Monrovia – The NGO Coalition of Liberia (NCL) is calling on the Liberian government to investigate allegations of illegal logging and consistent non-compliance to the social agreement by Delta Timber Company in Sinoe County.
At a press conference over the weekend, Richard Hoff, II, National Facilitator, NCL said that in May 2016, the Numopoh Community in Sinoe, through its Community Forest Management Body (CFMB), entered into a Community Forest Management Contract (FMC) with Delta Timber Company (DTC) through the Forestry Development Authority (FDA) for the sustainable management and use of its forest resources in line with the forestry laws of Liberia.
“Since 2017, Volunteer to Support International Efforts in Developing Africa (VOSIEDA), a member of the Coalition, has received multiple complaints of violations ranging from illegal logging (logging outside contract area), noncompliance to contract agreement and bad labor practices.
“Sadly, the company continues to harvest logs despite persistent opposition from residents of the community,” Hoff said.
According to him, the latest attempt to harvest logs on Monday, January 21, 2019, was “seriously resisted by residents of the community, who have vowed not to allow Delta Timber Company to harvest any timber from the community forest.”
He disclosed that the community has further threatened legal action against DTC for the level of damage it has allegedly caused them.
“Up to date, there is no evidence of the company implementing a single section of the social agreement and other royalties, which states, among others, the company shall build clinic, provides scholarship, hires community members, and pays land rental and cubic meter fees,” he further stated.
Hoff indicated that that Numopoh had informed the FDA through a written communication on these violations, but the FDA is yet to act even though it has been contacted on the matter since June of 2018.
He urged the government to call the timber company to halt all logging activities in the community until the concerns are addressed.
“The NGO Coalition of Liberia and its members implore the Government of Liberia to remain committed and ensure accountability and transparency within the forestry sector, which brings immense benefits and immeasurable impact to communities as assessed so far.”
According to him, VOSIEDA wrote the FDA in June 18, 2018 prior to the National Multi-stakeholders Monitoring Committee (NMSMC) meeting held in June.
“The FDA held meeting with VOSIEDA on September 11, 2018 to discuss the issue and agreed it would invite the company and the community to discuss the matter. However, neither VOSIEDA nor the NGO Coalition has a record of the FDA response. VOSIEDA’s ‘request to respond’ letter sent to the FDA, and persistent follow-ups did not yield a formal response in order to ensure the FDA’s reaction addresses the issues raised in the communication of VOSIEDA on the Numopoh issue.” The NCL Facilitator also spoke of on-going reform efforts in the forestry sector by local and international institutions. These reform initiatives, according to him, are against the background of continuous efforts by both international partners and NGOs to protect the country’s forest from destruction.
