Gbarpolu County citizens are requesting critical information from the Forestry Development Authority (FDA) regarding FDA's activities in their forest.

The citizens are also requesting access to foundation data on the conduct of social-economic surveys by FDA in Bokomu and Geu-Nwolaila Districts, if there were any, wherein forest lands under private deed and community ownership and tenure have been awarded under timber sale contract, and are also being proposed as Forest Management Contract areas by the Authority.

According to a press release quoting a letter, dated April 19, 2008 and addressed to FDA Managing Director, John Woods, the citizens, though the Chairman of the Joint Forest and Resource Management Committee of the two districts, want the FDA to specifically provide them with copies of the 2006 National Forestry Reform Law, the existing Forestry Regulations, the Handbook on the preparation of Timber Sale and Forest, Management contracts, the justification documents for awarding the TSCs and proposing the FMCs, as well as the comprehensive report covering the "Social Economic Surveys" validation awarding TSC and justifying proposing FMCa, particularly in Bokomu and Geu-Nwolaila Districts.

The citizens also want reports on minutes of meetings held with affected communities in the districts endorsing the justification document of the Timber Sale and Forest Management contracts in their areas, a copy of comments from the Forest Management Advisory Committee (FMAC) on the full draft of the strategy to the Board of Directors, a copy of the FDA Board's resolution endorsing the Timber Sale Contract in Bokomu District and any comment thereof from the Board, as well as a copy of the prospectus awarding Timber Sale Contract in Bokomu District.

The release further noted that the Gbarpolu Citizens are also requesting that FDA provide them with additional information, including copies of the National Forest Management Strategy, resolution of the Board adopting the Strategy, as well as accompanying documents that went along with the draft strategy to the Board of Directors covering information such as comments from the public and other stakeholders on the draft strategy, report of the validation process detailing analysis of the ecological and social-economic data gathered during the field exercise and any other relevant information.

According to the release, the citizens, in their letter to Mr. Woods, stressed their unlimited right to information, noting that such right is consistent with Article 15-c of the Liberian Constitution, as well as Section 18.15 of the 2006 National Forestry Reform Law, which provides access to forest related information.

They reminded the FDA Boss that under the National Forestry Reform Law of 2006, private and deeded lands are excluded from being issued any Timber Sale Contract or Forest Management Contract.

The Bokomu and Geu-Nwolaila District Citizens then drew Mr. Woods' attention to Section 5.4 of the National Forestry Reform Law of 2006 on Timber Sale Contract which states that the Authority may award Timber Sale Contract following the requirements of this section and those in the Public Procurement and Concession Act or its successor, a legislation governing public concessions and that Timber Sale Contracts must be consistent with the National Forestry Management Strategy in effect when the contract is awarded and the area must be validated locally as provided under Section 4.5 of the Law and the land involved must not include private land.

The release, quoting the citizens' letter also noted that under Section 5.3 of the National Forestry Reform Law of 2006 on Forest Management Contract, the Authority may award Forest Management Contracts following the requirements of this section and those in the Public Procurement and Concession Act or its successor's legislation governing public concessions, and that in the contract, the land involved must be identified as a potential concession in the National Forest Management strategy in effect at the time the concession would have been validated locally under Section 4.5 of the law, and the land involved must not include private lands.

As affected communities, the citizens further stressed that it is their responsibility to ensure that the FDA follows the rules, as such would be the clearest demonstration of the Authority's commitment to the rule of law, something which they said is also consistent with the Forestry Concession Review Recommendations, an exercise Mr. Woods is on record to have spearheaded when he served under the "Liberian Forest Initiative".

For the records, the citizens emphasized that they are particularly troubled by the action of the FDA to award significant portions of TSC and one of the FMCs up for tender overlaps with areas in Bokomu and Geu-Nwolaila Districts.