Top: The European Union has notified Liberia that it would terminate a trade agreement with the West African country. The DayLight/James Harding Giahyue
By Gabriel M. Dixon
Monrovia – The European Union has notified Liberia of its intent to terminate a timber trade pact between the bloc and the West African country.
The Head of Delegation to Liberia Nona Deprez confirmed the EU’s decision to end the Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) in a letter to the NGO Coalition, a network of Liberian organizations.
“I confirm that the European Union (EU) communicated its intention to terminate the VPA FLEGT,” said Deprez in the letter seen by The DayLight. “A formal notification to the [Liberia] government is in process.”
The VPA ensures logs Liberia exports to the EU and other countries come from legal sources. It is a key component of the EU’s Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade Action Plan, known as FLEGT. It aims to address illegal logging and guarantees local communities’ benefits from forest resources.
The EU and Liberia began to negotiate the VPA in 2009 and signed the pact two years later.
The Liberian Legislature ratified the agreement in 2013, after which it became legally enforceable by both parties.
Deprez’s letter did not say the reason behind the planned termination. However, the news comes weeks after the European Parliament decided to terminate the VPA with Cameroon. It and Liberia are two of six countries in the agreement in Africa and Asia.
The EU based its decision on Cameroon’s failure to qualify for FLEGT licensing, which allows a country to trade timber to EU member states.
Cameroon had promised to complete legal reforms for FLEGT licensing in five years but has instead witnessed illegal logging.
The situation in Liberia mirrors that of Cameroon.
Liberia has not met the requirements for the FLEGT license, though it has been 11 years since it signed the VPA.
Like Cameroon, Liberia exports the majority of its timber to Asian countries.
A recent review of forest concessions paints a grim picture of logging in Liberia. it says none of the 11 concessions evaluated were compliant with national laws. Companies lack forestry licenses, legal identity, and performance bonds.
Last year, the Associated Press reported an EU-commissioned, independent investigation found illegal logging on a “significant scale,” with the Forestry Development Authority breaching the law. The FDA regulates the forestry sector.
The investigation was prompted by the illegal harvesting of US$3 million worth of logs by the logging firm, Renaissance Group Inc. The FDA was found to have made unlawful decisions in assessing the severity of offenses and downplaying the seriousness of violations.
The Associated Press also reported Liberia exports 70 percent of its timber outside the legal system built with EU support, citing diplomatic sources.
NGOs are making a last-minute attempt to have the EU reconsider its decision.
Andrew Zelemen of the National Union of Community Forest Development Committees (NUCFDC), fears the decision would undermine gains in the forestry sector. Termination means more illegal logs to Asian markets with lax timber regulations.
“The termination of the VPA would likely have detrimental effects on local communities by promoting illegal logging, undermining economic stability and threatening environmental sustainability,” said Zelemen.
Dayugar Johnson of the Independent Forest Monitor said the NGO Coalition would try to halt the decision. He said it would stifle climate change mitigation efforts.
“We have started engaging various stakeholders locally and internationally,” said Johnson. “Our next move is to engage with the EU parliament to reason with them not to pass the resolution canceling the VPA in Liberia.”
The EU and the FDA did not immediately respond to queries for comments. However, in her letter to the NGOs, Deprez said Liberia’s forest was crucial for the region, and the EU remained a partner.
“We will continue to support and invest in the sector to strengthen it,” Deprez’s letter read, “to make it more sustainable and to fight illegality.”
This story was a production of the Community of Forest and Environmental Journalists of Liberia (CoFEJ).
