Forest Governance

The NGO Coalition of Liberia, representing over 25 civil society organizations in the forest and natural resource sector, has petitioned His Excellency President Joseph Nyuma Boakai, Sr., to defer the endorsement and signing of Liberia’s Draft Carbon Market Policy. 

The Coalition acknowledges the Government’s efforts on climate action but raises concerns about limited stakeholder consultation, particularly the insufficient inclusion of forest-dependent communities and civil society actors in the validation process. 

Through the imposition of targeted sanctions, the international community has demonstrated its concern over the threat Liberia poses to regional security. Despite recent overtures, this threat is still real: Liberia continues to support the rebels of the Revolutionary United Front, and continues to import armaments in contravention of the sanctions.

The Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) is a legally binding trade agreement between the European Union (EU) and timber-exporting countries.

The Sustainable Development Institute (SDI) and other implementing partners have made significant progress in the implementation of the project titled: “Community-Based Forestry and Protected Area Management (CBFM): Boosting Biodiversity Conservation and Improving Livelihoods of Forest-Fringe/Forest-Dependent Communities and Groups in Liberia.”

As the saying goes that an informed mind is an enlightened mind, which is exactly what the Sustainable Development Institute (SDI) and Foundation for Community Initiatives (FCI) have done for citizens in the Gbi Forest Communities about the carbon market and the Blue Carbon deal.

The government of Liberia is currently at an advanced stage of agreement with a United Arab Emirates-based (UAE) firm for carbon offset development. The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was entered into on March 25, 2023.

As part of efforts in documenting reasons for low women participation in Community Forest Management Body (CFMBs), the Sustainable Development Institute (SDI) and Foundation for Community Initiatives (FCI) on March 9-13, 2023 paid an assessment visit to Gheegbah#1 Authorized Forest Community in Grand Bassa District#2. 

The assessment was to understand why women's representation is low in CFMBs leadership and to identify ways to increase their participation in decision-making. 

The Sustainable Development Institute (SDI) through its Forest Governance Program (FGP) Monday, on March 13, 2023, welcomed a delegation from Siemenpuu Foundation based in Finland.