REDD+ In Liberia: Quick References

REDD+ in Liberia: Quick References

Welcome to the Quick Reference page for information on Liberia’s National and Pilot REDD+ programmes. This page has been created for the UNFCCC COP25 at which the Government of Liberia, along with Fauna & Flora International and the Government of Burkina Faso, will be presenting at an official side event on REDD+. The Government of Liberia has developed some introductory literature to share information on the status of our national REDD+ progress and the pilot REDD+ project in Wonegezi, Lofa County. A brief has been produced in which a number of documents have been referenced and we are using this page to direct readers to the full documents as they become public.

Key websites for further information are:

• Forestry Development Authority http://www.fda.gov.lr/
• Environmental Protection Agency http://www.epa.gov.lr
• The Environmental Knowledge Management System (under development) https://ekmsliberia.info/ 

The National REDD+ Programme has been supported by the Government of Liberia, the Forestry Development Authority, the Environmental Protection Agency, the World Bank, and the Government of Norway.

Brief: REDD+ In Liberia

Download the Brief from GoogleDrive

This 2-page brief provides an overview of Liberia’s REDD+ Action. It introduces the National REDD+ Strategy, the National Forest Monitoring System and Monitoring, Reporting and Verification, the Safeguard Information System, the Forest Reference Emissions Level, and the Wonegizi Landscape Pilot Project in Lofa County.

REDD+ National Strategy

Download the National Strategy pdf from GoogleDrive

The National Strategy for REDD+ in Liberia is a living document that is due for update soon. The 2016 Strategy sets out Liberia’s ambition for implementation of REDD+ through the Liberia Forest Sector Project. The strategy complements the existing pilot project in Wonegizi, Lofa County, by preparing core elements of the governance framework for REDD+. Reviewing and updating the Strategy is especially important because since 2016, the country has taken huge steps in generating data and information on deforestation trends and causes, and on the effectiveness of interventions.

Safeguard Information System (SIS)

Download the PCI from the SIS Website

The document available here outlines the principles, criteria and indicators for Liberia’s SIS. They aim to reflect the Liberian country context within the organizing framework of the seven Cancun safeguards. More information on the SIS, as well as the database on safeguarding issues, can be found on the website (https://liberia-redd-sis.info/).

Forest Reference Emissions Level (FREL)

The Forest Reference Emissions Level was transmitted to the UNFCCC in October 2019 to begin the year-long approval process from the Secretariat. The Assessment Team will receive this submission by 20^th January 2020 to provide them almost 8 week to familiarise themselves with our proposed FREL. Following this, the experts will meet in Bonn, Germany, for 1 week from 16^th March to assess the submission. For one week after this, the experts are allowed to seek clarity from Liberia if needed, before taking a month to consider any revisions deemed necessary. By 27^th July 2020, the Assessment Team will prepare a draft report on Liberia’s submission, then Liberia has until 19^th October 2020 to respond. By 16^th November, the Assessment team will consider Liberia’s responses then finalise the report. Finally, by 7^th December 2020 the FREL report will be published and the technical assessment will be completed.

Following this schedule, please check back to see the internationally approved FREL as we move through 2020.

Feedback Grievance Redress Mechanism (FGRM)

Download the FGRM pdf from GoogleDrive

The FGRM seeks to address concerns and complaints from stakeholders initially as they relate to the Liberia Forest Sector Project, and then as programmes develop, concerns from stakeholders affected by a REDD+ intervention. It aims to receive and resolve complaints and grievances through dialogue, negotiation and other informal processes without prejudice to the rights of the complainant to seek formal, judicial remedies. The document here offers an FGRM for existing Protected Areas and for handling any concerns, complaints or grievance that may arise in the demarcation, gazetting and management of other proposed protected areas. The objective of this FGRM is to provide an accessible and user-friendly platform and means for making, receiving, tracking and responding to both feedbacks and grievances concerning or related to the impact of Liberia Forest Sector Project (LSFP) activities in the current phase of LFSP implementation; and subsequently for future REDD+ programs  when Liberia advances to the design of emission reduction programmes and implementation of the results based payment phase of REDD+.

Free, Prior & Informed Consent (FPIC)

Download the project report from GoogleDrive, as well as Annex 1 (Guidelines), Annex 2 (Toolkit), Annex 3 (Implementation Plan), and Annex 4 (Testing and Validation Report)

Liberia has developed national guidelines for all to use when seeking consent for any new development. The guidelines explain how national laws and international agreements (both political and commercial) support the need for FPIC. The way in which FPIC is carried out will depend on the community and context. Guidelines and good practice on how to conduct FPIC in different settings already exist in Liberia and are featured in a Toolkit that accompanies these guidelines, which provides detailed guidance on the Five Step process.

National Forestry Monitoring System and Monitoring, Reporting, Verification (MRV)

The MRV system for REDD+ is being finalised to ensure Liberia has a robust system for forest carbon accounting and REDD+. Part of this effort has been through the development of the Liberia Forest Atlas (http://lbr.forest-atlas.org/). This is a living, dynamic forest monitoring system that provides unbiased and up-to-date information on Liberia’s forest sector. Built on a geographic information system (GIS) platform, the Atlas aims to strengthen forest management and land use planning by bringing information on all major land use categories onto the same platform.

Pilot project in Wonegizi, Lofa County

Fauna & Flora International (FFI) have been working in the Wonegizi landscape in Lofa County since 2016, working to deliver a fully operational National REDD+ pilot and support the Liberian Government to gazette the Wonegizi Proposed Protected Area as community-state co-managed Multiple Sustainable Use Reserve. The FFI website contains more information on the intervention.

Sapo National Park in Sinoe County, Liberia