EU ROM conducted for PAPFor Gola Landscape (Liberia and Sierra Leone)

Members of the Gola Partnership – BirdLife International, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), Society for the Conservation of Nature (SCNL), Conservation Society of Sierra Leone (CSSL) and Gola Rainforest Company Limited by Guarantee (GRC LG) – played host and, with the EU Delegations in Liberia, Sierra Leone and the Regional Coordination of the EU PAPFor Programme, organised an EU Gola PAPFor Result Oriented Monitoring (ROM) visit between 7th and 23rd November 2022.

A well-managed mission

The two-week long trip involved meetings, interview with key stakeholders, government institutions, consultants and community members. A key part of the task included field visits to protected areas and community forests in Sierra Leone and Liberia.

The ROM consultant is Ruth Malleson. Ruth is highly experienced in conducting EU Result Oriented Monitoring missions and has a good working experience of Africa. She is an anthropologist with strong emphasis on livelihoods and community development as an integrated approach to biodiversity conservation and development.

Giancarlo Monteforte, project officer in the EU Delegation in Sierra Leone, Stephan Cocco, the Program Manager, Green Team, in the EU Delegation in Liberia, and Marc Languy, Regional Coordinator of PAPFor West Africa, supported the ROM Mission. Also in the team was the project supervisor for PAPFor/BirdLife International Forest Officer for Africa, Mami Rasamoelina, and the Gola Landscape PAPFor EU Manager/RSPB Programme Manager-Liberia, Alade Adeleke.

An opportunity to exchange

The ROM provided an opportunity to interact with project beneficiaries, and to share ideas and knowledge on efficiency, effectiveness in carrying out project activities and the crucial need for focus on sustainability.

Several issues related to conservation, livelihoods, community forestry, conservation enterprise, REDD+ and benefits from ecosystem services, protected area management and institutional capacity for landscape management were covered in the discussions and interviews with institutions and communities. The ROM provided an exercise in adaptive learning and an opportunity for more effective coordination and efficiency in targeting project results and preparing for future sustainable development in the landscape.

The Gola PAPFor team appreciates the collaboration of major stakeholders including institutions and communities for their participation in the ROM, on which a report will be delivered shortly. The exercise enabled direct interaction with the Forestry Development Authority (FDA) of Liberia, Sierra Leone’s National Protected Area Authority (NPAA), the Sierra Leone Department of Forestry and Mano River Union (MRU). The ROM also visited and shared knowledge with communities – Joru in Gaura Chiefdom, Matakam in Nyawa both in Sierra Leone; Tima Town, Camp Alpha in Gbrapolu County; Forno and Varguaye in Cape Mount County of Liberia.