The NGO Coalition of Liberia represents a unified front of over 25 civil society organizations. We bring your attention to some of Liberia’s critical issues surrounding our Natural Resources and the very governance and structural issues that manage the sector.
We must emphasize that Liberia stands at a critical juncture in the history of our nation’s natural resource governance and the entire architecture that runs the sector. As we engage in this consultation, our primary concern is not merely the technicalities of the law, but the procedural integrity of the review itself, which we believe lays the foundation of any outcome that may come. While we welcome the initiation and the driving of the exercise of reforms, we share serious concerns. We now invite you to reason and make necessary considerations to uphold inclusive governance, democratic practice, and the best interests of Liberia.
For months, this process has advanced in a technical vacuum, largely isolated from the very people it is meant to serve. We assert that for any reform of the National Forestry Reform Law (NFRL 2006) to be legitimate, it must emerge from a transparent, predictable, and inclusive roadmap, not a closed-door exercise that considers civil society and community participation as an afterthought. and as mare participants to a few micro-managed meetings. For the process to be creditable, we strongly believed that CSOs and Communities must be involved in every aspect and fully represented on the review team. It is important to note that, civil society has borne the burden of responsibility in this sector, and therefore, it is essential to include them if the reforms are truly to earn public trust or provide any benefit to the land and forest owners in this country. Below are our key concerns brought to you as both a complaint and a demand for consideration:
- Challenging the pace
We view the current “velocity of reform” with deep skepticism. The accelerated pace of this review, characterized by compressed timelines and sudden deadlines, suggests a process that is being prematurely finalized before a genuine national consensus can be reached. Civil society and Communities cautions the Review Committee that speed must never come at the expense of quality or inclusivity. A law that has governed our forests for nearly twenty years cannot be responsibly “modernized” in a matter of weeks. We are here to ensure that this is a reform, not a regression, and we formally demand that the Committee slow the pace to allow for a rigorous, data-backed audit of every proposed change.
- Defending the Sovereignty of Community Ownership
The most pressing threat identified by the NGO Coalition is the potential for this review to be used as a vehicle to dismantle or dilute Community Land Ownership. We have observed an alarming trend where administrative complexities are being introduced to stifle the progress of community land formalization. We categorically reject any attempt to “simplify” commercial logging access while simultaneously complicating the path to community land tenure. The revised NFRL must reaffirm that the Forestry Development Authority’s (FDA) mandate is restricted to State-managed lands; it must never be used as a tool for the State to encroach upon, or manage, the sovereign assets of our rural communities.
- Ensuring a Balanced “4Cs” Framework
Furthermore, we are concerned that the current review is heavily weighted toward Commercial interests at the expense of Conservation, Community, and the emerging Carbon sector. Integrating carbon sequestration into the NFRL without a completed National Carbon Law is a significant legislative risk that could disenfranchise local populations. We demand a harmonized legal architecture where community rights and ecological integrity are not secondary to timber extraction. The Coalition will not support a framework that seeks to “green-wash” industrial expansion or one that replaces established community rights with vague, state-led “benefit-sharing” schemes.
Conclusion: A Call for Just Governance
In conclusion, the NGO Coalition of Liberia remains a committed partner in the quest for sustainable forest management. However, our commitment is to the people of Liberia and the biodiversity they steward. We will not be silent observers to a process that risks reversing decades of advocacy for community land rights. We call upon the Review Committee to adopt a more inclusive and deliberate approach one that honors the grassroots reality of our forest dwellers. The legacy of this reform must be one of justice, equity, and the unfettered recognition of community ownership. Anything less will be a failure of governance and a betrayal of the public trust. Therefore, a conclusive demand will be the following:
- All proposed amendments should be scrutinized by Civil Society, and time should be provided for feedback
- That Comments and considerations which protect the rights of communities are non-negotiable and therefore, must be aligned to existing laws, and if there are any future laws, such must be aligned to what is thoughtfully understood to benefit communities and the country
- That the processes be aligned with experience, drafts shared with CSOs, consultations carried on, and recommendations included in the final laws to the benefit of communities, safeguards of just rights, and due diligence and consideration to future generations.
