A Rocha Ghana and its CSO partners, Organisation for Indigenous Initiatives and Sustainability - ORGIIS.Ghana, Community Partners for Development-Ghana (COMPAD-Gh) and The Resource Foundation Ghana, with support from the U.S. Forest Service, have launched a new project called "𝙏𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙖𝙧𝙮 𝙈𝙤𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙛 𝙏𝙞𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧 𝙏𝙧𝙖𝙛𝙛𝙞𝙘𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙣 𝙂𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙖" to combat illegal logging and timber trafficking in the country.

The project aims to establish a reliable third-party monitoring system that enables Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and communities to play a role in combating the issues associated with illegal logging and timber trafficking in Ghana. Here are the key points of the initiative:

Strong partnerships will be forged with local stakeholders, including community members, environmental groups, and law enforcement agencies.

Training sessions will empower CSOs and community members to monitor and document instances of timber trafficking effectively.
Advanced technologies like the Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool (SMART) application, utilizing satellite imagery and GPS tracking, will enhance monitoring accuracy and efficiency.

The use of tools such as the Xylorix pocket wood app and Xylorix Inspector for wood identification will address challenges related to wrong identification of wood within the timber value chain.

The initiative, is also collaborating with the Timber Industry Development Division (TIDD) of the Forestry Commission Ghana and the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) to achieve its objectives.