OCA Global, in collaboration with SOFRECO, assisted in strengthening forest sector governance and law enforcement in Liberia by supporting the implementation of the Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA), implemented in the context of the Project EuropeAid/137659/IH/SER/LR. This project is part of the implementation of the FLEGT VPA in force between the EU and the Government of Liberia.
Our team has now completed the first Independent Auditor mandate (2017-2021) of Liberia's Legality Assurance System (LAS), which is currently being implemented as part of the EU-Liberia FLEGT VPA. This VPA is supporting Liberia to provide FLEGT-licensed timber for the EU market.
In this way, the country is on its way to reliably verifying and demonstrating Liberia's compliance with VPA requirements for legally harvested and traceable timber, thereby also benefiting other markets and increasing the volume and value of its timber exports. The Independent Audit conducted has made a useful contribution by identifying and analyzing many of the current gaps and issuing recommendations for the country's forestry sector.
The forestry sector is of great importance in this country, as it contributes to sustainable socioeconomic development, poverty reduction and economic growth.