Transparency is a key pillar of Ghana’s Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade (FLEGT) implementation. Plantations, with their potential to produce large amounts of timber in a much smaller space, implemented by both government and private institutions have become necessary if the requirements of legality and sustainable forest management in the medium to the long term can be achieved in countries such as Ghana.

This study looks at how monies collected into two funds that have been set aside for establishing plantations in Ghana are collected, distributed and used. The funds are the Timber Industry Fund (TIF), set up in 2008 and the Forest Plantation Development Fund (FPDF) which was set up in 2000.

The report discloses that while management of the Timber Industry Fund appears to be transparent, information on the Forest Plantation Development Fund has been lacking since its establishment. The report among others recommend the enactment of clear regulations to back the development of plantations.