Residents of Kpayarquelleh community in Salayea District, Lofa County have benefited a new maternity annex to the Kpayarquelleh community clinic.
This is a result of funds received from the Alpha Logging operations in their communities.
Liberia has two of the most progressive forestry laws in sub-Sahara Africa. The 2006 National Forestry Reform Law and the 2009 Community Rights Law provide clear provisions for communities to participate in the governance of sustainable forest management and to directly benefit from the logging revenues generated. Communities affected by Forest Management Contract (FMCs) receive two streams of revenues including 30% Land Rental Fees and a minimum of one dollar per cubic meter of logs harvested annually. These benefits to the community are derived from its Social Agreement with the Alpha Logging in Forest Management Contract (FMC) “A”, logging company.
Ten towns comprising the affected communities that are part of FMC “A” that lies in Lofa County agreed to run a medical clinic with medical staff, a dispensary and a delivery unit. The annual running costs are US$13,620.
The investment in the clinic and the construction of a midwifery annex has reduced the risk of maternal mortality, thereby also contributing to the country’s development.
It has also provided jobs. Kpayarquelleh is centrally located in the district allowing for residents, including pregnant women, from adjoining communities to easily access its basic health services. Community residents expressed relief that the clinic has reduced the risk of traveling long distances to access healthcare services, specifically for pregnant women.
Logging funds have been used to pay volunteer teachers, build a multi-purpose CFDC Resource Center, construct a midwifery section beside the clinic containing two rooms and a bathroom equipped for providing delivery services, pay salaries to clinical staff and establish a revolving fund for drugs at the clinic. The Liberian Government has not started supporting the clinic since 2020 as expected and due to the declining income from logging; the challenge now is to find the funds to maintain the clinic. Community members are charged fees for their drugs, thus helping the clinic to purchase replacement drug stocks.
The clinic provides outpatient services and performs delivery services for pregnant women. “We used to catch hard time carrying pregnant women in pain to the nearest health center which is far from here and sometimes no car during emergencies,” an elder in the town said. Accessing funds is a legal process for communities of Forest Management Contract areas. By 30 April 2021, the CFDC had spent US$63,176 on building and running the clinic, with the expectation that the Ministry of Health support for the clinic running costs or regular income from logging would enable the clinic to function sustainably.
Each community affected by logging is expected to undertake ‘projects’ to improve community infrastructure. Ten towns are represented in the CFDC for Lofa County in FMC “A” (in addition to another CFDC for the portion of the concession in Gbarpolu).
The CFDC should be receiving US$47,420.77 every year as its share of Land Rental Fees. There are several projects these towns have implemented in the period 2014 to 2019 and most decisions have been made through participatory processes during series of mass meetings.
However, the reality is that communities are not receiving all the funds owed to them from logging funds and central government has not indicated a preparedness to pay for the operations of the clinic. Alpha Logging and the government are not paying the US$47,421 annual Land Rental Fees regularly.
With less money coming to the communities from logging activities, new funds have had to be found; otherwise the clinic will shut down, with dire consequences for community health. This case study shows that when communities receive the benefits owed to them from logging and are able to make informed consensus decisions about how best to use the funds, they can effectively execute development projects.
The study was done with financial support from the European Union, under the project “Strengthening the Capacity of Civil Society for the implementation of the Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) coordinated by Fern. The Sustainable Development Institute (SDI), Foundation for Community Initiatives (FCI), Civil Society-Independent Forest Monitors (CS-IFM), National Union of Community Forestry Development Committees (NUCFDC), National Union of Community Forest Management Bodies (NUCFMB), and Liberia Forest Media Watch (LFMW), implemented the project while Fern (UK & Belgium) coordinated.