The Society for the Conservation of Nature of Liberia (SCNL), and the Forestry Training Institute (FTI), have signed a five years Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), subject to review based on the availability of performance of both parties under the mutual agreement by the parties to strengthening environment and biodiversity conservation. Mr. Michael F. Garbo, Executive Director, SCNL, and Mr. Joel Gamys, Executive Director, FTI expressed joy for the MOU and promised to work collaboratively to ensure a smooth implementation.
The collective interest of both parties is to create promote and ensure primary responsibilities of maintaining the integrity of the environment and biodiversity conservation in partnership with communities, liaising with other organizations and government entities working with environmental conservation objectives. SCNL and FTI will be collaborating on activities on afforestation, agroforestry, and re-vegetation and advocating for the planting of trees to mitigate the negative consequences of the climate change occasioned by massive deforestation while sustainable agriculture and the forest livelihoods for the communities and urban corridors.
Under the MOU, FTI Campus shall cut across the entire geographic scope of Liberia, where the services of the parties are needed, including forest landscapes, agriculture landscapes, urban corridors, municipal localities, and the areas affected by forests and deforestation due to human activities.
The parties in their commitment concur to host the program under this MoU through a consultative and collaborative process; the parties also confirmed willingness and readiness to undertake this vital responsibility and they will therefore collaborate to perform the following roles and responsibilities, among others:
- Providing the overall management and technical support for the implementation of this MoU programs
- Promoting this MoU program and its expansion mobilizing donors and other partners, including the private sector and local communities.
- Fostering the MoU concept and approach and soliciting support from donor agencies and the private sector to support the expansion of these MoU programs
- Set up a multipurpose commercial agroforestry nursery program to support smallholder farmers, commercial farms, and national tree planting initiatives at land areas on the FTI campus and other areas identified across the country
- Developing training materials in a participatory manner with local authorities and local community groups and coordinating the conduct of training seminars and workshops among the implementing partners of projects and programs under this MoU and other broader initiatives that aligns with the objectives of this MOU.
- Developing a resource mobilization strategy for the expansion of the programs/projects.
- Providing part of the financial requirements in kind or in cash to support the projects/programs inputs.
- Mobilizing resource inputs from the partners and other sources managing and monitoring their proper utilization and the production of quality outputs.
- Providing technical support to parties participating in projects/programs under this MoU.
- Supervising the implementation of the projects/programs and preparing/presenting progress reports to both parties and partners involved.
- Design monitoring and evaluation for the activities under this MoU.
- Ensuring the sustainability of the project under this MoU.
- Taking part in research and survey under this MoU.
- Exchange of technical expertise, advice, and support to foster the goals and objectives of the individual organization and their collective interests
- Taking part in monitoring and evaluation of the project under this MoU
FTI is a legal entity that offers two-year programs for forest rangers and other natural resource professionals in both government and non-government sectors that is dedicated to training middle-level personnel with the requisite skills and knowledge to enhance conservation, community, and commercial forestry in Liberia, which has appropriate land space and is also involved in the promotion of agroforestry program in partnership with the local communities and other stakeholders for the benefit of the people of Liberia and the global community. While SCNL, founded in 1986, is Liberia’s leading civil society conservation organization and the Liberia partner of Birdlife International. SCNL has a 30-year history of promoting responsible stewardship of Liberia’s outstanding natural resources in partnership with communities and is currently involved in the promotion of sustainable forest livelihoods, including agroforestry and tree planting as part of global and national efforts to mitigate climate change and combat deforestation.
