Civic Response

10/09/2026

When communities understand their forestry rights, they gain the power to protect their livelihoods, secure fair benefits, and act as guardians of forest resources, thereby driving environmental sustainability and upholding social justice for generations to come.

Through the Enhancing Social Responsibility Agreement (SRA) Implementation in Ghana’s Forestry Sector project funded by AFD - Agence Française de Développement, Civic Response has begun empowering community Social Responsibility Agreement (SRA) committees in Timber Utilisation Contract (TUC) areas in Ghana to carry out their duties effectively.

The training, which will span from July to November 2026, will equip almost 1,000 SRA committee members from at least 150 forest fringe communities across Ghana with the skills and knowledge to carry out their responsibilities effectively as community SRA Committees backed by forestry sector laws.

By law, communities living within a 5km radius of where logging is taking place are entitled to receive 5% of the stumpage fees paid to the Forestry Commission and others, as Social Responsibility Agreement. The funds are directed toward meeting communities' critical infrastructure needs.

Read details here
https://civicresponsegh.org/wp/forest-communities-trained-to-track-timber-royalties/



Rights & Advocacy Initiatives Network EcoCare Ghana Tropenbos Ghana Forest Watch Ghana European Union in Ghana AFD - Agence Française de Développement

02/09/2026

19/08/2026

In 2023, the European Union adopted the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), requiring companies importing commodities such as cocoa, coffee, palm oil, soy, cattle, rubber, and wood into the EU market to demonstrate that these products are not linked to deforestation. Gold, however, is not covered under the regulation.

Dr. Kojo Ahiakpa, an agribusiness expert, describes this as an imbalance with significant implications for cocoa-producing countries.

“Cocoa is being monitored for deforestation. Gold, which is contributing heavily to that same deforestation, is not facing similar checks,” he said.

The EUDR Meets Ghana's Cocoa RealityIn 2023, the European Union adopted the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), requiring companies importing

29/07/2026

Enhancing Social Responsibility Agreements (SRA) Implementation in Ghana

In June 2026, Civic Response embarked on a community entry exercise across five Forest Districts- Jasikan, Asankragua, Juaboso, Assin Fosu, and Cape Coast- reaching 28 forest-fringe communities under the AFD - Agence Française de Développement-funded project: Support for the Implementation of Social Responsibility Agreements (SRA) in Ghana’s forestry sector - Enhancing SRA Implementation in Ghana.

This initiative introduced the project to beneficiary communities while raising awareness on community rights, responsibilities, and the role of Social Responsibility Agreement (SRA) Committees in ensuring transparency and accountability.

It prepared communities for the upcoming training of almost 1000 SRA Committee members, documented local experiences and challenges such as weak enforcement of forestry laws, irregular SRA payments, inadequate compensation for damaged farms, and threats from illegal logging, and strengthened trust and collaboration between communities, Civic Response, and the Forestry Commission of Ghana.

Communities expressed optimism that this project will enhance accountability, improve benefit-sharing, and empower local voices in forest governance.

At Civic Response, we remain committed to ensuring that SRAs truly serve communities, protect forest resources, and advance Ghana’s FLEGT-VPA process and Legality Assurance System.

The project is being implemented in partnership with Rights & Advocacy Initiatives Network, Forestry Commission Ghana and Devnest Systems Limited

20/07/2026

Enhancing Social Responsibility Agreement (SRA) Implementation in Ghana: Civic Response trains 73 Forest Services Division staff to populate SRA Portal

Civic Response, with support from the AFD - Agence Française de Développement and in collaboration with the Forestry Commission Ghana, hosted a two-day training workshop for 73 Forest Services Division (FSD) District Managers and Assistant District Managers to populate and maintain the Social Responsibility Agreement (SRA) portal.

The training which took place in Kumasi last week, forms part of the Support for the implementation of Social Responsibility Agreements (SRA) in Ghana’s forestry sector - Enhancing SRA Implementation in Ghana project.

The training sessions focused on enhancing the implementation of Social Responsibility Agreements (SRAs) by equipping frontline managers with the skills to accurately populate and manage SRA data on the Ghana Wood Tracking and Decision Support System (GWT-DSS).

Key highlights include practical training on the SRA Portal for transparency and accountability and open forums addressing challenges in benefit-sharing and community engagement.

Participants expressed their commitments to strengthen collaboration with stakeholders for sustainable forest governance.

This initiative is a vital step toward ensuring forest-fringe communities benefit equitably from timber operations while reinforcing Ghana’s Legality Assurance System under the EU-FLEGT VPA.

Kudos to all participants for their dedication to transparency, accountability, and community development in Ghana’s forestry sector!




Rights & Advocacy Initiatives Network Devnest Systems Limited EcoCare Ghana

https://civicresponsegh.org/wp/73-forestry-commission-managers-schooled-on-sra-portal/

16/07/2026

Strengthening Forest Governance: EcoCare Ghana and Civic Response Empower Community Forest Monitors

EcoCare Ghana and Civic Response have trained 300 community members from forest fringe communities to serve as Community Forest Monitors, strengthening transparency, accountability, and citizen participation in forest governance.

The training, organised in Accra across six cohorts, forms part of the Holding Power Accountable in Forest Governance through Citizen Engagement (Akofena) Project, funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) through the Forest Governance, Markets and Climate (FGMC) Programme.

