentioned in the VPA have to be complied with (that includes principles relating to the source of timber, timber rights allocation, timber harvesting operations, transportation, processing, trade and fiscal obligations).

## European Timber Regulation (EUTR)

### Legal type of permit if...

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, operators in the EU must confirm the legality of the TUC under which the timber was logged as part of the risk assessment they are conducting. They should consider whether the permit was obtained correctly and its terms were properly respected.