Background
The Akofena Project seeks to strengthen civil society participation, community engagement, and government accountability in Ghana and Liberia’s forest governance systems. The project aims to enhance transparency, increase community oversight, support legal trade, and improve multi-stakeholder collaboration in alignment with the United Kingdom Forest Governance, Markets and Climate Programme.

Named after the Ghana Adinkra symbol “Sword of War,” the Akofena symbolises authority, courage, unity, and the responsibility to defend what belongs to the people. It reflects the commitment to strengthening state responsibility for forest protection while empowering communities to demand accountability. The project employs a governance-focused approach built on community-led monitoring, strengthening civil society capacity, collaboration with law enforcement, strategic advocacy, and regional knowledge sharing.

Overall Objective
An improved forest governance system in Ghana and Liberia, leading to sustainable forest management, a significant reduction in illegal logging, and increased participation of non-state actors in forest law enforcement and oversight.

Project Outputs
Ghana: Independent Forest monitoring by civil society is institutionalized, delivering comprehensive legality and compliance monitoring at both community and national levels.

Liberia: Forest legality and compliance monitoring systems established and operational at both community and national levels.

Ghana and Liberia: Coordinated advocacy initiatives enhance transparency, credibility and integrity in national legality and traceability systems, strengthening authorities commitment to their oversight responsibilities.

Ghana/Liberia: Learnings from FLEGT-VPA implementation are leveraged to inform and strengthen other forest governance initiatives, including Forest Partnerships and UK-VPA.

Ghana/Liberia: Civil society actors in FLEGT-VPA implementing countries in Africa mobilized and empowered to effectively contribute to BMRC programmes and events.

Target Stakeholders: The project adopts a transparent, accountable, and inclusive multi-stakeholder approach across Ghana and Liberia.

Target stakeholders include: State Actors, Civil Society Organisations, Traditional authorities and community leaders, Youth Group, Private sector (Timber companies), International Partners, Media

Expected Results

1. At least 500 CSO/ community representatives trained and conducting forest monitoring across target regions.
2. CSO observers’ participation in TVD audits is institutionalised and contributes to transparency and accountability.
3. At least 50% of verified CSO alerts result in documented enforcement or corrective action.
4. Oversight bodies demonstrate increased responsiveness and collaboration with civil society actors.
5. CSO submissions influence forest sector reforms and enforcement strategies.
6. Government agencies and oversight bodies initiate reforms aligned with advocacy recommendations.
7. At least 10 investigations conducted; findings used to trigger enforcement actions and policy reviews.
8. Over 50 documented violations published; several resolved through mediation or enforcement.
9. Policymakers, donors, and the media inform forest governance reforms based on insights from published briefing papers.
10. New forest governance programmes incorporate FLEGT-VPA lessons in their design frameworks.
11. Comprehensive comparative policy analysis and synthesis report published and disseminated to stakeholders.