The National Union of Community Forestry Development Committees _ NUCFDCs improving its visibility and extending its activities beyond CFDC.

The National Union of Community Forestry Development Committees (NUCFDCs) has started improving its communication and visibility and at the same time expanding its activities and support to forest community members involved in forest and farm production.  

As a means of improving communication, the NUCFDCs has transformed its Logo to clear present and represent the true meaning of what the NUCFDCs stands. In the same vine of improving communication and visibility, the NUCFDCs has started developing its website that is use to present to the world the activities the NUCFDCs is involve with and the support we are providing to forest communities in Liberia, in forestry, customary land rights, carbon rights, and agriculture. As these visibility and communication tools are been develop, the NUCFDCs is accepting suggestions and support that will help to make these tools better and improve them for more effective and efficient communication.

As a means of strengthening the capacities of forest communities beyond the Community Forestry Development Committees (CFDCs), in forest and farm production, the NUCFDCs has started working with farmers cooperatives and community women groups involved in village saving loans associations (VSALs) and agriculture. With support from the FAO Forest and Farm Facility (FFF), the NUCFDCs is this year working with two farmers’ cooperatives, three women groups in Zorzor and Salayea Districts to develop 40 hectares of agroforestry on degraded land in the two districts. As part of the project activities, the NUCFDCs will provide training on Green Climate Agriculture practices, financial and growth and management training targeting the women Village Saving Loan Associations.  

As part of the current project outcomes, the NUCFDCs is expected to work with 20 forest and farm producers organization apex in Liberia to establish a Federation of Forest and Farm Producer Organizations that will work nationally and international seek the welfare of forest and farm producers in Liberia, and contribute to the Programme Priority Areas (PPAs) and Betters of the FAO Strategic Framework 2022-31:

• Better Production-BP.4 – Small-Scale Producers’ Equitable Access to Resources
• Better Environment-BE.1 – Climate Change Mitigating and Adapted Agri-food Systems
• Better Life- BL.7 – Scaling up Investment

In 2022/2023, the NUCFDCs started awareness raising on the Customary Land Rights Formalization (CLRF) processes to some of our forest communities who have never had the opportunity to go through and understand the processes and get support to go those processes in formalizing their land rights. With support from the Funds for Global Human Rights, through its Legal Empowerment Funds, and Fern, we conducted a series of awareness on the Customary

The NUCFDCs primary members (CFDCs) are established in 11 of the 15 counties with over 500 affected communities, and about 1,000,000 people, who are all forest dependent communities, and greatly involving in forest and farm production.

While we are engaged in these activities to support climate resilient and improve Livelihoods of our forest communities, we are still asking other partners, including the government, UNDP, USAID, national and international partners to support the NUCFDCs to reach out to more communities.

Deliver by:

Andrew Y. Y. Zelemen – NUCFDCs  

On behalf of National Union of Community Forestry Development Committees _ NUCFDCs

Thank you.

Signed: Andrew Y. Y. Zelemen   

 Head of Secretariat/National Facilitator  NUCFDCs     

                        0777385943/0886327714       zelemenandrew@gmail.com