30 May 2011
Forestry Development Authority (FDA) Managing Director Moses D. Wogbeh has expressed fear over the contracting of contractors to do commercial logging on community forest lands.
Mr. Wogbeh said he hopes contracting the services of contractors to carry out commercial logging on community forest lands on a non-competitive basis will not spark up chaos and confusion in the future.
He disclosed that section 6.1 of the Community Rights Law provides that a community may enter into small scale commercial use contracts with other parties to engage in small scale commercial enterprises for timber and non timber forest products on community forest land.
He also disclosed that the law provides that commercial logging on community forest land should not be allocated on competitive basis and authorized communities to enter medium scale commercial contracts ranging from 5,001 to 49, 999.99 hectares for harvesting of forest products.
He indicated that the provisions (Section 6.1 and 6.2) in the Community Rights Law, which provide for no bidding process would create the possibility for communities to be denied and robbed of their just earnings on their forest resources because the value will not be known.
He observed that application of Sections 6.1 and 6.2 of the Community Right Laws is the greatest challenge posed by community commercial forestry and depart from the mandate of the National Forestry Reform Law at Section 3.3.
National Forestry Reform Law which mandated the enactment of the Community Rights Law states at Section 3.3 that in granting forest management contracts and timber sale contracts, FDA shall follow the requirement of the Public Procurement and Concessions Act and other applicable laws.
Mr. Wogbeh further said “at section 5.3, land area of forest management contracts must be at least 50, 000 hectares and no more than 400, 000 hectares while section 5.4 of the National Forestry Reform Law defines the land area of a timber sale contract at no more than 5000 hectares.”
The FDA Boss indicated that there is no record or incident that FDA had alienated any private or commercial land by force or trickery under this new dispensation of New Forest Reform Law.
He disclosed that before any area is committed for proposed commercial, conservation or community use, the manner and method of acquiring said area follows the process of alienating land located in the hinterland as provided for by section 30 of the Public Lands Law.
Mr. Wogbeh spoke at the start of 2nd bi-annual gathering of the Alliance for Rural Democracy in Buchanan City Grand Bassa County.
The Alliance Rural Democracy (ARD) is a network of community based organizations and pro-poor enterprising informal sector organizations. The group is funded by the Funds for Global Human Rights through its partner Green Advocates International.
The opening section of the gathering attended by representatives from the Fund for Global Human Rights was interactive and featured training sections on several human rights issues.
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FDA Fears Confusion Eruption