Liberia holds 44.5% of the remaining portion of the Upper Guinean Rainforest in West Africa,which is home to critically endangered forest elephants and western chimpanzees.The forests are of vital importance for the l...Liberia holds 44.5% of the remaining portion of the Upper Guinean Rainforest in West Africa,which is home to critically endangered forest elephants and western chimpanzees.The forests are of vital importance for the livelihoods of millions of West Africans and provide key ecosystem services of local and global importance for food systems transformation and agroecology.Liberia’s efforts toward land reform through legislation and policies recognise communities’rights to own and manage their customary lands and resources.These include the National Forestry Reform Law of 2006,the Community Rights Law Concerning Forest Lands of 2009,and the Land Rights Act of 2018,and more.In May 2022,a program team from the Sustainable Development Institute(SDI)-Friends of the Earth Liberia researched the social and environmental impacts of Maryland Oil Palm Plantations(MOPPs)in Liberia.Twenty-three(23)key informant interviews(KIIs)and 10 focus group discussions(FGDs)were conducted in seven communities in and around the MOPP.They included farmers,contract workers,MOPP staff,local authorities,women and youth leaders,the Environmental Protection Agency(EPA)Inspector,the Civil Society Head,and the Gender Coordinator of Maryland County.The team cross-checked information with formal documents as much as possible and took photographs and global positioning system(GPS)locations of areas of deforestation,pollution,and conflict.The team also used observation to monitor environmental pollution,such as affluent into water bodies and planting oil palm in wetlands.The team used narrative analysis and geospatial landscape analysis to analyze the data.The research finds that land conflict and deforestation have several negative impacts on communities.MOPP has not respected land tenure rights or followed Free Prior and Informed Consent(FPIC)standards,including resettlement without reparation and destruction of farms and old towns without(sufficient)compensation or restitution.During MOPP land acquisition and clearance,communities experienced the loss of their farms and the identification of villages as“village de squatters”,leading to restricted access to farmland,heightened food insecurity,and reduced income from cash crops to support families.MOPP destroyed high conservation value areas and destroyed secondary forest regrowth,which affected important biodiversity areas.MOPP is one of the four large-scale industrial palm oil plantations in Liberia in Maryland County.It has a palm oil mill in a joint venture with Golden Veroleum Liberia(GVL).Its 2011 concession agreement includes 8,800 hectares for industrial palm oil plantations.展开更多
文摘Liberia holds 44.5% of the remaining portion of the Upper Guinean Rainforest in West Africa,which is home to critically endangered forest elephants and western chimpanzees.The forests are of vital importance for the livelihoods of millions of West Africans and provide key ecosystem services of local and global importance for food systems transformation and agroecology.Liberia’s efforts toward land reform through legislation and policies recognise communities’rights to own and manage their customary lands and resources.These include the National Forestry Reform Law of 2006,the Community Rights Law Concerning Forest Lands of 2009,and the Land Rights Act of 2018,and more.In May 2022,a program team from the Sustainable Development Institute(SDI)-Friends of the Earth Liberia researched the social and environmental impacts of Maryland Oil Palm Plantations(MOPPs)in Liberia.Twenty-three(23)key informant interviews(KIIs)and 10 focus group discussions(FGDs)were conducted in seven communities in and around the MOPP.They included farmers,contract workers,MOPP staff,local authorities,women and youth leaders,the Environmental Protection Agency(EPA)Inspector,the Civil Society Head,and the Gender Coordinator of Maryland County.The team cross-checked information with formal documents as much as possible and took photographs and global positioning system(GPS)locations of areas of deforestation,pollution,and conflict.The team also used observation to monitor environmental pollution,such as affluent into water bodies and planting oil palm in wetlands.The team used narrative analysis and geospatial landscape analysis to analyze the data.The research finds that land conflict and deforestation have several negative impacts on communities.MOPP has not respected land tenure rights or followed Free Prior and Informed Consent(FPIC)standards,including resettlement without reparation and destruction of farms and old towns without(sufficient)compensation or restitution.During MOPP land acquisition and clearance,communities experienced the loss of their farms and the identification of villages as“village de squatters”,leading to restricted access to farmland,heightened food insecurity,and reduced income from cash crops to support families.MOPP destroyed high conservation value areas and destroyed secondary forest regrowth,which affected important biodiversity areas.MOPP is one of the four large-scale industrial palm oil plantations in Liberia in Maryland County.It has a palm oil mill in a joint venture with Golden Veroleum Liberia(GVL).Its 2011 concession agreement includes 8,800 hectares for industrial palm oil plantations.
