By: Bedeskoe Nyumah Tumbay and E. Orlind Cooper
In the quest to catalyze partnerships, renew political commitments, and garner broad interest at the highest level in sustainable forest management, Liberia will host a Forest and Climate Resilience Forum in Monrovia from February 2-3.
The meeting is expected to take stock of policies and interventions, deepen understanding of forests’ multi-sector roles, and generate ideas toward meeting Nationally Determined Commitments (NDCs) from COP26.
Briefing journalists recently, Liberia REDD+ Project Coordinator Mr. Saah David emphasized that the event would mobilize over 200 participants and feature high-level regional and international Ministers and Directors spearheading forest management in their respective countries.
“The platform will set the stage for community leaders, global experts on forests, economic development, and climate change, private sector leaders, and development partners to share success stories about the benefits and opportunities the forest sector can offer to the overall economic development of Liberia,” he says.
Mr. David said Liberia would use the Forum to inform the international community about the progress and the challenges facing the forest sector and how Liberia’s development partners can intervene.
“There are few things we will expect from the conference, including the government of Liberia’s recommitment to the protection and conservation of at least 30 percent of our remaining forest estate. I think there are doubts from some of our partners that Liberia is not living [up] to such commitments, and this is the Forum we are going to use to make that recommitment that Liberia [stands by its earlier commitment] and it is being implemented” Mr. David pointed out.
The Forum will also serve as a critical strategy supporting Liberia’s PAPD. The Forum presents an opportunity to reconfirm Liberia’s commitments to work with partners and share knowledge in natural resources management driven by comprehensive and scientific approaches to achieve sustainability in shared objectives.
Liberia’s forests are essential to its economic development, and the global significance of its forests is convincing due to their unique biodiversity and potential for climate change mitigation. The country contains about 7.5 million hectares of lowland tropical forest, including two crucial forest chains in the southeast (evergreen lowland forest) and the northwest (semi-deciduous mountainous forest).
Altogether, Liberia’s forests constitute 43 percent of the remaining Upper Guinean Forest of West Africa—a global biodiversity hotspot—and covered approximately 69 percent of Liberia’s total land surface as of 2018/2019.
Liberia’s forest sector has the potential to contribute to the reduction of extreme poverty and support increased prosperity along a low-emissions development trajectory.
The West African nation’s forest sector is also a significant source of livelihood for rural inhabitants, with over one-third of Liberia’s population (or 1.5 million people) living in forested areas relying on the forest for their livelihoods, including forest products and the ecosystem services that they provide.
The forest blocks are under increasing threat due to their continued degradation and clearance for agricultural expansion and illegal logging and mining activities at both industrial and subsistence levels.
It can be recalled that at the COP 26 Meeting in Glasgow, Scotland, President George Manneh Weah implored world leaders to establish an African Carbon Credit Trading Mechanism. “With your support, Liberia will be willing to host a conference in the near future to explore the details and structure of such an entity,” President Weah said.
Ultimately, the February Forest and Climate Resilience Forum is a realization of the President’s call. The Forum will be the ideal platform to rally support for the President’s vision of seeking joint action to save the planet.
