Ghana to Host World Teak Confab in 2020

By Seth Adunagye

A 13-member Local Organising Committee (LOC) for the 4th World Teak Conference to be hosted by Ghana from August 24-27, 2020, has been inaugurated in Accra.

The conference, which is the first of its kind in Africa, brings together stakeholders from the teak industry to deliberate on issues affecting the industry, and the way forward.

Teak is a tropical hardwood tree used for furniture and boat decks.

The conference is being jointly organised by the International Network on Teak (TEAKNET), and the Forestry Commission (FC) of Ghana.

The themed: 'Global teak market challenges and opportunities for emerging market and developing economies', is expected to be attended by about 300 participants across the world.

Mr Kwadwo Owusu Afryie, Chief Executive of the Commission, inaugurating the committee, chaired by his deputy, Mr John Allotey, on Thursday at the FC office in Achimota, said the committee has been put together to ensure a successful planning and oganisation of the conference.

The members of the committee are Mr Hugh Brown, Mrs Valarie Fummey Nassah, Mike Asaam, Mrs Joyce Kwafo, Dr Beatrice Darko-Obiri, Nana Yaw Barima, Mr Willem Fourie, Mr Andrew Agyei-Yeboah, Prof. Dan Ofori, Mr Samuel Kwasi Asante, Mrs Mercy Owusu-Ansah and Mr Joseph Osi Akwan.

TEAKNET is an International Network on Teak established by Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations in 1995, which has the mandate to support the conservation and sustainable management of teak resources, international marketability of teak products and its effective utilisation.

He said the first three of the world conferences on teak were held in Thailand, Costa Rica, and Ecuador respectively since 2011.

Mr Afriyie indicated that, the TEAKNET steering committee and its organisations the FAO, International Tropical Timber Organisation (ITTO) and International Union of Forest Research Organisation (IUFRO) selected Ghana to host the 2020 conference.

He said the reason for selecting Ghana was that Ghana was one of the major teak growing countries in Africa, and 70 per cent of timber species are teak, adding that beyond Asia, Ghana has the highest area of planted teak.

Mr Afriyie entreated the LOC to develop a detailed strategy and an implementation plan to ensure that the conference become the best so far, and to see to it that the Ghanaian culture and the excellent technical expertise of the FC was brought to bear on the conference, since this was the first time it was being organised in Africa, and for that matter in Ghana.

Mr John Allotey, on behalf of the committee, assured that they would do everything possible to ensure a successful conference with the calibre of members who have been put together.

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