The legal framework governing forest conversion in Liberia

The document analyzes the legal mechanisms for clearing natural forests for other uses in Liberia, highlighting a lack of national land use planning and poor coordination between government agencies. It examines the roles of the Forest Development Authority (FDA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the status of community forest rights, and the challenges of integrating conversion timber into the Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) with the European Union.

• Liberia lacks a national land use plan, which leads to overlapping land usage, particularly between mining and forestry activities, and results in concessions being issued without comprehensive planning or ministerial coordination.
• The national classification of forests remains incomplete. While the Forest Development Authority (FDA) has defined forested land, it has not yet developed the suitability map required to demarcate which areas are most appropriate for commercial, community, or conservation use.
• Agricultural and mining legislation, including the Agricultural Law of 1973 and the Minerals and Mining Law of 2000, contains no specific provisions or restrictions regarding forest conversion and does not recognize community land rights.
• There is a legal contradiction regarding forest clearance authority: while the National Forestry Reform Law designates the FDA as the government representative for all forest use, the Minerals and Mining Law and specific concession agreements allow companies to clear forests without FDA coordination.
• Local communities are generally excluded from concession agreement negotiations, and the government has granted agreements claiming land is 'free of encumbrances' despite the presence of villages and farming land, leading to clashes over ownership.
• Conversion timber is currently not a legal form of timber for trade in Liberia or internationally because the government decided in September 2016 not to allow the commercialisation of such timber, leaving it outside the current implementation of the Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA).

APA

ClientEarth (2016). The legal framework governing forest conversion in Liberia. https://www.clientearth.org/media/jkypwmxr/legal-framework-governing-forest-conversion-in-liberia-ce-en.pdf

Chicago

ClientEarth. The legal framework governing forest conversion in Liberia. 2016. https://www.clientearth.org/media/jkypwmxr/legal-framework-governing-forest-conversion-in-liberia-ce-en.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=ClientEarth |title=The legal framework governing forest conversion in Liberia |date=November 2016 |url=https://www.clientearth.org/media/jkypwmxr/legal-framework-governing-forest-conversion-in-liberia-ce-en.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{clientearth2016legal, author = {{ClientEarth}}, title = {{The legal framework governing forest conversion in Liberia}}, institution = {ClientEarth}, year = {2016}, month = nov, url = {https://www.clientearth.org/media/jkypwmxr/legal-framework-governing-forest-conversion-in-liberia-ce-en.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }