Africa-Press – Liberia. The compilation of Forest Law Book and Compliance Handbook is done and dusted with onward presentation made to Liberia’s Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Cllr. N. Oswald Tweh.
The two sets of laws, commonly referred to as the ‘forest bibles,’ is are the initiatives of MFGAP through its legal firm Heritage Partners and Associates (HPA) with funding from the British government.
Receiving the two batches of the law at a presentation ceremony held at the Justice Ministry on the weekend, Min. Tweh extolled both MFGAP and HPA crafting these legal instruments that tend to provide guidance and compliance of the environment.
“The text highlights the importance of making laws accessible and understandable, a positive development where legal professionals now have all the laws in one place. This advancement is seen as a vital step toward creating awareness of the people in complying with the law and improving the overall legal structure,” said Min. Tweh.
“This is a very good opportunity to understand the laws. It will improve the prosecutorial arm of the ministry because our prosecutors and county attorneys will have all of them at their fingertips. In many instances, our prosecutors have to find the law, define and explain it. Now, summarizing them in a single place makes their task easier. This is a very good step,” he furthered.
But while acknowledging the critical importance of these laws and regulations, he pointed out the challenge of implementing these regulations when communities have relied on traditional practices, such as using land and forest resources, for generations.
Min. Tweh emphasized that simply forbidding long-held practices has been ineffective due to the lack of alternative means of livelihood for many poor families who heavily rely on the forest for survivor.
Back in 2017, the Forestry Development Authority published the overview of the legal framework for forests, meant to improve sectorial governance and ensure compliance, but progress has been fringe, with the sector plagued by irregularities and noncompliance.
Speaking at occasion, Cllr. Lucia Gbala, a representative of Heritage Partners and Associates, said these laws and regulations would enhance accountability in the sector.
“The best lawyers need to know where to find the laws,” Gbala said. “Putting these laws together and compiling all of the relevant laws for the work of prosecutors and other laws to be able to have easy access and educate the communities.”
For her part, Madam Letla Mosenene, the Team Lead of MFGAP, indicated that the organization is also working with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other agencies to ensure adequate awareness of forestry legal frameworks.
“This is one of the efforts we are making to ensure that the people obey the laws, and that they effectively participate in governance of the forest sector. For us, we think these tools will go a long way to help the ministry carry on its work.”
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