Over 5 million ‘Rosewood Trees’ exported illegally to China – Report

Over five million rosewood trees have been illegally exported from Ghana to China since 2012, a report by the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) has stated.

The EIA argues the practice has continued although a ban is currently in place to ensure the practice is put to an end.

Officials from the EIA have accused some corrupt government officials for forging documents that allow the wood to leave the country.

“A massive institutionalised timber trafficking scheme, enabled by high-level corruption and collusion is a major contributing factor,” they said.

Speaking exclusively to The Ghana Report, the Public Relations Officer of the Forestry Commission, Mrs. Joyce Kwafo Ofori said the Commission had been made aware of the report by EIA and had organised an emergency meeting to determine the next course of action.

 “We just finished a closed-door meeting and hopefully we will come out with our report before Friday, close of day,” she added.

Rosewood, a reare specie, takes about 100 years to grow. It is mostly used to make imperial-style furniture in China.

It is said to hold the potential to determine the arability of land in places where it is grown.

The felling and subsequent selling of Rosewood has been banned in the last few years across the West African sub-region but the practice remains a lucrative one for many in Ghana leading to many officials flouting the ban for material gains.