Monrovia, Liberia–A recent Performance Audit Report by the General Auditing Commission (GAC) has exposed critical weaknesses in the management of community forests across Liberia.
Covering July 1, 2018, to December 31, 2023, the report highlighted the Forestry Development Authority’s (FDA) failure to effectively oversee nearly one million hectares of community forest land.
The Liberia forests, part of the Upper Guinean Forest ecosystem, support rural livelihoods, biodiversity, and carbon storage.
Yet, the audit reveals that FDA’s regional offices are severely understaffed, lacking 86 personnel out of the required 193, and are poorly equipped with vehicles, fuel, and essential monitoring tools like GPS and cameras. Many staff members reportedly use personal resources to perform their duties.
The report also identified a significant training gap among forestry staff, which lack expertise in timber scaling, map reading, community engagement, and forestry law.
According to the GAC report, trainings are sporadic and not based on annual assessments, leaving staff ill-prepared to enforce regulations.
The report, among other things highlighted that mobility challenges persist as regional offices experienced five months without fuel in 2023, impeding their ability to patrol and monitor forests effectively.
Furthermore, the management of checkpoint revenues raises serious concerns.
Despite collecting over US$3 million during the audit period, more than US$1.1 million remains unaccounted for, with funds managed outside regional oversight, the report indicated.
According to the GAC, illegal activities persist unchecked, while contractors have harvested trees below legal diameter thresholds and operated in unapproved zones.
However, the GAC report highlighted that region 4 suffers extensive encroachment by Burkinabe cocoa farmers, damaging roughly 19,000 hectares of community forest.
Despite repeated regional reports, the FDA Central Office has delayed intervention, the report added.
GAC Recommendations:
The GAC audit findings recommended the following measures to be taken by the FDA to address the challenges including empowering regional foresters with full supervisory authority over local FDA staff.
Collaborate with the Ministry of Finance and Civil Service Agency to recruit needed personnel.
The GAC also recommended station LRA officers at major checkpoints to ensure proper revenue collection.
Other recommendations included, allocating operational funds and including petty cash to regional offices; conduct annual training needs assessments to tailor staff development.
The report emphasized the need to audit all internally generated revenues from 2018 to 2023 for accountability.
A Race against Time
According to the report, Liberia’s forests hold immense ecological and economic value but are at risk due to governance failures and resource constraints.
This audit serves as a critical call for reform to restore effective forest management, safeguard community rights, and protect the environment.
The government, partners, and civil society must act decisively to empower the FDA and secure Liberia’s natural heritage.
