Siemenpuu and other civil society organisations call for the power of elites and corporations to be curbed and the rights of forest communities in Western and Central Africa to be prioritised.
Siemenpuu has signed a letter drafted by Friends of the Earth Cameroon and Liberia, as well as Muyissi Environment in Gabon, demanding their governments to defend the rights and livelihoods of forest communities. The letter, signed by 50 CSOs and published on the Friends of the Earth Netherlands website, was also sent to forest sector donors in western and central Africa. The CSOs call on them to act to stop the appropriation of forest resources by elites and corporations. Currently the rights and livelihoods of indigenous peoples and local communities are at risk.
The background briefing to the petition (pdf) highlights a number of obstacles to community forest governance in Cameroon, Gabon and Liberia. These relate to excessive and complex requirements for community forest licensing processes, easy involvement in the licensing process by elites and logging companies, the emphasis on commercial logging in forest management plans, the non-receipt of payments due to communities, inconsistent land use regulation and the failure of governments to fulfil their law enforcement duties.
Further hijacking of community forests must be prevented and those that have already taken place must be remedied, for communities to have access to their natural resources. This can be done by increasing the provision of information, education and monitoring to communities, investing in genuinely community-based livelihoods such as non-timber forest products, and engaging more and more community members.
The petition reflects the perspective of the work supported by Siemenpuu in Liberia. Siemenpuu supports Liberian forest communities in forest conservation and sustainable use through two projects. The project, implemented by Friends of the Earth Liberia, i.e. the Sustainable Development Institute (SDI) and partners, strengthens the management skills of community forest decision-making structures, reports on forest-related illegalities and provides news on forest issues. The Social Entrepreneurs for Sustainable Development (SESDev) project supports good governance of community forests, forest monitoring and the development of sustainable livelihood options.
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Article picture: Gba community forest in Northern Liberia (Photo: Timo Kuronen/ Siemenpuu)