The 9th Joint Implementation Committee (JIC) of the Liberia-EU Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) has ended in Monrovia, with the aim of improving forest governance and legality, a statement from the European Union (EU) mission in Monrovia said on Thursday.
The meeting, which ran from March 21-24, 2022, brought together representatives of Liberia and the European Union under the VPA, which Liberia has committed to developing a timber legality assurance system so that, once ready, it can issue verified legal timber products with FLEGT licences,
This facilitate access to the EU market where they reach higher prices. A Liberia-EU Joint Implementation Committee (JIC) oversees the implementation of the VPA, and its outcomes are made public.
The VPA was signed between the Liberian government and the EU on April 7, 2017.
The Forestry Development Authority (FDA) and the Delegation of the European Union to Liberia co-chaired the latest meeting, which addressed a number of important topics and agreed on next steps.
According to the EU statement, the topics addressed and next steps agreed to include:
- The results of an independent investigation carried-out by request of the FDA and the Ministry of Justice into alleged irregularities in Timber Sales Contract Area 2 (TSC A2) were presented alongside the remedial actions already taken by the FDA and a number of further actions foreseen.
- A dedicated multistakeholder committee delivered a technical proposal on how to integrate the laws concerning community forestry into the legality assurance system being developed through the VPA. This proposal will now be reviewed by Liberia and the European Union, with a view to further contributing to the legality and sustainability of Community Forestry.
The discussions took place in a framework of partnership, an atmosphere of mutual respect and with participation from a broad range of representatives from other Government of Liberia Ministries and Agencies, representatives of community forests, the private sector, civil society and representatives from the donor community, including the UK Embassy and USAID.
Last November, President Weah and the President of the European Commission Madame Von der Leyen joined the Leaders’ declaration on Forests and Land Use in Glasgow at the 26th meeting under the UN Agreement on Combatting Climate Change.
They pledged to conserve forests and implement policies that would ensure their protection, restoration and sustainable use. In light of this, two independent reports on the long-term sustainability of the Liberian Forest sector were presented and discussed. They concluded on the need to identify a suitable forum to develop a clear pathway to a more integrated approach to the management of the forest sector.