1. Sourcing Now:
Wood supply sources and
management for handcrafts
Presented by
Gustav Adu , Wood Specialist
USAID West Africa Trade Hub
November 1, 2010 – Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

2. Legal and Sustainable
• Legal: This simply means that the wood was
harvested according to the laws of the origin
country.
• Sustainable: This implies that the wood is
harvested at a rate that allows for re‐growth
of the forest.

3. Characteristics of the Handcraft
Industry
• Decentralized Value Chain
‐ Most handicrafts are not exported by the actual
producers, but rather by consolidators.
‐ Products change hands various times before they reach
their final destination
‐ Exporters must rely on producers to obtain the
necessary documentation to show the origin of the
materials

4. Supply Chain: Each phase often means transfer
of ownership
Procurement of
Raw Materials Production
Packaging and
ConsolidationExport

5. Supply Chain: Documents showing the legal origin of
wood must also transfer ownership
Document that shows
the origin of the wood

6. Legality Assurance System (LAS) and
Wood Tracking System (WTS)
• Mechanisms that track wood supply for export
and ensure that it is legally procured.
– WOOD EXPORTS FROM COUNTRIES THAT SIGN VPAs WILL
SOON BE REGULATED BY THESE SYSTEMS.

7. How to obtain legal wood:
Step by Step : Step 1
• Identify a geographic area where the wood can be
found. May be from a natural forest, plantation, farm
or imported from another country.

8. Step 2
• Develop an agreement with the landowner, if
possible in writing. Obtain import documents
if imported. Ask questions and be convinced
that the wood was legally harvested,
processed, sold and transported.

9. Step 3
• Apply to the forestry authority for a permit to
cut the trees.
• Obtain import
license and
documentations.

10. Step 4
Forestry authority
must do an inspection,
measurement and
count of the desired
species of trees in the
forest area. They then
give a yield and mark
the specific trees that
are allowed to be cut.

11. Step 5
• The period to cut and remove the
trees/products is specified (about 3 weeks).

12. Step 6
Pay the
stumpage fee
required by the
Forestry
Authority.
Pay taxes and
charges on
imported
material

13. Step 7
• The forestry authority inspects the site to
ensure that only specific trees permitted were
cut.

14. Step 8
• Forestry authority issues
a conveyance document
(e.g.Log Measurement
and Conveyance
Certificate (LMCC) in
Ghana).
• District Authority, Port
Authority, etc. issue
waybill to transport
items

15. Log Measurement and Conveyance
Certificate (LMCC)
• In Ghana, this document shows the origin of the wood and
proves that the wood was extracted with permission from the
Forestry Authority. This document should accompany the
materials as they change hands.
LMCC

16. Record Keeping
• Raw Materials to Product ratios must be recorded in
order to prove legality. If a document shows that a
wood shipment is “legal”, then after the wood is
transformed into product one must be able to show
that the “legal” material is now a “legal” product.

17. WOOD TRACKING ‐ Handicraft
Contractor
/Company
Name
Address
Phone
E‐mail
Product
Sector
Handicraft Product Code HD……… Harvest District Jasikan Forest District
(JFD), Volta Region,
Ghana
Importer Name,
Address & Import
License
………………………………
………………………………
………………
Country of origin …………………………
Wood
Location:
(Natural
forest,
plantation’
Opanyin Attah
Cocoa Farm,
Kaboso (KB)
Species‐ Common
Name:
Scientific Name:
Tweneboa
Cordia platythyrsa
Harvest Date:
Transport Date:
Conveyance Number
Milling Date (Sawmill)
11/10/2009
………………
………………..
………………….
Tree number or
Lumber/Scrap
Wood Supply
Detail (Way bill,
Receipt…)
Volume
m3
Number of pieces,
Billets/Shells
Pieces/Billet /shell Code Total trees: 4
Total billets: 17
HD‐JFD –KB– 1 2 4 JFD‐KB1‐1, JFD‐KB1‐2, JFD‐KB1‐3, JFD‐
KB1‐4
HD‐JFD‐KB – 2 4 6 JFD‐KB2‐1, JFD‐KB2‐2, JFD‐KB2‐3, JFD‐
KB2 4 JFD KB2 5 JFD KB2 6

