By Jerome Saye
0777905991/0886313144
BASSA VILLAGE, NIMBA COUNTY – The illegal harvest of Manana trees by Green Wood Resource Logging Company is poised to put serious risk to the integrity of the East Nimba Nature Reserve. The Manana trees were planted by LAMCO to serve as a buffer zone for the Nimba Nature Reserve. LAMCO is a defunct Liberian-American-Swedish Mining Company that mined for iron ore in the Nimba range before the war.
Recently, Liberia Forest Media Watch stumbled upon alarming sights of over ten thousand of illegally harvested logs of Manana trees, abandoned in separate locations and are slowly left to decay. Green Wood Resource Logging Company harvested the logs without paying benefits to the affected communities. Community members said the company did not also present document to them authorizing it to conduct logging activities in their community.
Assessment of the Manana trees’ plantation found that community residents are now taking advantage of the open field to carry out farming activities, while other residents have begun cutting down the trees for commercial and farming purposes. These human activities are close to threatening the East Nimba Nature Reserve if care is not taken to remedy the situation. The uncontrolled logging activities near one of Liberia’s most ecologically sensitive areas has sparked concerns among environmentalists and local Communities alike.
Experts warn that the abandoned woods pose severe threats to the delicate ecosystem of the East Nimba Nature Reserve, which is home to numerous endangered species. The decaying woods could attract pests and diseases, potentially spreading to the forest and thus compromising the health of the entire woodland.
Saye Thomanson, a prominent son of the community and President of the National Union of Community Forest Management Bodies (NUCMFB) said Green Wood Resource entered the community without presenting a document from the authorities. He accused Green Wood Resource of conducting illegal logging. “I saw them one day in my yard telling me that they have come to work with the people, but they have selected people from Zortapa, and the people have shown them area to work, so they just come to have me informed,” said Thompson.
Saye Thompson said he told the Green Wood Logging Company that their failure to present a legal document from the Forestry Development Authority (FDA) made their action illegal, and that the company was proceeding wrongly. Saye also accused Green Wood Resource of violating Chapter 3.1b of the Community Rights Law (CRL) of 2009. Chapter 3.1b of the Community Rights Law of 2009 states that “Communities have the right to enter into small-scale commercial contracts with respect to harvesting of timbers and non-timber forest products on Community Forests Lands under regulations issued by the Authority. But in the case of Green Wood, the NUCFMB’s official said the company did not enter into a formal contract with community members before harvesting logs. Saye also blamed his fellow community members for violating the forestry regulations by doing business with illegal company.
Daniel Challay is a resident of Bassa Village and one of the company’s contractors. He told the Liberia Forest Media Watch that the company entered the forest in 2022 to harvest unspecified number of Manana trees. Challay explained that the company promised to build a clinic in the affected communities and upgrade the road from Zortapa to Gbarpa. But the company failed to fulfill said promises, adding, they just came and cut the down the logs and abandoned them without making effort to ship them. “Green Wood said they were going to give us assistance and also to rebuild this road here and they never did it at all, we never see any sign from them,” said Challay.“
Another resident, Mamie Faiyah recalled the day Green Wood Logging Company entered their village. “That Zor people brought them here, Zortapa people brought them here. The man they called Gaye Dokpah brought them here,” said Faiyah. Fayia accused the company of failing to pay the 25% profit it said it would pay to the community.
When contacted, the owner of Green Wood Resource Logging Company, McCarthy Basserh Sehwhy admitted to the crime of abandoning logs harvested by his company. He said the logs are left in the forest because the license given to him by the Forestry Development Authority (FDA) has expired. “Nobody drove us from the bush there; it is our document that expired,” said Sehwhy.
Mr. Sehwhy called on the residents of the community to be patient as he pursues FDA for authorization to export the logs in order to pay their benefits. Mr. Sehwhy, however, denied claims that his company agreed to pay 25% share to the community, noting that the agreement says his entity is responsible to pay 50₵ (fifty cent) United States dollars for each log harvested. Both the community and Green Wood Resource failed to produce copy of the agreement when asked by LFMW. All the logs seen by LFMW were officially marked indicating FDA’s approval.
Section 3(a) of the Forestry Development Authority (FDA) Regulation No 116-17 on Abandoned Logs, Timber, and Timber Products says, abandoned logs left unattended to shall be deemed abandoned by the Authority after the expiration of the following periods:
- 30 working days after the discovery by the Authority or its agent next to a stump in an area covered by a Forest Resources License, or in a Communal Forest, a Community Forest or on deeded land not covered by Forest Resources License;
2. 60 working days after discovery by the Authority at a Landing Site in an area covered by a Forest Resources License, or in a Communal Forest, a Community Forest or on deeded land not covered by a Forest license;
3. 15 working days after discovery by the Authority or next to any public or private road;
4. 180 working days after discovery by the Authority at any log yard;
5. 180 working days after discovery by the Authority of any wood processing site (sawmills, woodshops, etc.);
6. 30 working days after discovery by Authority at any port of exit;
7. 30 working days after discovery anywhere else by the Authority.
Like several companies, FDA is yet to take action against Green Wood for abandoning logs it harvested. The authority has also not taking action to auction the abandoned logs even though the law empowers it to do so.
The Head of the Commercial Department of FDA, Ruth K. Varney could not give detailed account of Green Wood’s operations on grounds that she has just taken over the department, and will need time to study the situation. “I will have to find out if my predecessor issued an operational document to Green Wood before giving detailed comments”, said Ruth.
However, authoritative document seen by LFMW indicates that Green Wood Resource’s operational permit expired in 2019 while still harvesting logs in 2022. A further review of the document shows that July 15, 2019 was the last time information about Green Woods Resource surfaced in the FDA’s database.
The timing (2024) between LFMW’s probe and the conduct of the illegal logging (2022) by Green Wood Resource is an indication of the authority’s neglect of monitoring, which put the East Nimba Nature Reserve and other National Reserves at risk of abuse.
