Peace building efforts by Liberian legislators and their international partners have recognized the significance of forest governance in sustaining peace over the past 15 years. But whereas last year's Land Rights Law1(LRL) was heralded as an improvement also for community forest governance, some provisions of the new law may become problematic for community forestry when implemented.
The aim of this paper is not an exhaustive legal opinion on the contents of the new law, as this lies in the domain of Liberia's many apt legal practitioners to provide. Rather this paper will present an analysis of both laws and, highlight practical challenges that will very likely emerge when both laws are implemented in the same community concomitantly.
As a consequence, and perhaps most crucially, there may arise implementation challenges from the roles and responsibilities of communities legally delegated between the LRL and the Community Rights Law (CRL). Considering that these issues will likely become more acute when the existing Community Forest Management Agreements (CFMAs) expire, this brief closes with recommendations aimed at forestalling these challenges.