18. Production Record
Company
Name
Address
Phone #
E‐mail
Lumber/Scrap
Wood/Billet/Sh
ell Code
Transformed
Into
Dimensions Quantity Production
Date
JFD‐KB1‐1 Djembe drum 24”x 9” 1 ……………..
JFD‐KB1‐2 Mini Djembe
drum
10”x 5” 2 ……………….
JFD‐KB1‐3, Ashanti Mask 20”x 17” 1 ……………….
JFD‐KB1‐4 Oware Game 10”x 4” 4 …………………
*With some form of record keeping, one can show which billet
and which tree each product came from. This will make tracing
the origin of the wood in the product easier!

19. Principles of Legality
Principle 1 Source of Timber: The source of the timber is from
prescribed source and the land owner(s) have given
their written consent for the timber being taken from
their land
Criteria ‐An inventory of the tress
is conducted
‐ Land owner, individual
or group written consent
‐F
tr
‐
n
o
orestry Officer inspects
ees
Land area identified,
egotiation with land
wner/farmer…MAY NOT
BE IN WRITING
Principle 2 Timber Rights Allocation: Contractor issued a
prescribed permit by Forestry Authority
Criteria Felling permit duly issued ‐ Contractor issued a
written permit by District
Forestry Manager with
details of operations

20. Principle 3 Contractor complied with forest operation procedures
and standards specified by statute
Criteria ‐ Enumeration of trees
‐ Harvesting requirements
followed and in areas designated
‐Records and reporting
procedures followed
‐Species, numbers, volumes
authorized harvested
‐Complied with forest operations
procedures and standards; logs
and stump numbered
‐Farmers compensated for
damaged crops
‐Cut on instruction of District
Forest Manager
‐ Pre and post felling inspection
undertaken
‐Post felling inspection by Forestry
Officer to check harvest yield
compliance
CONTRACTOR TO KEEP COPY OF
REPORT
‐Log and stumps must be
numbered at all times
Principle 4 Transportation: Timber was at all times transported in
accordance with standards prescribed
Criteria ‐Document detailing origin of
timber and physical identification
‐Timber transported within
specified periods
‐ Conveyance permit or Import
permit issued, with explicit
identification
‐ Transport waybill issued by
District Assembly or Authority
‐ Timber often removed within
specified periods

21. Principle 5 Processing
Criteria ‐Processing facilities registered and
have valid licenses
‐ Industrial relation practices
conform to legal standards
‐ Processing records to trace
timber and products
‐May not be in all cases
‐Health and Safety and
environment not often kept clean
‐ Very limited record keeping
Principle 6 Trade: All vendors/exporters have valid licenses or
permits to market timber products
Criteria Exporters have valid
permits
Domestic vendors have
permits
‐GEPC/TIDD/MOTI/CEPS ?(in
Ghana)
‐FC/DMA? (in Ghana)

22. Principle 7 Fiscal Obligation: Neither the contractor, processor,
exporter was at the time of sale or export in default of
fees, rents, taxes
Criteria ‐Default of stumpage ,
compensation, District fees
‐Default of export/trade
fees/levies/renewal fees
‐Default of
corporate/income tax
‐Often paid before
removing timber
‐ May not be consistent
with payment
‐ May not be consistent
with payment

23. Preference for wood – Known Source
1. Plantation wood (Teak, Cedrela, Gmelina, Mango, Neem <Azadirachta
indica>, etc.)
2. Salvage or Scrap wood (abandoned wood, sawmill waste, recycled
wood, etc.)
3. Wood not threatened, not endangered, not from High Conservation
Value Forest, not restricted. Look for lesser used wood species
4. Restricted wood (with permit)
5. CITES Appendix II or III listed (with permit)

24. Accompanying Documentation‐ If
required
• Certification license (FSC, PEFC, etc.,)
• FLEGT or VPA license
• Statement confirming legal origin of raw
material

25. Conclusions
• We have offered an illustration of the wood
supply for handcraft production which can be
used as a basis for developing a tracking
system.

26. Thank You
For more information
www.watradehub.com
gadu@watradehub.com
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