Adequate local capacity to participate in the design and implementation of contemporary sustainability tools has been one of the threats to sustainability practices. We have been active in capacity building. We do this by building and harnessing local capacities and technology with international collaboration to support our objectives from policy to the field.
Mentoring of FSC and FLEGT legal Timber Lead Auditors
Through classroom and on the jobs field mentoring activities, Resourcetrust in collaboration with the Proforest Initiative has trained over fifty (50) FSC and FLEGT Legal Timber Lead auditors. These are nowy qualified Lead Auditors contributing to verification and audit services, supporting FLEGT verification as observers with the Timber Validation Department of the Forestry Commission.
Training of High Conservation Value (HCV) Lead Assessors
Resourcetrust Network is a training organization for the HCV Resource Network (HCVRN) Assessor Licensing Scheme (ALS). Resourcetrust in collaboration with the Proforest Initiative trained Fifteen (15) Lead HCV Assessors in Freetown, Sierra Leone in October 2016.
Trained Ten (10) Lead Assessors in Accra Ghana in January 2017 and Six (6) Lead Assessors in Yaoundé, Cameroon in June 2017. These individuals are bringing to bear the knowledge in the application of the HCV assessment tool in their organisations and professional lives.
Impact of COVID 19 on the informal Timber Sector
Resourcetrust have just finished a research and written a report on early assessment of the impact of COVID-19 on the informal timber sector in Ghana. This is yet to be published.
Supporting National Level Data collection
Currently, Resourcetrust in collaboration with Civic Response is implementing a FAO -EU FLEGT project titled “Collecting data to feed Ghana’s VPA implementation impact monitoring”. Resourcetrust is responsible for collecting the livelihoods baseline indicators in the forest fringe communities in five (5) Forest Window Districts in Ghana.
That is:
• L2 (income levels in forest fringe communities in forest window districts)
• L8 (Number of registered employees in the formal timber industry in window forest districts)
• L10 (Average price of timber in local markets in selected window districts) and
• The Forest Condition impact area covering the ratio of volume of legal timber to volume of illegal timber (including confiscated timber as “illegal removals from the formal timber sector),
The project is being actively supported by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS)
FAO PROJECT INCEPTION WORKSHOP
Most of the deforestation and other natural ecosystems conversion risk commodities (Cocoa, Oil Palm, Rubber, soy, cashew among others) are produced largely by smallholders living below the poverty line with inadequate sustainable production capacities.
Since 2018 have been supporting smallholder rubber farmers in Western Region of Ghana to implement best management practices in their rubber plantations under a funding support from the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) We have been actively participating in global sustainability initiatives, platforms and programmes to bring the smallholder production context to bear on policies, standards development and development decisions.
Resourcetrust Workshop on Participation, Collaboration and Contribution (PCC) workshop at Agona Nkwanta, Western Region of Ghana
Farmers more relevant in agricultural productionResourcetrust Network actively participate in global sustainability initiatives, platforms and programmes to support the design and implementation of tools which support companies make commitments, implement, measure, and credibly communicate the results of their sustainability and supply chain efforts.
Since 2017, Resourcetrust Network has served as a steering group member of the Accountability Framework Initiative (AFi)read more providing contextual and technical inputs into the design of the framework and related tools. Resourcetrust was key in the development of the AFi smallholder operationalguidance document. Resourcetrust has since worked with Proforest and the AFi backbone team at rainforest alliance to to consult with stakeholders on the framework in the west Africa subregion. It has since the launch of the framework in June 2019, being working with Proforest to support company uptake of the framework and learning. Resourcetrust has been testing the use of the assessment tools developed by the framework on the ground as part of the learning process of the use and framework and development of supporting tools.
Resourcetrust is a member of the Global Platform for Sustainable Natural Rubber (GPSNR) Read more . It has since 2018 been working at the various working groups of the platform including the smallholder inclusion working group to bring local context of smallholder rubber producers in Ghana and the west Africa subregion into the development of the requirements of the platform. Resourcetrust has been working with smallholder rubber producers in the implementation of Best Management Practices (BMPs) as a way of putting smallholders in Ghana in a better position to be part of the global sustainable natural rubber supply chain.