Ghana "illegally exports rosewood to China"

About six million rosewood trees have been slaughtered in Ghana for illegal export to China since 2012, said an environmental group.

This rare species, which takes 100 years to develop, is mainly used for the manufacture of imperial style furniture in China.

The report blames the corrupt Ghanaian authorities for falsifying documents authorizing timber to leave the country.

The Ghanaian Ministry of Information has not yet responded to the BBC's request for comment.

The Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) said in a report that the illegal trade and felling of rosewood trees is continuing despite the ban that has been in place since 2012 and has since been strengthened.

Ghana and other West African countries are falling victim to the insatiable and uncontrolled demand for rosewood from China, EIA said.

"Since 2012, more than 540,000 tonnes of rosewood – the equivalent of 23,478 twenty-foot containers or about six million trees – have been illegally harvested and imported from Ghana into China while bans Harvesting and trade were in effect, "the group added.

Investigations revealed "an institutionalized system of mbadive timber traffic, facilitated by high-level corruption and collusion," the bureau added.

The campaign group also said logging contributed to the desertification crisis in Ghana.

He called for suspending the rosewood trade in the West African region and for China to comply with international agreements on endangered species.

Rosewood is supposed to be protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), but the EIA says that this protection is not enough .

In May, Gabon sacked its Vice President and Minister of Forests after the disappearance of 300 kevazingo containers, also known as African rosewood.