Following the way forward proffered by the three inspectorate institutions (FDA, EPA & MoL) during the first inter agency workshop held in Monrovia on the 19th – 20th January 2021, the VPA Support Unit2 (VPA-SU2) facilitated a 2-day regional interagency workshop which brought together the three inspectorate institutions comprising the Forestry Development Authority (FDA), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Ministry of Labor (MoL). The venue was at the newly constructed FDA Regional Head Office in Tubmanburg.
The workshop had the main purpose of introducing the revised Code of Forest Harvesting Practices inspection checklist and the Non-Compliance Registry forms per institution to the field staff. The specific objectives were as follow:
- To introduce for the first time the 2017 Code of Forest Harvesting Practices to FDA, EPA and MoL regional field staff;
- To acquaint FDA, EPA and MoL regional field staff with their requisite inspection checklist on assessing companies’ compliance of their respective parameters within the CFHP;
- To train the three inspectorate institutions’ field staff on the appropriate usage of the Non-Compliance Register form used to report companies` non compliances; and
- To discuss 2020/2021 inspection implementation plans for the Region
The interagency workshop participants included key resource persons from the Central Offices of the two institutions: Manager for Technical Services from the EPA, and Director for Regional Labor Affairs from the MoL. The region participants included three commissioners and three field inspectors representing Bomi, Gbarpolu and Cape Mount Counties from the MoL, One Regional Coordinator and two field inspectors representing the region from the EPA. FDA was represented by its Regional Forester and two Contract Administrators representing Gbarpolu and Cape Mount Counties respectively. The VPA-SU2 was represented by its two Junior Experts.
The following were the workshop outcomes:
- For the first time, the workshop participants had a fair knowledge of the 2017 Code of Forest Harvesting Practices (CFHP);
- The three inspectorate field staff knowledgeable on how to distinctly use their requisite inspection checklist for assessing companies` compliance of the CFHP;
- field staff knowledgeable on how to identify, categorize and precisely record non compliances in the Non-Compliance Registry for reporting purposes; and
- Established 2020/2021 inspection implementation schedule for the region.
Written by Sayon Fofana
