SCENESETTER FOR LIBERIA FOREST INITIATIVE RETREAT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 MONROVIA 000793 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR AF/W, INR/AA, AF/EPS, EB AID FOR AFR/WA ACCRA AND DAKAR FOR FCS E.O.12958: N/A TAGS: EAGR PGOV EINV EAID SENV LI SUBJECT: SCENESETTER FOR LIBERIA FOREST INITIATIVE RETREAT REF: 07 MONROVIA 1090 ¶1. SUMMARY: In the next few months, the GOL intends to award the last timber concessions on some of the largest tracts of the nation's forests for a generation. The revenue and employment these long-term timber concessions will provide is urgently needed. Regrettably, resumption of commercial timber activities has been stymied by a faulty prequalification and bid evaluation process for timber concessions that produced flawed results while unresolved land and community rights issues threaten to prevent concessionaires from initiating logging. A rush to award additional concessions for once-in-a-generation Forest Management Contracts (FMCs) before resolving these outstanding issues risks undermining the near-term revitalization of the forestry sector and the longer-term revenue and employment gains expected from the timber industry. As it enters its second phase, the Liberia Forest Initiative (LFI) should focus its efforts on helping the GOL to resolve these urgent issues. END SUMMARY. PROBLEMS PLAGUE THE AWARD OF TIMBER CONTRACTS -------------- ¶2. In its rush to award contracts, the Forestry Development Authority (FDA) and the Inter-Ministerial Concession Committee (IMCC) have compromised on prequalification, bid evaluation and due diligence, resulting in the IMCC's provisional award of three large Forest Management Contracts (FMCs) to bidders who do not meet the standards set out in law and regulation and do not have the financial, technical and operational capability to effectively manage timber contracts, live up to community obligations, exercise environmental safeguards, and, ultimately, maximize revenues to government and employment opportunities. Two of the three provisional winners do not possess valid prequalification certificates designed to detect involvement of undesirable individuals. Also, two of the companies have not demonstrated assured access to any capital whatsoever. THE IMPACT OF THE NEW COMMUNITY RIGHTS LAW -------------- ¶3. The Legislature passed on September 19, 2008 a version of a Community Rights Law (CRL) that is substantially different from the version the FDA submitted to the President in August as required by the National Forestry Reform Law (NFRL). The FDA draft was developed over a 15-month period in an open consultative environment and formulated with the guidance of the Governance Commission. The origin of the version the Legislature ultimately passed is unknown. ¶4. The two bills are in agreement with respect to broad principles but differ greatly in how to achieve the objectives of community empowerment and commercial contracting. The FDA-drafted bill denies the FDA the mandate to address land issues while the version of the bill passed by the legislature and pending Presidential signature obligates the GOL to resolve outstanding land claims before forest management decisions of any kind are made. The FDA has highlighted the probable implications of each version to the President and is urging her to arrive at some compromise between the two. (Note: the version that passed may also conflict with another law passed this session creating a National Land Commission charged with investigating land tenure concerns and make policy recommendations to the GOL on the most effective ways to address them. End note.) ¶5. The FDA argues that the version that passed imposes complex provisions on communities interested in undertaking forestry activities and forces logging companies to abide by potentially contradictory rules and procedures established by a multitude of inexperienced community-level management bodies. It would also require the FDA, along with international partners, to significantly restructure their programs and may also undermine the ability of GOL to implement and adhere to international conventions. Conversely, the version drafted by the FDA maintains centralized authority over the timber industry in line with the NFRL and provides broader requirements for community forestry under a set of regulations that would be formulated by the FDA in consultation with communities. ¶6. Comment: The competing versions of the law reflect a deepening schism between the FDA and key civil society partners with respect to community rights and pressure from communities for more direct input on land issues. The relationship between the FDA and civil society partners deteriorated during the consultation process and has largely broken down now that both camps have consolidated behind competing bills. FDA concerns regarding the practical implications MONROVIA 00000793 002 OF 003 of the law on the nascent timber industry are legitimate and the manner in which the substitute draft act was submitted is suspect. But ultimately legislators responded to the will of their constituency who remains strongly in favor of decentralized control over land use. End Comment. THE COST OF DELAY -------------- ¶7. The FDA awarded three limited duration, small acreage Timber Sales Contracts (TSC) in February, and the Inter-Ministerial Concession Committee (IMCC) recently declared provisional winners of three large-scale, long-tenure Forest Management Contracts (FMCs). The FDA is currently preparing to tender four larger FMCs of over 770,000 hectares - roughly one-third of the forested lands proposed for commercial timber for the next 25 years. ¶8. Of the six smaller TSCs, only one is operational. Two are stalled due to overlap of the concession area with private deeded land. None of the FMC winners announced in April 2008 have mobilized and there are doubts that the winners have the financial ability to