Photo: L-R- Credit Global Witness; FDA’s Rangers in Action-Credit Liberia Public Radio
By Moses R. Quollin, quollinmoses@gmail.com +231770922412/0880922412 (Liberia Forest Media Watch-LFMW)
Greenville, Sinoe County, Liberia- Controversy continues to grow in the Tarsue Community Forest in Sinoe County as claims and counterclaims of wrongdoings and political maneuverings among locals overshadowed activities surrounding the prospects, benefits of ordinary residents of the area.
The forest’s governing structure, which includes the Community Assembly (CA), Executive Committee (EC) and the Community Forest Management Body (CFMB), is seriously challenged with internal conflict coupled with reported illegal interference by local government officials into community forestry issues, and other unorthodox practices.
An observation made by the Liberia Forest Media Watch (LFMW) – a group of investigative journalists reporting on forestry issues across the country, with technical support from the European Union Non-States Actor (EU-NSA) project – shows that the community is far from benefiting from its natural resources since the signing in 2019 of its Third-Party Agreement with a logging company to get involved in commercial logging aimed at improving the livelihood of local inhabitants.
This, accordingly, is due to many factors including “FDA’s failure” to have properly demarcated the forest, and also, what is observed to be the community leadership’s failure to have produced a comprehensive forest management plan which could have guided their operation, defined status, before proceeding with a third party contract, as per the Community Rights Law (CRL) of 2009 with Respect to Forest Lands.
Section 8.1 of the CRL Regulations (2017) requires that the CFMB, with technical assistance from FDA, institutions, donors, or other individuals with skills in community forest management other relevant technical areas to development the Community Forest Management Plan (CFMP).
As CA members (spoken to) reject having/seeing any copy of the CFMP, EC chairman Arthur Duwroh and CFMB chief officer G. Dennis Weah are yet to properly confirm the CFMP’s availability but FDA attested to the Third Party Forest Management Agreement between Tarsue and WAFDI.
Observers say the involvement of a company before the CFMP is completed and approved is creating pressure for logging to start when community issues remain unresolved.
Agitations of some inhabitants including CA Members
The Tarsue Community Forest comprises of about 25 towns and villages, 50 CA members (two representations from each town or village). Following an ‘apparently inadequate’ completion of the 9-Steps checklist for establishing an AFC (Authorized Forest Community) status, it signed a ‘Third Party Forest Management Agreement’ with the West African Forest Development Incorporated (WAFDI) on January 19, 2019.
Since the signing ceremony, there have been rigmaroles over the forest governance as the majority of citizens are yet to actualize those benefits captured in the contract signed with WAFDI, aggrieved members of the area claimed.
WAFDI is yet to start effective operations, and on many occasions has been denied entry into the forest by a group of concerned citizens due to the unsettled dispute that ensued before or after the signing ceremony.
FDA’s head of community forestry department Atty. Gertrude Nyaley, along with some unidentified local CSOs reported witnessed the ceremony.
Authoritative sources argued that should be no logging, and not even any company contracted until a completed and approved CFMP is made availible—if there exist. Also as part of a proper forest management pratice, there should be no commercial felling by a contracted company until the completions of the forest management plan, environmental impact assesment, and other felling requirements.
Aggrieved citizens of Tarsue, including some members of the Community Assembly (CA) led by Ericson Pyne, have complaint about poor leadership of the EC and CFMB, unaccountability to the CA and general membership of the community as well as the inadequate supervision of the FDA to ensure a proper and sustainable forest governance in the area.
“First of all, the contract [Third Party Forest Management Agreement, also referred to as a Memorandum of Understanding – MOU] was singlehandedly prepared by Dennis Weah (CFMB’s Chief Officer) along with his FDA confidents without the people’s [CA members] input. They brought it on the day of the signing ceremony at about 3:00 PM, and forced our people to sign without even giving them sufficient time and copies to read and understand…” Ericson Pyne, spokesperson for the Concern Citizens of Tarsue alleged.
He said, even before an agreement with any logging company, throughout their meetings with this “not properly identified” WAFDI, they have been seeing staffs and officials of Mandra Logging Company (another company operating in neighboring Sewacajua Community Forest) who always proxy on behalf WAFDI’s management in all of their discussions.
“We believe that it is the same Mandra operating in disguise because we do not know anything about this so-called WAFDI – all of their equipment is bearing Mandra’s name and seal. We do not know the real owners of WAFDI. We know the history of Mandra in Sewacajua and are not interested in giving our forest to WAFDI/Mandra.” Ericson Maintained.
The group of concern citizens also narrated that the EC’s chairman Arthur Duwroh is “dubiously” auctioning Moringa trees harvested from their forest to a Ghanaian national without the community or CA consent. “He signed another contract with a Ghana man in November 2019 who been harvesting Moringa sticks from our forest for $40 LD per piece [a tree] and over 1000 plus pieces were exported to Ghana the other day. As we speak, some have been taken to Greenville, and about 476 pieces (each measured around 4-5 diameter) cut down are damaged, were abandoned in the bush,” G. Thomas Bior, another citizen said.
“We have raised the issues in almost of our meetings but it was ignored by our entire leadership (both EC and CFMB),” the angry citizens intoned in their conversation with a contact of the Liberia Forest Media Watch in Tarsue.
When asked why didn’t they raise the issues with FDA as well or during the signing where CSOs and others were present, they said Gertrude even noticed the issues, she got into her car and was about to drive back to Monrovia due to the ensured misunderstanding, but the CFMB chief officer allegedly misled them, “saying if they (elders) didn’t sign the document that very day, the government through FDA would have barred the community from forestry activities for 25 years.”
