Duarzon, Margibi – Thirty-two communities involved in forestry agreements with the Forestry Development Authority (FDA) have held a two-day workshop with the Sustainable Development Institute (SDI) on achievements and challenges developing and implementing community forest management plans and third party commercial use contract (CUC) template. The CUC template, when finalized and adopted, will govern commercial operations in community forests in Liberia in order to ensure rural communities benefit from their forest resources. Key partners that collaborated with the SDI to deliver the workshop content included the Forestry Development Authority Department of Community Forestry, Partners in Development and Heritage Partners and Associates.
All 32 Community Forest Agreements (CFMAs) make up a combined 576,937 hectares that have been approved by the FDA, including seven in January, right before the inauguration of President George M. Weah. More than 100 applications are being processed, targeting more than one million hectares of forestland.
As a civil society organization working in the forest sector of Liberia the SDI asserts that it is “a call to action” to genuinely assist these community forests representatives to become effective and efficient managers, contributing to sound management of Liberia’s forest resources to benefit present and future generations.
With funding support from its partner Global Witness, SDI facilitated the engagement with the National Union of CFMBs (NUCFMB) in order to enhance the capacities of members as an ongoing effort by the institution, following the formation of the NUCFMB in 2016. Community Forest Management Bodies (CFMBs) are bodies that represent the interest of communities of Authorized Community Forests issued by the FDA.
“An area in which the need to assist community forests managers has become more critical is the development and implementation of community forest management plans (CFMP),” said SDI’s Jonathan Yiah at the start of the event on Wednesday at the headquarters of the SDI in Duarzon, Margibi County. A USAID project with the FDA developed a guide to assist communities in the nine-step application process prior to acquiring a CFMA. The USAID project also developed a template for preparing a community forest management plan. However, Mr. Yiah said the FDA has not fully adopted the management plan template developed by USAID and the template does not adequately capture all the activities the communities can pursue.
A consultant under the Norway-Liberia US$150 million partnership has been hired to develop a guideline that is user-friendly and maintains the legal and technical requirements for a forest management plan, Yiah added.
The law that gives communities the right to benefit from their forest resources is called the Community Rights Law of 2009 with respect to Forest Lands Resources. It was part of the forestry reform process of Liberia’ to improve governance and enhance local community participation.
“We are glad that our community has this status,” said Kennedy F. Kaiuway of Gheegbarn Two in Grand Bassa County. “Our participation here means our opinions will form part of the framework that will produce guidelines to govern the forestry sector. We are all here for our common benefit.
“Before communities in Liberia did not feel the trickle-down effect of forestry agreements, because there was little transparency. Politicians in Monrovia entered into agreements with companies without communities’ participation. Now we are a part of every step. We are glad this is happening.”
“We see this gathering as a means of enhancing the development of the guidelines that will be beneficial to the communities that will use the community forest management plan,” said Gertrude Nyaley, Technical Director of the Community Forestry Department of the FDA.
Madam Nyaley revealed that there were 27 more applications by communities for forestry management agreements to add to the 100 plus applications but added that there were a lot to be done before they are processed. “For example, some of those areas that are being applied for fall within proposed protected areas and some in areas that already have concessions. You do not expect the FDA to grant concession in a concession.”
A representative of Global Witness, David Young, urged participants to reflect on the importance of the forest to present and past generation and not allow it to be depleted.
“We want to give you the opportunity to think about Liberia’s forest in its entirety. Not just thinking of it as a source of commercial timber which will go to my country and not yours, Mr. Young said. “We want to see communities really owning, really controlling their resources. We are still worried that there is still a lot of work to be done.”