National Forest Policy Dialogue
RATIONALE
Liberia contains about 4.3 million ha of lowland tropical forest that comprises 43 percent of the remaining Upper Guinea forests of West Africa. This 4.3 million ha of lowland tropical forest contains extraordinary biodiversity and serves as a habitat for large amounts of endemic flora, fauna, and some of the rarest species in the world. Besides, most of Liberia’s rural populations depend on forests and their various products and ecosystem services.
Despite its rich biodiversity and many essential ecosystem services, Liberia faced enormous challenges in managing its forest resources. Unsustainable exploitations of forests resources, uncontrolled clearing of tropical forests for agriculture, excessive hunting, poaching, illegal logging, chart coal and fuel wood extraction, mining, etc. are some of the primary causes of deforestation, soil degradation, water pollution, meager economic returns from forest resources, increased poverty, and overall biodiversity loss in Liberia.
THE NATIONAL FOREST DIALOGUE
The National Forest Policy Dialogue is organized by the Volunteers for Sustainable Development in Africa in collaboration with the Forestry Development Authority of Liberia with support from partners.
The Dialogue aims to secure the involvement of stakeholders in the decision-making process and a participatory reviewing process in protecting Liberia’s forest. From December 15 to 16, 2022 wide range of national experts (Forestry Development Authority, civil society, academia, private sector, and international organizations, etc.) will meet in Ganta, Nimba County. At the event, the stakeholders will review the “Master Plan for the Development of the Forestry Sector of the Republic of Liberia until 2030” and the action plan for its implementation and alignment of commitments and projects of various agencies.
