PAPFor: Support Programme for the Preservation of Forest Ecosystems in West Africa

Background and Overview

The PAPFor is a three years funded transboundary Project that is implemented between Sierra Leone and Liberia on the Gola landscape with three key Strategic Partners. On the side of Liberia, we have the Society for the Conservation of Nature in Liberia (SCNL) and on the side of Sierra Leone, we have the Conservation Society of Sierra Leone (CSSL) and Gola Rainforest Conservation Limited by Guarantee (GRCLG). The Project is implemented in forest-edge communities in ten chiefdoms in Kenema, Pujehun, and Kailahun Districts on both the Gola Rainforest National Park and the Kambui Hills Forest Reserve. Moving forward the project is building on the existing work and experience of the previously ended WABICC Project in the Gola Landscape and the JENSEN Project in Kambui Hills Forest Reserve.

Situation we are facing

In the Gola Forest context, communities are still living in poverty, dependent on forest products. Ensuring the livelihoods of community members is absolutely essential to achieve the goals of conservation and must be integrated with conservation activities. This project incorporates some support to improve livelihoods through eco-tourism and a sustainable logging pilot but by itself, this project does not ensure the livelihoods of community members and we assume that other interventions in the landscape, including ongoing and planned projects, both by the partner organizations and others, will have to fill this gap.

Our goals

To ensure that the Gola Landscape in Sierra Leone and Liberia is effectively managed by a cross-border partnership between Government, Civil-Society Organisations, and Communities.

Our approach

We work strategically with our partner (GRCLG) and government ministries and department as key collaborating bodies for the project implementation. The essence is to enhance effective participation in a more collaborative and transparent manner. We primarily target forest edge communities as key beneficiaries to the project. The process is completely participatory with a multi-stakeholder engagement methodology to ensure the desired outcomes.

Our activities

Our activities are primarily focused on engaging communities and chiefdom stakeholders as well as opinion leaders. In meetings and workshops we reach out together with government stakeholders to  key challenges faced in conserving the landscapes and finding possible solutions to eliminate or drastically minimize the rate of deforestation activities in the forest. Multi facet and robust engagement processes and procedures are required to set the goal.

Key activities are:

1. Participatory land use planning
2. Participants are trained in establishing and managging community forestry
3. Effective community participation in conservation by implementing a co-management approach mechanism in conserving the GRNP and KHFR
4. Shared learning with other sister country projects and incorporate learning into the implementation

Outcomes we want to achieve

• Outcome 1: Land Use Planning
• Outcome 2: Protected Area Management
• Outcome 3: Community forestry
• Outcome 4: Shared learning with other projects of Sisters Countries