SDI briefing paper 05: The Sewacajua Community Forest The need to strengthen rule of law in the community forestry sector in Liberia

 This briefing paper presents findings of assessment in Sewacajua CFMA in Sinoe County, specifically highlighting the legal compliance and other issues that need to be addressed to make the CFMA compliant and ensure that it meaningfully benefits the community.

This briefing paper provides an analysis of the revenue flow from the logging industry into the national coffers and logging affected communities. Publicly available national revenue collection data and payments to communities are used as the basis for the analysis to ensure a fairly accurate assessment of the financial flows.

This monitoring framework was developed by SDI under the project: Tackling deforestation through linking REDD and FLEGT and funded by European Commission and  UK Department of International Development. It broadens ongoing civil society initiative to include monitoring access to information, participation in benefit sharing and community rights involving REDD+ programs currently ongoing in the Liberian forest sector.

In June 2016, Rights and Rice Foundation (RRF) andSustainable Development Institute (SDI) commissioned theconduct of a research to assess collective title versusindividual title and their implications for livelihood in termsof the use and management of land and forest resources.The research was conducted based on the premise that thedraft Land Rights Act (LRA) will be legislated therebypaving the way for formalized and legally protectedcollective ownership of land.With this pending development there is a need for civil society, policymakers and the rural population to better understand the

This briefing paper asserts that "Logging without a permit or outside a logging contract area or concession is illegal". The Forestry Development Authority has committed to "formulate a regulation ensuring forestry legal requirements are followed regarding felling of logs alongside access road leading into a concession area" from SDI’s publication Logging Outside the Blouquia Community Forest Management Area 2.

This report will examine two of the most serious potential threats to good governance and professional management of Liberian forests: the looming wave of Community Forestry Management Agreements (CFMAs), and the potential for large-scale conversion of forests into agriculture plantations – particularly oil palm. By examining these emerging issues critically, the Sustainable Development Institute (SDI) hopes to warn the Liberian government and its partners of the potential for abuse and mismanagement in coming years.

A host of Golden Environmental Prize winners send a letter to Liberia's Forest Development Authority (FDA) expressing their concerns at the FDA's plan to legalize conversion timber and its potential impact on Liberia's forests.

SDI's letter to FDA highlighting their concerns about the Forest Development Authority's plan to legalize conversion timber.