Who Is in Charge of the Grebo-Krahn National Park?

By the Liberia Forest Media Watch

In August 2017, when the Grebo-Krahn National Park was ‘gazetted’, or created through enactment into law, the framers hoped this ecologically significant landscape would serve as a home for Liberia’s unique biodiversity. During the launch of the park in 2018, communities within the surrounding area of the Park expressed their support for its creation, envisioning a new opportunity that would help improve their livelihoods.

At the launching ceremony, former Grand Gedeh County Superintendent, Kai Farley emphasized the need for alternative livelihoods to alleviate pressure on forest resources, noting that many of the surrounding communities are forest-dependent. He highlighted the importance of prioritizing local residents for employment opportunities to enhance the park’s protection.

The Managing Director of the Forestry Development Authority (FDA), Mike C. Doryen also spoke at the event, stating that the government, with support from partners, would strengthen livelihood programs and provide empowerment schemes for youth and women. Doryen assured the communities of the government’s commitment to effectively managing the park, referencing the National Forestry Reform Law of 2006, which mandates the FDA to conserve thirty percent of Liberia’s remaining forest cover.

Doryen’s comments were supported by the then Chairman of the Board of Directors of the FDA, Harrison Karnwea, who boasted about plans to build the park’s headquarters in Ziah Town, Grand Gedeh County, through a grant from the German Development Bank KFW, which would further improve the living conditions of residents. The involvement of the citizens around the Park was facilitated through free, prior, and informed consent, an approach that drew praises from community leaders.

But, after nearly eight years of the establishment of the park and subsequent launch, the narrative has dramatically changed, resulting in a strained relationship between the FDA and some local people living in the area.

Among others, community members say the deteriorating relationship is due to the FDA’s failure to deliver on promises made to residents of the park, prompting the widespread abuse of the park by those in search of livelihoods, for example by establishing cocoa farms in Park.  

The FDA, in response, says the KFW grant which was meant to support livelihood initiatives, was not secured, which led the government to default on some of the commitments made during the gazettement process..

The FDA’s Deputy Managing Director for Communities, Conservation and Carbon, Nora Bowier said at a town hall meeting held in Ziah Town, Grand Gedeh in late February 2025 that despite the collapse of the KFW grant, the government and its partners, including the Wild Chimpanzee Foundation and GIZ Ambaro, implemented various initiatives. These interventions include fish farming, lowland swamp rice development, community Eco-guard initiatives, and biomonitoring programs.

Ms. Bowier added that the FDA has supported local farmers and provided safe drinking water to communities once lacking those facilities.

But in January 2025, after eight years of working together, tensions escalated when a group of men, circulated a notice to various towns in the north of the National Park urging community leaders to halt all FDA-related activities within and around the park. The men are believed to be agents of a traditional priest from Garleo Town, and all towns adjacent the park complied with, according to local informants. This suspended the FDA’s regular forest surveillance patrols and disrupted ongoing livelihood projects, particularly those under the UNDP Leh Go Green Project.

Reports indicate that Senator Thomas Yaya Nimely of Grand Gedeh County and Representative Marie Johnson from Electoral District # 2 are allegedly supporting the local traditional leaders in obstructing the functions of the FDA. This was shown when Representative Johnson described an organized FDA meeting, aimed at resolving ongoing issues between the FDA and local communities, as irrelevant. Her remarks were based on the absence of representatives from the Twarbo and Glio Chiefdoms, who declined to attend the meeting despite being served official invitation.

The situation escalated when it was reported that those who received invitations to the FDA’s meeting were summoned by a traditional priest in Garleo Town for questioning. They were asked to explain why they should not be fined for violating “tradition norms”. Additionally, the traditionalists ordered the arrest of Selma Kolako, the FDA Zone Warden, who escaped overnight after a tip off. A junior ranger was held hostage by the traditional priest for weeks until news of his detention was reported by LFMW.

The multi-stakeholder meeting was held on February 26-27, 2025 but ended in deadlock.  Sine then, the FDA has made no progress in managing the northern part National Park, raising concerns about effective protection. Residents in the northern part of the park (Grand Gedeh County) have expressed their interest in cocoa farming, attracting undocumented migrants from Burkina Faso to assist with efforts in cultivating their cocoa farms.

A local resident, who requested anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the issue, stated, “The Grebo-Krahn National Park will never return to its former state unless urgent measures are taken. As we speak, over two thousand Burkinabe have arrived in nearby communities, brought in by the indigenous people to advance closer to the park. In Garleo Town, Tempo, and Billibo, residents are already clearing parts of the park to plant cocoa.”

The local FDA’s office in Zwedru, Grand Gedeh is yet to make any public statement on the situation, yet this vital ecological landscape is being destroyed due to threats posed by unregulated cocoa farming. In fact, many people are questioning the FDA’s current capacity to handle the complexities surrounding the Liberian forest sector, especially concerning conservation. The FDA Managing Director, Rudolph J. Merab, in a February 27, 2025 edition of the Forest Hour complained about limited financial and logistical support to be everywhere.

James Saydee, Jr., a resident of Whybo Town, expressed his skepticism about who is in charge of the National Park, saying, future generations will have to contend with the consequences of the mismanagement of the park and the lack of effective actions for its governance. Another concerned citizen said:

“We can call on our government and international partners to immediately intervene to save the future of the Grebo-Krahn National Park because if care is not taken, we might very soon lose this important transboundary landscape” located between the Taï National Park in Ivory Coast and Sapo National Park.