MONROVIA \u2013 The United States Forest Service (USFS)<\/a> has sponsored the training of seven Liberian foresters in identifying timber species using science-based technology through smartphones as part of the institution\u2019s commitment to supporting Liberia in combating illegal timber harvesting and trading.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Drawn from the Forestry Development Authority (FDA), the University of Liberia and the Forestry Training Institute (FTI), participants acquired skills to identify various commercial timber species with the Agritix Xylorix mobile app<\/a>. The technology is used worldwide for timber tracking and networking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAs part of the response to address illegal timber trafficking in Liberia, the US Forest Service is providing technical and logistical support to strengthen the capacity of in-country stakeholders, including government ministries, agencies and civil society organizations to achieve Liberia\u2019s policy objectives,\u201d said Dr Benedictus Freeman, USFS Liberia\u2019s Country Coordinator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Illegal timber trafficking has been on the rise for several years in Liberia, with traffickers exploiting the industry\u2019s capacity gaps. \u201cKpokolo<\/a>,\u201d the newest form, involves traffickers shaping timber into blocks and smuggling them through containers, robbing communities and the Liberian government of revenue. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The workshop\u2019s participants acquired skillsets in wood anatomy, imaging, and using the Agritix Xylorix platforms to review timber\u2019s macroscopic features.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Participants also learned how to apply national and international laws and regulations in combating illegal timber trafficking. The Forestry Research Institute of Ghana<\/a> conducted the training From October 7-11 in Kumasi, Ghana\u2019s Ashanti Region.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cA lot was achieved in wood anatomy,\u201d said Moses Wenyanpulu of the FDA\u2019s Research and Development Department. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLike every human, every wood species has a unique and distinct fingerprint called anatomical features found within the wood structure. Understanding these features are very critical to properly identifying timber or lumber,\u201d Wenyanpulu added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n USFS has been active in Liberia since 2003, alongside the USAID on several projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Apart from its anti-timber trafficking project, it has helped develop FTI\u2019s curriculum, provided teaching assistance to the institute, and supported students\u2019 programs. USFS also supports the ecotourism development of the East Nimba Nature Reserve and the Lake Piso Multiple Use Reserve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Top: Participants of USFS\u2019 timber identification workshop at CSIR-FORIG in Kumasi, Ghana. Picture credit: United States Forest Service By James Harding Giahyue MONROVIA \u2013 The United States Forest Service (USFS) has sponsored the training of seven Liberian foresters in identifying timber species using science-based technology through smartphones as part of the institution\u2019s commitment to supporting […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":5457,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[54,1,3],"tags":[2850,123,2851,107,2849,2844],"class_list":["post-5455","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-logging","category-mining","category-rainforest","tag-agritix-xylorix","tag-forestry-development-authority","tag-illegal-timber-trafficking","tag-liberia","tag-united-states-forest-service","tag-university-of-liberia"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\n","aioseo_head_json":{"title":"Foresters Trained to Identify Timber Using Technology Amid Smuggling Rise - The DayLight","description":"MONROVIA \u2013 The United States Forest Service (USFS) has sponsored the training of seven Liberian foresters in identifying timber species using technology.","canonical_url":"https:\/\/stage.thedaylight.org\/wp68\/2024\/10\/15\/foresters-trained-to-identify-timber-using-technology-amid-smuggling-rise\/","robots":"noindex, nofollow, max-image-preview:large","keywords":"","webmasterTools":{"msvalidate.01":"CA6BD2F84653EA44942A55ABC0B35372","miscellaneous":""},"schema":null,"og:locale":"en_US","og:site_name":"The DayLight - The DayLight is a nonprofit, environmental news website. 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