Community Rights and Corporate Governance

This report will examine two of the most serious potential threats to good governance and professional management of Liberian forests: the looming wave of Community Forestry Management Agreements (CFMAs), and the potential for large-scale conversion of forests into agriculture plantations – particularly oil palm. By examining these emerging issues critically, the Sustainable Development Institute (SDI) hopes to warn the Liberian government and its partners of the potential for abuse and mismanagement in coming years.

A host of Golden Environmental Prize winners send a letter to Liberia's Forest Development Authority (FDA) expressing their concerns at the FDA's plan to legalize conversion timber and its potential impact on Liberia's forests.

SDI's letter to FDA highlighting their concerns about the Forest Development Authority's plan to legalize conversion timber.

A brief prepared by SDI that looks into GVL's plantation expansion and the potential threat it poses to Liberia's last remaining forest.

This report evaluates Putu Iron Ore Mining operations in southeastern Liberia. At the PIOM concession, full-scale mining has not yet commenced, and as such the local population is largely hopeful of future opportunities and the company enjoys a fairly strong reputation. However, there are signs for concern. In 2011 a riot at PIOM caused two deaths and necessitated an ERU response, and there have been local complaints that the company is not doing enough to offer stable employment opportunities to residents of the district.

This report highlights China Union’s slowness in living up to provisions of its agreement with the Government of Liberia, pointing to widespread dissatisfaction in Fuamah District, Bong County with the company’s operations and its abusive treatment of Liberian workers. SDI called on the Government of Liberia to press China Union to ensure that it fully complies with the terms of its Mineral Development Agreement with Liberia and that allegations of violence against Liberian workers are addressed and that violators are punished.

This report reveals that Liberia earns too little from its iron ore exports. It reveals that the country gives overly generous tax breaks to iron ore investors grossly undercutting its revised Revenue Code. For example, while the Revenue Code requires multinationals to pay 30 percent income taxes on all corporate profits, ArcelorMittal, China Union, and Putu only pay 25 percent. The report also reveals that state-citizen relations and relations between local communities and foreign multi-nationals operating in the mining sector are strained.

This report throws a spotlight on Liberia’s fledgling oil and gas sector. An oil find in Liberia, which is still recovering from two natural resource fuelled civil wars, could provide desperately needed revenues if the industry is sufficiently reformed. But this report highlights that Liberia is not currently ready for oil without a comprehensive reform of the country’s oil and gas industry.

This report catalogues the social and environmental impacts of ArcellorMittal's mining activities globally. It highlights the issues with the company's activities in Liberia such as the lack of transparency in the management of the operations, the displacement of communities, the failure to produce secure employment and the environmental impact on the East Nimba Nature Reserve.

This report is a follow up to 2009's ‘ArcelorMittal: Going nowhere slowly' and takes an in depth look at the company’s activities in Liberia in terms of their contribution to the country’s development and highlights the failing of the County Social Development Fund in addressing the needs of communities impacted by the operations of ArcelorMittal.