Making Knowledge Work for Forests and People

K.S. NketiahTropenbos International Ghana

Promoting good governance through participation and

consensus building

Outline

Forestry situation in Ghana Forestry sector governance challengesThe domestic market situation in GhanaThe VPA in GhanaThe MSD Process

How and why it has been set upAchievements so farNext Steps

Challenges aheadLessons learnt from MSD Process

Forests in Ghana

Located on the West Coast of AfricaTotal land area of 238,537 km2

34% of land area ‘forests’20% of forest area gazetted as forest reserves Population: 24 millionEstimated rate of deforestation: 3%

Current Forest Condition

Less than 2% of the current system of 216 HFZ forest reserves have escaped human disturbance

Excellent2% Good to OK 14%

Partly de-

graded 35%

Mostly de-

graded 20%

Very bad, 15%

No for-est, 14%

Forestry sector governance challenges

Formal timber sector concentrates on exportsProblematic domestic timber sub-sectorSporadic enforcement of ban on chainsaw millingPrevalence of conflictPoor general governance regimeEventual collapse of the forestry sector

The domestic market situation in Ghana

High incidence of illegal CSM; supplying over 84% of local lumber with an estimated volume of 497,000m³ (equiv. to 2.5 million m³ of harvest)Direct employment (about 97,000 people) and indirect livelihood opportunities (over 650,000 people)Loss of revenue to the state - about €13 million stumpage revenue annually, useful man hours by Forestry Commission & law enforcement agencies High level of conflict associated with illegal CSM Strong support of local communities for illegal CSM

The Ghana VPA

Decision of Ghana to include the domestic marketFinal ratification took place in November, 2009Progress of implementation so far

Potential impacts of strict enforcement with VPA

Increasing conflictDecrease in timber supply to the domestic marketLoss of jobs and loss of livelihood supportCollapse of forest-based enterprises e.g. carpentry shops, wood villages/markets and charcoal productionIncrease in poverty levels especially in rural areas

Benefits of VPA process

The VPA has really put the spotlight on domestic timber market issues. VPA is also a driver of change. The VPA has brought the precarious state of the timber resources into sharp focus.Up-scaled the space for multi-stakeholder participation in policy processes

Potential impacts of the VPA incl. policy reforms

The VPA offers an opportunity to address governance issues in a comprehensive way

Addressing the domestic marketFiscal disciplineFPICetc

However, the VPA by itself cannot ensure SFM

The MSD and good governance

MSD is a good way to address complex issues with a range of competing claims and expectationsIt helps bridge differences in perceptions of diverse stakeholdersIt helps consensus buildingThe role of MSD in the VPA process Status of MSD vis-a-vis the VPAHow outcomes influence VPA decisions

Objectives of MSD as per TBI Gh.

The MSD Platform was established toprovide a mechanism for stakeholders to interact, participate in and influence national policy processes and outcomesexamine issues based on information in a structured dialogue that mitigates existing levels of conflict between stakeholdersprovide a more effective pathway for sharing perspectives of issues and solutions of CSMdiscuss alternatives to illegal CSM

Establishing the MSD• 10 project district meetings held

• About 60 community meetings conducted

• 22 stakeholders categorised into 5 stakeholder groupings

• Capacity for Facilitation

• Capacity for MSD

participants• Monitoring and

evaluation

• Nomination of MSD-SC

• Modalities and set up of MSD

• Criteria for selection of MSD stakeholder

Community and

institutional Sensitization

Stakeholder Analysis

Capacity Building

Focus Group Discussions

and Preparatory

Meetings

The Multi-stakeholder Dialogue

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Prep. activities:

Stakeholder analysis Sensitisation meetings Focus group meetings District meetings Prep. MSD meeting

MSD National

District

Community

Technical Sub-

committee

Consensus Action Plan:

Policy & Practice

MSD management

team

Stakeholder capacity building

Communicating the outcomes of the MSD process nationally and

internationally Information

through (action) research

Feedback to stakeholder

constituencies

Process

Managed by an MSD Steering Committee representing stakeholder groups national

district

community

Building Linkages

MSD

VPA

ProcessNFF

TIDD-

Domestic

Market

Actions from MSD

national

district

community

Alternative livelihoods Policy reform

Transition to artisanal milling

Achievements: Policy options

Three policy options based on a case study, the regional meeting and the technical committee discussions:

a.Sawmills alone to supply the local market with legal timber

b.Sawmills and artisanal millers to supply the local with legal timber

c. Artisanal millers alone to supply the local market with legal timber

Other achievements and further actions

Necessary conditions/implications of each option analysed and discussed by the MSDOption 2 has been agreed upon by 'consensus‘ and jointly with the TIDD processA cost-benefit analysis carried out to further inform stakeholders of implications of certain choicesPolicy for supplying legal lumber to domestic market as well as public procurement policy now in placeElaboration of actions for operationalising the policy strategies in progress

Success factors for the MSD

True representation of stakeholdersInformation (about the problems, drivers, impacts and alternatives etc.): understanding the intensity of the problem.All-inclusive stakeholder participation. Good facilitation skills (capacity) Capacity of stakeholders to participate effectively in the dialogue. Scope for institutional embedding and linkagesAdoption of adaptive management principles

Success factors cont’d

Strong feedback mechanism

The alignment with the VPA implementation processes and the active participation of the FC in the project gives the process a lot of leverage in Ghana.

Support by the EU

Challenges in MSD

How to deal with vested interests and unwilling elements Getting on-board powerful stakeholders whose interests may be affected Securing a win-win situation for all stakeholdersSecuring the necessary political willDynamics of national politicsPower imbalances between stakeholdersKeeping pace with national processes

Lessons learnt

A successful dialogue depends on trust Equitable participation demands time, resources and good facilitation skillsThe design of the MSD process takes time

ensuring fair representation of stakeholderssufficient feedback mechanisms opportunities for the “voiceless” to contribute to the discussion

Collaboration with other forest policy development initiatives is necessary for impact

Concluding Remarks

Significance of what has happened Is the Ghana experience unique or transplantable?Any lessons for other countries (esp. DRC) from this experience?

THANKS FOR YOUR ATTENTION