This made the elders to call Gertrude back, and they all who were present agreed to have the deal consummated. “Page by page, it was only read verbally,” the Elders lamented. The group then expressed appreciation to SDI (Sustainable Development Institute) and FCI (Foundation for Community Initiative), the two local Non-Governmental Organizations that have been educating them on issues about sustainable forest governance in references to the CRL of 2009, and CRL Regulations of 2017.
Another point of the citizen’s contention is the continuous interference of local authorities of the county into community forestry matters. Under the law, government officials are exempted from active participation in community forestry activities except for purpose of guidance, and advice on critical issues, as provided in the CRL of 2009, and the National Forestry Reform Law (NFRL) of 2006. In essence, commissioners, superintendents, and other local officials have no voting rights. However, two lawmakers from (the county legislative caucus) are to be a part of the CA and EC but they also have no major influence.
In Tarsue, local authorities (commissioners, superintendents, etc.) here are alleged of illegally issuing written or verbal permits to individuals or group of individuals seeking personal benefits from the forest without royalties to the community forest treasury. It is also alleged that the Community Forest doesn’t have a bank account.
“On a daily basis, people from different areas are carving canoes from the forest, some are doing pit sawing in the forest whilst a Ghanaian man continuously harvests huge amount of Moringa sticks from the same forest even before the legal establishment of this community forest.” One of the Paramount Chiefs [speaking under anonymity] voiced out.
Regarding pit/chain sawing and other unorthodox degradations of the forest, many fingers are pointed at local officials of government.
Well, even though attempts by LFMW to speak with those local government officials at the center of allegations failed, the FDA confirmed continuous reports of local government interferences into community forestry issues as it raises awareness and education.
CFMB and the EC Denied Allegations
Both G. Dennis Weah, and Arthur Duwroh, Chief Officer of the CFMB, and Chairman of the EC denied comments attributed to the angry residents noting that most of their actual issues are self-seeking.
In a conversation on July 23, 2020 with Forest Hour on OK FM in Monrovia (a radio forest advocacy platform also managed by LFMW under the EU-NSA project), the two heads of Tarsue’s forest governing structures respectively argued that the leadership is on course, the “Concern Group” headed by Ericson is a bunch of trouble makers.
CFMB chief officer Dennis Weah distanced himself from illicit happenings in the forest and blamed other authorities “on the ground” but EC chairman Arthur Duwroh argued that the citizens are aware of the harvest/sale of Moringa trees. He didn’t disclose the location of revenues generated by the EC from the sale of Moringas – a renowned nutritional and very important health species grown in the area.
Weah: “I am the proud sponsor of the Tarsue Community. I will not sit there for anyone to destroy what is to benefit the people. The document (Third Party Forest Management Agreement) had been with them [community members] for one month plus, and they did not do any addition or subtraction before the singing (ceremony). The Moringa stick they talk about is not from a particular forest alone…” He also asserted that where people are carving canoes, cutting Moringa sticks, and sawing planks is outside the community forest specifically within the proposed protected area – and local authorities (clan and paramount chiefs, FDA’s representative, etc.) in the area are aware, ‘illegally’ collecting fees and issuing permits.
According to him, Tarsue forest is 41,000 ha in total. 56% set aside by the government for a propose protected area, 21% is given to the LFPI [Liberian Forest Products Inc. /Equatorial Palm Oil-EPO] for concession, plantation (previously 8,000 ha), 23% (9,714 ha), in the Sanquin District, is given to the Community for forestry management. “In my technical knowledge, when I studied the forest, there are lots of degradations which consist of towns, villages [construction], farms etc. that took 5,257 ha. We have 5,447 ha, about 554 blocks was agreed for commercial logging, from the town hall meetings.”
WAFDI, the “Unidentified” Logging Company
Up to press time, not much is known about the West African Forest Development Incorporated despite several efforts to ascertain basic necessary, important facts (local offices/headquarters, documents, etc.) about the logging company. When contacted, via mobile phone, WAFDI’s consultant Daniel Kwabo (who signed the MOU on the company’s behalf) declined to answers to inquiries, and referred LFMW to FDA.
WAFDI, on the other hand, is said to have constructed two new bridges since the MOU’s signing. According to the CFMB, the company has cut the boundary lines, cut 10 blocks and enumerated them with the involvement of Tarsue’s citizens.
The FDA is still reneging to release documents, requested, as per this investigation, and has on many occasions defaulted. Sources at the Liberia Business Registry, and other gov’t entities were unable to trace specific files pointing to pieces of info on WAFDI. LFMW is trying to locate WAFDI’s headquarters that is said to be in Mamba Point, Monrovia, and will officially speak with its management where possible.
FDA’s Response
FDA’s response through an email enquiries dated August 1 2020, quotes the entity’s Technical Manager of Community Forest Department, Atty. Gertrude Nyaley as saying: Contracts are drawn by and comes from the communities through their governing structure. FDA is never a part of this process and only come in when negotiated points agreed by the communities are submitted to the FDA. FDA makes sure that the submitted contracts are consistent with the Legal Frameworks and approved templates. In this specific case, the approved Agreement was given to the community one month before FDA’s arrival in the community. During the signing ceremony, absolutely no issues were raised on the community’s access to the contract. Other issues surrounding implementation of the contract, you may want to speak to the Commercial Department of FDA. The Community Forest Department work is completed upon the signing of the Third Party Agreement. Implementation is strictly under commercial department.
- B) We admit local interference is an issue but we continue to give education and awareness and continue to work around this issue.
- C) We are not aware of any complaints from the community during and after the signing of the agreement.”