Ghana has become the first African country to win fast-lane access to European Union markets for its timber. A trading license negotiated with the European Commission over 16 years means all logging in the West African country is now recognized as being untainted by illegality, and is carried out with the consent of nearby forest communities, who are compensated in cash or in kind. Armed with the license, traders can sell Ghanaian timber into Europe without further checks on its legality, a landmark that will be recognized by a gathering of Ghanaian and European politicians, timber industry officials and others on Nov. 4 in Brussels. The Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) license — among a series of measures introduced by the EU more than 20 years ago to tackle the root c

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