perform. Of the total projection of 100,000 hectares to have been operational, only 5,000 hectares are close to being harvested. (Comment: FDA's haste to award contracts by cutting corners in the due diligence process has resulted in many of the problems that are slowing up the contracting process. End comment). ¶9. Ultimately, the delays would make it impossible for the forestry sector to make its projected contribution to the Poverty Reduction Strategy in terms of job creation, timber exports and government revenues. If the CRL passed by the legislature becomes law, there could also be delays in the operations of concessions in other sectors such as agriculture and mining while land claims and just compensation payments to communities are determined. IS LFI UP TO THE CHALLENGE? -------------- ¶10. Since its establishment in 2006, the Liberia Forest Initiative (LFI) - a consortium of forestry sector stakeholders, including USG (USAID, Forest Service, State),World Bank, European Commission, FDA, Flora and Fauna International, Conservation International, and other civil society organizations - has played a major role in achieving benchmark reforms in the forestry sector. The Concessions Review, 2006 Forestry Reform Law, associated regulations, and the introduction of chain-of-custody procedures have laid the foundation for a transparent, accountable system for allocating timber concessions in a way that maximizes government revenue and employment, and ensures responsible forest management. LFI RETREAT GOALS -------------- ¶11. During an LFI Retreat in Monrovia October 15-16, participants will sketch out priorities for "LFI 2" through the end of 2009, including some discussion of the possible resources, assistance and partnerships that will be needed to address them. While LFI may have a limited role in addressing the current imbroglio over the CRL, it is crucial that LFI help the GOL overcome other challenges that have delayed the revitalization of the forest sector. ¶A. Improve the contracting process The procedure for award of contracts under the Public Procurement and Concessions Act (PPCA) is generally transparent, accountable and robust, but the GOL has struggled to comply with the new and complex procedures and the process remains vulnerable to improper influence and the temptation to cut corners. Adherence to legal and regulatory requirements regarding prequalification and bid evaluation (confirmed by due diligence) is essential. Tighter screening of bidders will help attract stronger companies and reduce future problems. Heightened compliance with law, regulation and industry norms - including more rigorous prequalification screening, outsourced due diligence, and targeted promotional outreach - will help attract stronger companies better able to revitalize Liberia's timber industry -- and to do so quickly. LFI can help the FDA to: -- Attract stronger companies to bid: The companies that have bid on the first round of TSCs and FMCs are only marginally qualified, at best. Weak companies may strain to execute these contacts, to protect the forests, to live up to their community obligations, and to exercise environmental safeguards. Stronger companies will provide information more quickly, which will speed evaluation and MONROVIA 00000793 003 OF 003 due-diligence. They will mobilize faster. They will be more capable of meeting community and environmental commitments. -- Simplify the prospectus: The prospectuses for the first round of FMCs have taken several months to prepare. For the second round, a shortage of funding has caused a several-month delay. Simplification could also save money and shave months off the tendering process while producing more reliable information. -- Intensify the prequalification. The current prequalification process is not screening out companies that are not qualified. Instead, the FDA is giving prequalification certificates to many companies that do not meet the standards set out in law and regulation. Some of these unqualified companies go on to bid. This bogs down the work of the bid evaluation panel. After the bid, these companies undergo due diligence. This bogs down of the due-diligence committee, forcing the committee to process applications that cannot possibly succeed. Tighter screening at the prequalification means faster bid evaluation, due diligence, IMC award, and negotiation. -- Contract out the due diligence: Due diligence is a specialized skill. It is best performed by law firms, banks or accounting firms. The FDA does not possess the skills in-house, nor would it make economic sense to develop these skills. The FDA could, instead, contract with an outside firm to perform due diligence. The cost of the due diligence could be assessed to the bidders. ¶B. Develop a system by which concessionaire performance is measured and evaluated International forest management standards exist (FSC, ITTO, and the EU's VPA model). Currently, the FDA has not adopted a set of performance criteria by which company performance can be measured, or developed a framework in which these criteria can be implemented and enforced. ¶C. Institute an effective communications strategy The FDA needs to begin to take a more leadership role in how the reforms unfold and how the donor partners can be serve the FDA's long-term interests. Also, since the lifting of the sanctions the various partners have begun to focus in on their own interest areas - commercial, conservation and community - and the vision for the entire sector is being lost. It is clearly the FDA's mandate to manage and guide developments to prevent the three Cs concept from actually splintering the forest sector in Liberia. Finally, there must be a better means to ensure good outreach to stakeholders in the government, NGOs, civil society, private sector and affected communities so that the implementation of reforms is also accompanied by public discussion, comment and education. ROBINSON