The workshop equipped 300 elected participants from 18 forest districts in the Ashanti, Central and Western regions with the skills to use the Ghana Natural Resource Monitoring Application (GhNRM) to monitor forest activities within Ghana’s Timber Utilisation Contract (TUC) areas.

The initiative responds to concerns raised during earlier community engagements, including illegal logging, limited transparency in timber harvesting and trading, inadequate benefit-sharing arrangements, and restricted access to information on Social Responsibility Agreements (SRAs).



EcoCare Ghana Civil Society Independent Forest Monitors Rights & Advocacy Initiatives Network Tropenbos Ghana Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office UK in Ghana Youth and Nature Development Organization

Strengthening Forest Governance: EcoCare Ghana and Civic Response Empower Community Forest Monitors Post author:Belinda Boator Post published:July 15, 2026 Post category:News EcoCare Ghana and Civic Response have trained 300 community members from forest fringe communities to serve as Community Fore...

30/06/2026

08/06/2026

Figures taken directly from the Social Responsibility Agreement (SRA) portal, which tracks amounts due to communities against what has actually been paid indicate that forest communities across Ghana received only GH¢4.8 million out of GH¢6.8 billion in Social Responsibility Agreement (SRA) payments due them between 2020 and 2025, with no explanation yet provided for the huge gap recorded on the country’s timber tracking portal.

This came to light during a recent inception workshop of the Support for the implementation of Social Responsibility Agreements (SRA) in Ghana’s forestry sector - Enhancing SRA Implementation in Ghana project.

The project is being implemented by Civic Response, in partnership with Rights and Advocacy Initiatives Network (RAIN) and the Forestry Commission of Ghana. And funded by AFD - Agence Française de Développement under the EU-FLEGT VPA programme.



Forestry Commission Ghana Rights & Advocacy Initiatives Network EcoCare Ghana Kasa Initiative Ghana Forest Watch Ghana A Rocha Ghana Nature & Development Foundation Friends of the Earth Ghana Wacam Youth and Nature Development Organization Tropenbos Ghana

Forest communities across Ghana received only GH¢4.8 million out of GH¢6.8 billion in Social Responsibility Agreement (SRA) payments due them between 2020 and 2025, with no explanation yet provided for the huge gap recorded on the country’s timber tracking portal, the Head of Programmes at Civic...

28/05/2026

Enhancing SRA enforcement in Ghana: Civic Response set to train Community SRA committees, Forest Services Division staff and selected timber companies.

Civic Response, in partnership with Rights and Advocacy Initiatives Network (RAIN) and the Forestry Commission of Ghana, is implementing the Support for the implementation of Social Responsibility Agreements (SRA) in Ghana’s forestry sector - Enhancing SRA Implementation in Ghana Project.

The project seeks to enhance the effective implementation, monitoring, and transparency of Social Responsibility Agreements (SRA) within Ghana’s forest sector in line with the requirements of the Ghana-EU Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade Voluntary Partnership Agreement (FLEGT-VPA) and the Ghana Legality Assurance System (GhLAS), and to improve the understanding, compliance, and transparency in the negotiation, ex*****on, and monitoring of SRAs.

Under the project, 280 Forestry Commission Regional and District Managers and 20 staff from 20 selected timber companies will be trained to comply with the policy, legal, and operational requirements for SRA implementation. One hundred and forty-two (142) Community SRA Committees will also receive training in transparency and accountability in the use of community funds.

The SRA platform was developed by Devnest Systems.

The project is funded by Agence Française de Développement (AFD) under the EU-FLEGT VPA programme.

Here are pictures from the inception workshop held last week to formally introduce the project to stakeholders.



Rights & Advocacy Initiatives Network Forestry Commission Ghana Forest Watch Ghana EcoCare Ghana Nature & Development Foundation Friends of the Earth Ghana AFD - Agence Française de Développement Devnest Systems Limited

26/05/2026

Is it time to review the Social Responsibility Agreement (SRA) percentage? Forest Fringe communities call for an increase in SRA percentage.

There are growing calls for the Forestry Commission (FC) of Ghana to increase the Social Responsibility Agreement paid to forest fringe communities from the current 5% to 20%.

This came to light during Civic Responses’ recent visits, in February and March 2026, to 62 selected forest-fringed communities across 12 forest districts in six (6) regions of Ghana. The regions are Western North, Western, Eastern, Ashanti, Bono and Ahafo.

The community engagements form part of the Akofena project- a UK Forest Governance, Markets and Climate (FGMC) Programme- which seeks to strengthen civil society participation, community engagement, and government accountability in Ghana and Liberia’s forest governance systems.

Interactions with community members during open forums revealed that a number of these communities are no longer satisfied with the 5% SRA they received. They lamented that the amount involved is too small to undertake community infrastructural development at a pace and scale they desire.

Legally, communities within a 5-kilometre radius of forests where logging is taking place are entitled to receive 5% of stumpage fees paid by timber companies to the FC as SRA. The SRA is to provide financial incentives to forest-fringed communities (whether settler communities or indigenes) to protect the forest resources around them.



EcoCare Ghana Rights & Advocacy Initiatives Network Nature & Development Foundation

There are growing calls for the Forestry Commission (FC) of Ghana to increase the Social Responsibility Agreement paid to forest fringe communities from the current 5% to 20%. This came to light during Civic Responses’ recent visits, in February and March 2026, to 62 selected forest-fringed commun...