Togo is progressing towards new regulations in the forestry sector. Recently, stakeholders convened in Lomé from April 24 to 25, 2025, to approve the revised draft of the forestry code. This initiative, spearheaded by the Ministry of Environment and Forest Resources (MERF), seeks to align national regulations with international standards for sustainable management and the obligations of multilateral agreements to which Togo is committed.
This reform is part of the government’s 2020-2025 roadmap, specifically under ‘reform 6’, which focuses on modernizing environmental legislation. Following the discussions, 140 articles were revised, 13 were removed, and 33 new articles were introduced, resulting in a total of 173 articles in the forthcoming text, compared to 160 in the previous 2008 law. ‘This is about adapting our legislative framework to the new paradigms of environmental preservation and sustainable development,’ stated Col. Koffi Dimizou, Secretary General of MERF, during the opening of the proceedings. The validated document will be sent to the General Secretariat of the Government for the next phase of the legislative process, leading to its final approval by the National Assembly.
Ultimately, this reform aims to enhance national forest governance, improve ecosystem protection, and support the country’s climate goals. It is also noteworthy that just weeks prior, the National Assembly had passed a new law addressing climate change.
