Forest 500

The primary drivers of forest loss in Liberia are shifting cultivation and agricultural expansion, affecting approximately 45% of forest areas. Liberia has over 622,000 hectares of land under palm oil concessions and although the majority of this is not yet planted, much of the land earmarked for development overlaps with dense, biodiversity-rich forest. Intensive logging throughout 25-30% of the forested landscape is significant and has undoubtedly played a central role in forest loss in Liberia.

Throughout the country’s conflict, timber exports were used to finance arms sales. Since the war, the government has attempted to reform the forestry sector and has begun drafting a Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) with the EU. However, a legal loophole has allowed for a new wave of logging contracts, in the form of Private Use Permits (PUPs), to be signed. Between 2010 and 2012, PUPs were granted over around a quarter of the country, representing 40% of Liberia’s forests (some sources report up to 60%). PUPs contain no sustainability requirements and therefore essentially open the door for widespread forest clearing throughout the country.