Publications

Abstract: After the end of Liberia’s civil war in 2003, the country embarked upon the reform of its forest and land legislation. This culminated in the adoption of the 2009 Community Rights Law with Respect to Forest Lands and the 2018 Land Rights Act, which NGOs and donors have described as being amongst the most progressive laws in sub-Saharan Africa with regard to the recognition of customary land tenure.

The Community Rights and Cooperate Governance Program (CR&CGP) of SustainableDevelopment Institute (SDI) is using a land valuation tool developed by Namati. It supportscustomary communities and forest dependent peoples to clearly understand the value of their landand guide them to make informed decision during land negotiations with companies or investors.The exercise also makes customary communities more cohesive and resilient in the managementand governance of their lands and natural resources.

We, the delegates, from Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Liberia and our partners from UK attending the Regional Dialogue on Oil Palm Development in West Africa from November 27th and 28th 2019, engaged in experience sharing on community rights, and the role of stakeholders in the context of oil palm plantation development and came to the following conclusions:

Equatorial Palm Oil (EPO) runs the Palm Bay Estate palm oil concession in District #4 of Grand Bassa County. This concession falls under a 2008 agreement between its subsidiary Libinco (formerly Libinc Palm Oil Inc) and the Republic of Liberia. EPO has an approved Environmental and Social Impact Assessment for 13,962 hectares. Thousands of hectares of palm oil have been rehabilitated or newly planted (since 2014) as part of what the company termed ‘phase 1’ of 8370 hectares. Gmenee village sits right in that new planting area.

In November 2018, the Sustainable D e v e l o p m e n t I n s t i t u t e ( S D I ) commissioned field-based research on p r i v a t e l y o w n e d m o n o c u l t u r e plantations across Bomi County, Liberia. The study sought to identify and provide a broader understanding on the nature and implications of privately owned land holdings on the livelihood/food sovereignty of local communities in view of the expansion of Sime Darby's plantation activities. The research is aligned with promoting SDI's approach on community rights and food security with good governance in forest and climate p

The Policy Brief argues for an approach that situates forest and forest resources at the center of sustainable development efforts in forest communities. It proposes, for example that community forestry should be oriented towards social empowerment and community-owned enterprise development, and move away from the rent-seeking approach in which communities look to logging companies because they promise jobs, roads, schools, clinics, and clean water.

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 passage, in September 2018, of the Land Rights Law (LRL) in Liberia was a critical moment in the country's long and tortuous path to legislative reforms in the land and natural resource sector. The LRL secures the rights of over 3 million Liberians to own and manage their land, particularly those in rural areas that have been historically marginalized and denied formal legal recognition of their customary land and resources. 

Community Land Protection Tools: Land Rights Policy Poster