This Annual Report from Liberia and the EU includes important achievements made. The first formal meeting of the Joint Implementation Committee (JIC) made up of representatives from the EU and Liberia was held in May 2014 and served as a forum to discuss forestry sector challenges. One of the Committee’s focuses is finalising and implementing the Timber Legality Assurance System (TLAS) to track timber and verify aspects of legality, a licensing procedure for timber exports, a complaints mechanism and an independent audit process.

Work undertaken as part of the VPA process complements Liberia’s efforts to reform its forestry sector. The Forestry Development Authority (FDA), supported by an external service provider, is building on the existing CoC system that preceded the VPA. This system ensures traceability from standing tree to the point of export, and provides the evidence to support the issuing of export permits.

By the end of 2014, the Government of Liberia had drafted new regulations for half of the areas that the VPA identified for law reform. Dialogue with stakeholders revealed that additional
regulations need to be developed and that there needs to be a harmonisation of existing regulations. The EU and Liberia committed at the JIC to address these issues.