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11 May 2021 General
The work of a partnership of organizations in Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Liberia led by Tropenbos International and Tropenbos Ghana, to increase the contribution of non-state actors, related to the EU’s FLEGT initiative, and REDD+ has resulted in a range of outcomes
11 May 2021 Ghana
In 2019, CSOs rallied together to help conserve and protect Ghana’s remaining forests, launching the Civil Society-led Independent Forest Monitoring (CSIFM) platform. Members includes NDF, Tropenbos Ghana, Civic Response, EcoCare Ghana, Rural Development and Youth Association, Rainforest Alliance, and Friends of the Earth Ghana, and is open to all interested organizations. According to Abena Woode, NDF’s capacity building expert, this platform gives them a broader base, creating synergy between groups, leading to a united front for advocacy and influencing national policy.
11 May 2021 Côte d'Ivoire
In May 2018, the government of Côte d’Ivoire adopted a policy for the conservation and restoration of its forests, and to increase its forest cover to 20% by 2030. One group who contribute to low compliance with forest sector laws are small businesses who depend on informal and illegal timber sawyers and traders, or buy left-over ‘legal’ timber from industrial sawmills. So, the formation of six small forest enterprises in 2019 that have committed to use only legal forest products and now play a role in improving forest governance, is a model for others to follow.
11 May 2021 Ghana
Ghana’s forest reserves provide invaluable ecosystem services to communities, and contribute significantly to the national economy. But these forests are rapidly deteriorating due to illegal logging, expansion of agriculture, mining and urbanization. Involving forest fringe communities is critical for sustainable and accountable forest resource management.
11 May 2021 Liberia
The hour-long ‘Forest Hour’ radio programme aired weekly since 2019, has shone a light onto hidden issues in the forest sector. The has exposed forest illegalities including non-compliance with forest laws, failure to uphold company-community agreements, policy failures, and weak administration by both local and national forest leaders. And it has had notable successes. It is produced by Liberia Forest Media Watch (LFMW), a group of investigative journalists, also formed as part of this initiative.
06 May 2021 Suriname
In Suriname, income from logging within community forests goes mostly to companies and village leaders, rather than to community members. This was one of the conclusions of a study conducted by Tropenbos Suriname in 2020. It prompted 14 indigenous communities to request training in benefit sharing.