FLEGT-VPA

Supporting the Implementation of Liberia's Voluntary Partnership Agreement

VPA SUPPORT UNIT 2

DAI in cooperation with DFS financed by the EUROPEAN UNION

EU Ambassador visits scaling training

The VPA Support Unit 2 (VPA-SU2) supported a four-day scaling training program. The training was held in the log yard of African Wood and Lumber Company which is the Third Party Operator of the Marblee & Karblee Community Forest. The log yard is located in Compound #2, Grand Bassa County. The training participants included FDA Region 3 Chain of Custody Rangers and their supervisors, and members of the Community Forest Management Body (CFMB)

The training pursued the Trainer-of-Trainers (ToT) approach, in which potential trainers, identified during last year’s training, demonstrated their skills in training other FDA staff and members of CFMB. The training aimed at:

  • Enhancing aptitude of FDA field staff in the region.
  • Improving knowledge and skills of CFMB members primarily in volume calculation, and other related topics, for ease in calculation of community benefits from the forest/stumpage.
  • Increasing performance of the trained trainers.

The training was visited by the EU Ambassador Mr Laurent Delahousse during his field trip to the area of the Marblee & Karblee Community Forest Management Agreement on 23rd February 2021.

The outcomes of the training can be summarized as follows:

  • The approach of the community scalers in calculating the logs was corrected.
  • The training was essential for the new staff of FDA who may need further assistance by the trained trainers to solidify the basics obtained.
  • The assessment at the end of the training revealed that most of the participants still need a better understanding of the Chain of custody system and its significance to the verification of legal timber production.

The trained trainers performed well in practical activities but need to improve their lecturing ability a little more.

Written by: James Kollie and Michael Fischer