CHAINSAW MILLING IN GHANA: CONTExT, DRIVERS ... - Fornis.net

Chainsaw milling in Ghana: context, drivers and impactsSection 4 of the Timber Resource Management Act 547, 1997 defines lands that aresubject to timber rights:• Timber rights may be granted under a timber utilization contract (TUC) inrespect of a) lands previously subject to timber rights, which have expired andare suitable for reallocation; b) unallocated public or stool lands suitable fortimber operations in timber production areas; and c) alienation holdings.• No timber rights shall be granted in respect of a) land with forest plantations;b) land with timber grown or owned by any individual group; c) land subjectto alienation holding; or d) lands with farms without the authorisation inwriting of the individual, group or owner concerned.Act 547 also exempts certain lands as not requiring a TUC. This means that aperson does not need timber rights under a TUC before he or she can harvest timberfrom such lands. A TUC does not, however, give any rights whatsoever to use achainsaw to convert timber to lumber for sale, exchange or commercial purpose.3.2.3 Transporting chainsawn lumberThe legal position in Regulation 32 is supported by Regulation 24:• No timber shall be transferred or moved from any forest area unless there iscarried with it a timber conveyance certificate.• No conveyance certificate shall be issued for any lumber produced by chainsaw.• A timber conveyance certificate is issuable only by an officer of the ForestryDepartment not below the rank of a Senior Technical Officer and may only beissued on an application from the contractor.Although the law seems to allow CSM with a registered chainsaw for householdpurposes, it does not allow this lumber to be transported unless it is accompaniedby a conveyance certificate. To address the contradiction that the law completelyprohibits the transportation of chainsawn lumber, even for household use, someDistrict Managers of the Forestry Services have issued waybills to allow such lumberto be transported. The experts concluded that the issuance of any form of permitsby District Managers to transport chainsawn lumber must be prohibited. Instead, thelaw as it stands must be amended if it is not to restrict the use of chainsawn lumberto the locality where the lumber is found. If it does make this restriction, then it mustalso determine the meaning and extent of “locality.”3.3 Chainsaw milling operations3.3.1 Access to treesThe production of chainsawn lumber is carried out at stump sites. Various strategiesare used to obtain trees to be milled. Among 50 chainsaw operators interviewedfrom eight forest districts, 86% said they scouted for trees on their own, 34% saidthey used community members to spot trees and 88% said they were sometimes14