The farmers said that the current rate of deforestation and forest degradation has never been witnessed before in Liberia since the granting of the US$1million concession to the Firestone Agriculture Plantation in 1926.
The workshop was intended to deliberate on how to address the issues of deforestation and forest degradation as well as to design a strategy to engage government and other stakeholders on the government climate change policy formulation process as well as its readiness plan for Reduce Emission from Deforestation and Degradation ( REDD).
The group of farmers participating in the forum said: "do not blame poor rural farmers for climate change." According to the farmer and other participants, recent agricultural, forest and mining concessions have been appropriated approximately 2 million acres of community land subject to customary law. "Just in the last six months alone approximately 2 million hectares of forest land have been awarded under Private Use Permits alone, they stated.
The participants pointed to a recent study by the Liberian Land Commission, which estimated that about 75% of the total Liberian Land areas have either been awarded under concessions or is currently in the pipelines to be awarded under concessions, This means that poor Liberians may only have to fight over the remaining 25%.
"These situations could foster resentment and conflict among indigenous and rural populations, and ultimately undermine not only the efficacy of a Liberian REDD program and the sustainable forest program more generally but the peace and stability of the Country," they added....
USAID photo of a tropical forest in Liberia
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