Four renowned African Civil Society organizations from Liberia, Ghana, Cameroon and the Republic of Congo have called on the European Commission to review its unilateral decision to terminate the Volunteer Partnership Agreement (VPA).
The African civil society organizations in collaboration with a Dutch foundation group, Fern, are requesting their respective governments to join them in calling on the European Commission (EC) to review its unilateral decision to terminate the VPA. Founded in 1995, Fern is an international Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) set up to keep track of the European Union’s (EU) involvement in forests and coordinate NGO activities at the European level.
The Sustainable Development Institute (SDI) is leading Liberia’s effort to ask the EU to reconsider its unilateral decision. Last week, SDI travelled to Brussels and Paris to meet with European policy makers, mainly the European Parliament and the European Council, two groups with decision-making power to terminate the Liberian VPA.
Following detailed discussions with Members of the European Parliament of multiple political groups, it became clear that they were either not informed or mis-informed about the European Commission’s decision to terminate the VPA. Similarly, the group met with members of the Council (representatives from ministries of European Member States) who had not been adequately informed nor consulted.
Given the importance of the VPA to address illegalities and deforestation in Liberia, the SDI urges the European Commission to revise its proposal to unilaterally terminate the VPA and replace it with a “Forest Partnership”, which is not Legally Binding and whose content and ambition are unclear.
Instead, the four African civil society organizations urge the European Commission, European Parliament and European Council to strive for a model of coexistence between VPA and Forest Partnership that respects all stakeholders’ involvement in the Agreement processes. Additionally, the group said there was no satisfying motivation presented by the EC in Brussels to opt for the replacement of the VPA by a Forest Partnership whereas the VPA and FP coexist in three other countries.
In Guyana, the Republic of Congo and Honduras the VPAs and Forest Partnerships are compatible, complementary and not mutually exclusive. In these countries, the Forest Partnership is a coordination tool which relies on effective implementation of the VPA to be successful.
During recent trip to Brussels and Paris to explore effective partnerships between EU and Central and West African Countries from January 27-30, 2025, the European Commission confirmed the relevance of the coexistence of the VPA and Forest Partnership model.
“We are convinced that the coexistence approach will foster dialogue among governments, CSOs and other stakeholders and will ensure that the objectives of the VPA are achieved – the VPA should be enhanced with a Forest Partnership, not replaced by it,” states Jonathan W. Yiah, Forest Governance Program Team Leader at the SDI. “This will allow the necessary adjustments and improvements to achieve an effective partnership with the EU,” he concluded.
The coexistence approach will lead to creative and sustainable solutions in upholding the VPA achievements and enhancing respect for forest governance. This approach will foster dialogue among governments, civil society, and industry stakeholders to ensure that the objectives of the VPA are met while allowing for necessary added value, adjustments and improvements to the Forest Partnership. The approach will lead to advanced results that maintain the truthfulness of the agreement while respecting the growing landscape of forest governance.
Like other African countries, Liberia’s VPA continues to play a crucial role in promoting a sustainable path to improving Liberia’s forest governance including stakeholders’ participation, transparency and combating illegal logging. Terminating the VPA will significantly derail the progress made and revert Liberia to the very ugly past wherein the forest exploitation did not benefit all Liberians.
Also cancelling the legally binding agreement will not only affect the progress made collectively, it will have a disastrous impact on the protection of the environment, the economy, and the communities that heavily depend on resources from these forests for their livelihoods.
Jonathan Yiah also said “We want to urge the EC to invest in multi-stakeholders’ dialogues collectively aimed at finding solutions on how the VPA can be further strengthened through a Forest Partnership instead of being terminated. Let’s remember that collaborative solutions are crucial. We believe that sustaining the VPA and encouraging a coexistence approach is the best way forward at this stage.”
