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LIBERIA
Liberia Forest Figures
Forest CoverTotal forest area: 3,154,000 ha % of land area: 32.7%
Primary forest cover: 129,000 ha % of land area: 1.3% % total forest area: 4.1%
Deforestation Rates, 2000-2005Annual change in forest cover: -60,200 ha Annual deforestation rate: -1.8% Change in defor. rate since '90s: 17.3% Total forest loss since 1990: -904,000 ha Total forest loss since 1990:-22.3%
Primary or "Old-growth" forests Annual loss of primary forests: n/a Annual deforestation rate: n/a Change in deforestation rate since '90s: n/a Primary forest loss since 1990: n/a Primary forest loss since 1990:0.0%
Forest ClassificationPublic: n/a Private: n/a Other: n/a Use Production: 41.5% Protection: n/a Conservation: 4.1% Social services: n/a Multiple purpose: 48.3% None or unknown: 6.2
Forest Area BreakdownTotal area: 3,154,000 ha Primary: 129,000 ha Modified natural: 3,017,000 ha Semi-natural: n/a Production plantation: 8,000 ha Production plantation: n/a
PlantationsPlantations, 2005: 8,000 ha % of total forest cover: 0.3% Annual change rate (00-05): n/a
Carbon storageAbove-ground biomass: 731 M t Below-ground biomass: 175 M t
Area annually affected byFire: n/a Insects: n/a Diseases: n/a
Number of tree species in IUCN red listNumber of native tree species: n/a Critically endangered: 0 Endangered: 4 Vulnerable: 42
While Liberia's brutal civil war delayed the commercial exploitation of its rainforests during the 1990s, "conflict timber" was a key source of revenue for warring factions. The harvesting of this wood, combined with collateral damage from military operations and wildlife poaching, took a heavy toll on Liberia's forests. With the end of the war, Liberia's new government—which took power at end of the war in 1998—immediately established forestry as a national priority and instituted a five-year tax holiday on timber industries. This policy, combined with the return of commercial interests to the country, repopulation, and reconstruction efforts, has put pressure on Liberia's remaining forest resources. Since the close of the 1990s, deforestation rates have increased by 17 percent, and primary forest cover in the country has fallen to just over 1.3 percent of the total land area (or 4.1 percent of the forest cover).
After granting large concessions to timber firms, the Liberian government essentially lost control over logging in much of the country. In June 2005, the director of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in Liberia warned that the forest and its associated resources were at a very "high risk of facing depletion" from illegal logging and land invasions by gold miners.
Since the United Nations Security imposed strict sanctions on Liberia in 2003, the government has not legitimately earned any revenue from the timber sector. As such, virtually all logging in Liberia has been illegal and will continue to be until the country is able to meet conditions set forth by the UN which include: increased transparency in timber transactions, government control over the forestry sector, and the banishment of the use of militias by logging firms. Until the government is able to rein in illicit activities in the country's forests, illegal logging will continue to take a heavy toll on Liberia's natural resources. Further pressure from subsistence activities—about 98% of the country's energy needs are met by fuelwood and charcoal according to the ITTO—will not help the situation.
Despite these challenges, things may be looking up for Liberia's forests. After announcing the expansion of Sapo National Park and the creation of the Nimba Nature Reserve in 2003, the government has worked with international NGOs to monitor and address illegal activities in the country's national park. In November 2005, Conservation International (CI) led a survey to assess Liberia`s remaining biodiversity. At last count, the country was home to 2,200 species of plants, 193 mammals, and 576 bird species.
On paper, nearly 16 percent of Liberia is now under some form of protection.
Pygmy hippo shot and killed in…Australia
(11/17/2009) Hunters going after pigs in Australia's Northwest Territories got a big surprise when they shot an animal they mistook for a pig, only to find out it was a pygmy hippopotamus, reports the Northwest Territory News.
Sime Darby signs palm oil deal in Liberia
(05/04/2009) Sime Darby, a Malaysian palm oil producer, will invest $800 million in palm oil and rubber plantations in Liberia, reports Reuters.
Photos of rare pygmy hippo in Liberia
(03/12/2008) It's almost as though this normally shy mammal were posing for the camera. The black-and-white image of a pygmy hippopotamus half-facing the camera is the first ever of a pygmy hippopotamus in Liberia. Perhaps even more astonishing EDGE, the organization that accomplished the photo, believes the image to be only the second photographic evidence of the animal in the wild (the first was taken in 2006 in Sierra Leone). This incredibly secretive animal is usually known through its prints and dung.
Logging resumes in Liberia
(07/17/2006) As former US president Bill Clinton arrives in Liberia to meet with President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, it's time to take a look at the state of the forests in the country. While Liberia's brutal civil war delayed the commercial exploitation of its tropical forests during the 1990s, 'conflict timber' was a key source of revenue for warring factions. The harvesting of this wood, combined with collateral damage from military operations and wildlife poaching, took a heavy toll on Liberia's forests. With the end of the war, Liberia's new government--which took power at end of the war in 1998--immediately established forestry as a national priority and instituted a five-year tax holiday on timber industries. This policy, combined with the return of commercial interests to the country, repopulation, and reconstruction efforts, has put pressure on Liberia's remaining forest resources. Since the close of the 1990s, deforestation rates have increased by 17 percent, and primary forest cover in the country has fallen to just over 1.3 percent of the total land area (or 4.1 percent of the forest cover).
Environmentalists awarded prestigious prize for grassroots work
(04/24/2006) Tonight six grassroots environmentalists will be awarded the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize. This year's winners include a Vietnam veteran fighting Pentagon plans to incinerate chemical weapons stockpiles, a man who tipped the United Nations to illegal logging in war-torn Liberia, the person behind the creation of the world's largest area of protected tropical rainforest, a lawyer in Ukraine who helped block the construction of canal that would have cut through the heart of the Danube Delta, a woman who won resitution for indigenous land owners from logging interests in Papua New Guinea, and a researcher who pushed social impact assessments for major dam developments in China.
Goodbye to West Africa's Rainforests
(01/22/2006) West Africa's once verdant and extensive rainforests are now a historical footnote. Gone to build ships and furniture, feed hungry mouths, and supply minerals and gems to the West, the band of tropical forests that once extended from Guinea to Cameroon are virtually gone. The loss of West Africa's rainforests have triggered a number of environmental problems that have contributed to social unrest and exacerbated poverty across the region.
