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BUCHANAN, Grand Bassa County \u2013 LiberTrace<\/a>, a computerized timber-tracking system, can detect one illegal log from a consignment of a thousand. So, it is pointless to say whether the system can identify multiple dirty logs in a consignment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When LiberTrace identifies illegal logs, the Forestry Development Authority (FDA) is required to compel the exporting company to correct issues or remove problematic logs from a consignment, according to the FDA\u2019s special operating procedures (SOPs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n But that was not the case with 219 logs a Chinese-owned firm headquartered in Paynesville exported on August 20, 2023. A LiberTrace analysis of the consignment shows that all 219 logs West Water Group (Liberia) Incorporated shipped had been illegally harvested.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The timber, with a volume of 1,266 cubic meters, were shipped through the Port of Buchanan to China on board MV Sheng LEC<\/a>, a bulk carrier sailing under the flag of Panama. Most of the timber had been harvested in a Grand Bassa County community forest on the same day, July 19, 2023. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Built by SGS<\/a>, a renowned verification company based in Switzerland, LiberTrace traces timber from its origin to its final destination. The FDA\u2019s legality verification department (LVD) co-manages the system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Illegal timber undermines the system, a crucial part of forestry reform to ensure Liberia does not flood domestic and international markets with illegal timber as it was during the country\u2019s civil wars between 1989 and 2003.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Warnings and errors<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n LiberTrace flags issues as \u201cwarnings\u201d and \u201cerrors,\u201d with the latter more serious than the former.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A closer review of the warnings and errors in West Water\u2019s consignment LiberTrace red-flagged paints a grim picture. All the logs had multiple issues. The FDA had not approved the felling of 166 logs or over 75 percent of the shipment. One hundred and sixty-four logs were undersized and details of 144 did not match the records in LiberTrace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDiameter class is different of the one declared during inventory,\u201d some of the issues read.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDiameter below the minimum felling diameter,\u201d others said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The FDA\u2019s SOPs for export allow the regulator to override LiberTrace\u2019s red flags. In such an event, the FDA must justify the override for second or third-party auditing purposes. However, LiberTrace\u2019s history of the export shows no justifications were made.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Deputy Managing Director for Operations Gertrude Nyaley, who headed LVD in 2023, thrice rejected the consignment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mrs. Nyaley\u2019s last rejection occurred on July 26, 2023\u2014 Liberia\u2019s Independence Day\u2014due to \u201cmajor traceability errors.\u201d But miraculously, it was approved in less than 48 hours. There were no inspections of the consignment or corrections of the issues with the logs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Theodore Nna, SGS\u2019 project manager, who did not respond to queries for this story, only cared about payments. \u201c[Export permit] will be signed upon all clearing of invoices,\u201d said Nna, making no further comments. <\/p>\n\n\n\n An entirely dirty consignment is rare, even by the FDA\u2019s poor standards\u2014repeatedly fuelled by capacity gaps, noncompliance and impunity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nna and the FDA did not reply to inquiries for comments, the same with Mrs. Nyaley who oversaw exports in 2023, and West Water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last year, the FDA rejected reports it approved an export half of whose consignment comprised illegally harvested timber<\/a> as a \u201cmisinterpretation\u201d of export data. The regulator argued the errors and warnings LiberTrace identified were \u201cnormal occurrences\u201d but struggled to explain inconsistencies that characterized the export.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/stage.thedaylight.org\/wp68\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-01-28-at-17.04.07-1-1024x404.jpeg\")