Top: A log yard outside Greenville, Sinoe County. The DayLight/Derick Snyder
By Varney Kamara
MONROVIA – Forestry actors in Liberia are calling for amendments to the regulation on benefit-sharing to enhance communities’ share of resources generated from the sector.
They spoke recently at a national conference that brought together representatives from civil society, environmental groups, lawyers, and the government. The change would improve governance, transparency, and accountability, and ultimately lead to better sector performance, they said.
“The idea is to ensure that we carry out a broader reform that includes other sectors that are important to leverage development across communities,” said Silas Siakor, lead campaigner at Integrated Development and Learning, which promotes development across communities.
“We are only looking back to see where we can strengthen the existing frameworks to move forward,” Siakor added.
The National Benefit Sharing Trust Board, created under the National Forestry Reform Law, serves as the main channel through which local people receive benefits from logging operations.
The law mandates that 30 percent of logging revenue from land rental be allotted to affected communities. A 2011 regulation also requires openness, transparency, accountability, and community participation in the management of forest resources.
Both the law and regulation empower the Trust to collect communities’ shares, consult with local land management committees, and identify and approve projects to be implemented within specific timeframes.
As of December 2024, the board had completed 44 projects across communities, including schools, clinics, and the rehabilitation of farm-to-market roads.
Despite progress, several challenges remain. The board continues to struggle to deliver quality services. Its implementation outputs are weak, hampered by limited capacity and compliance issues.
However, with the right reforms, combined with a more resilient internal structure, sector leaders believe these challenges can be overcome.
To achieve this, they have proposed revisions to include mining and representatives of other sectors on the Trust. Other proposed changes include the election of the trust’s president and a provision allowing it to seek continuous donor support to ensure regular audits.
“During the discussion, we agreed that the board needs to improve its capacity, outsource contracts, and conduct regular audits to ensure transparency and accountability,” said Renee Gibson, an official of the Rural Integrated Center for Community Empowerment.
At the close of the meeting, delegates agreed to submit a proposed plan of action to the Forestry Development Authority (FDA) following a review process that will finalize its details within three weeks.
