Beneficiaries of the Community Based Forest Management Project (CBFM) supported by UNDP with funding from Sweden in Kailahunand Lukasu in Lofa County, have expressed that the project has greatly impacted their communities, and are calling for replication in other areas.
Sam Jomah, an Eco-guard, is among those who have benefited from the CBFM project, he stated that the project is critical to transforming the livelihood of residents of the community.
"I had no prior knowledge of the importance of safeguarding our forest, especially, preserving wildlife. However, with the training provided by the CBFM after my recruitment as an Eco-guard, I know how to use a surveillance camera in the forest," he noted.
In a UNDP statement dated Tuesday, March 11, 2025, the organization disclosed that the training covered modules on identifying wildlife species and illegal human activities within the protected area.
The statement added that the training also included GPS operation skills, usage of camera traps, and a compass, all geared toward making bio-monitoring effective, pointing out that the camera traps are deployed in the forest to monitor the different species of the landscape.
According to the statement, Sam is an Eco-guard, trained, skilled, and equipped to patrol and monitor the forest for illegal activities such as poaching. He is paid a stipend that enables him to provide for his family, and improve his savings to start a business, possibly a green business.
The statement added that Sam symbolically displayed the surveillance camera to UNDP's Resident Representative Aliou Dia and the Assistant Local Government Minister Orando Armah, when they toured project sites.
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"We want to say a big thank you to the UNDP and the government of Liberia for this project. The camera is intended to keep surveillance in protected areas in the forest. This project has empowered us to send our children to school. I can proudly say to you that through this project, two of my children are now high school graduates. For this I am grateful," he added.
The UNDP release revealed that Sam is among 80 community members recruited and trained as Eco Guards by the project in the Northwest of the country covering Lofa, Grand Cape Mount, and Gbarpolu Counties.
The statement added that these Eco-guards are equipped with tools, logistics, and accessories including motorbikes, tablets, tents, and other assorted items to aid them in conducting research and monitoring the forest for illegal activities.
In protected areas in Lofa, the statement asserted that the Eco-guards work closely with forest rangers of the Forestry Development Authority (FDA) supported by UNDP/CBFM for forest conservation and sustainable forest management.
The release indicated that FDA has established community-based forest patrol teams that help reduce illegal activities such as logging, poaching, and land encroachment in protected areas and forest fringe communities, which has come a year after the CBFM project provided new motorbikes, GPS, camp beds, rain gear, tablets, cameras, back-packs, remote sensing technologies, and carbon monitoring tools the FDA uses to monitor more than 30 cluster forest communities.
