The Liberian Code of Forest Harvesting Practices (CFHP) (revised in 2017) is the ultimate performance manual containing internationally approved standards that appliy to commercial logging operations in Liberia. It was developed by the Forestry Development Authority (FDA) to reduce logging impacts and promote sustainable forest management. The key performance areas of the CFHP are Safety & Health, Environment, Productivity, Quality, and Social Responsibility. FDA, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Ministry of Labour (MoL) are engaged in inspections to ensure forest operators comply to requirements of the CFHP.

The inspection team, comprised of FDA, EPA, and MoL inspectors, assessed the mandatory performance requirements of the CFHP in Sehzuplay CFMA located in Nimba County. Sehzuplay CFMA is operated by Universal Forestry Corporation (UFC), a third-party operator hired by the community forest. The Community Forest Management Body representative, and a member of the UFC’s staff also formed part of the exercise. The inspection lasted February 21 to 26, 2022. As in regular inspections, the CFHP, the inspection checklists, and the Non-Compliance Registry were used for assessment and reporting. FDA and EPA as separate institutions will produce a Non-Compliance Report containing specific details of the non-compliances observed during the inspections along with appropriate corrective actions. It was first of its kind that performance requirements of the MoL could not be assessed.

VPA-SU2 continues to support FDA’s initiatives that foster sustainable forest management and reduce logging impacts. VPA SU2 provided overall support to this joint inspection exercise under its program output area 2.2 “Assistance to FDA inspections”.

Written by: James Kollie