Joint inspection at Sewacajua

In continuation to the sustainable management of the Liberian Forest and ensuring legality in all aspects of forest operations, the VPASU2 supported a 9-day joint inspection at the area of the Sewacajua Community Forest Management Agreement (CFMA) from 21st of February to 1st of March 2022. The inspections primarily intended to provide a clear set of guidelines for foresters, and logging companies, thereby adopting best practices enshrined in the 2017 revised Liberian Code of Forest Harvesting Practices (CFHP).

Consequently, the field staff of the three inspecting institutions used the customized version of the checklist to countercheck those mandatory performance requirements assessed during the mock inspections in April 2020. During the inspections, the focus was placed on categorizing non-compliance as well as on reporting procedures as the Non-Compliance Registry (NCR) aims at enhancing and standardizing the reporting procedures among the participating institutions.

The inspection team comprised field staff of FDA, EPA, MoL, CFMB (Community Forest Management Body), and the logging operator. In total, fourteen (14) persons participated in the inspections: 4 FDA field staff, 2 EPA inspectors, 2 MoL inspectors, 1 CFMB member, 4 Logging operator staff, and one VPASU2 Junior Field Engineer.

.Inspection team before going to the field  The inspection team before going to the field

FDA inspectors at the felling site

  The inspection team inspects the operator’s chain saw

  EPA inspector measures distance from creek to inhabited buildings

EPA inspector inspects hydrocarbon tank

Inspection of heavy machinery

Log loading on the truck inspected

MoL inspector reports his findings at the final session

Written by Zeon Whawhen