An investigation into forest ownership and customary land ... - Fern

Introduction
1 The study
This paper reports on a study of forest tenure in Liberia with particular reference
to community interests. The Sustainable Development Institute (SDI) in Liberia
commissioned the study to be able to provide input towards drafting a law
governing community rights in Liberia. SDI has taken on this task in cooperation
with the Forestry Development Authority of Liberia (FDA) and other
agencies as well as NGOs.
The Government of Liberia was directed to submit a community rights law to
the legislature in 2007 by Article 10 of the National Forestry Reform Law 2006
(hereafter NFRL). The decision to enact a special law governing community
rights arises from concern expressed in the public domain that while the new
forestry law marks a new era in citizen-friendly forest management it fails to
sufficiently address the rights of populations upon whose traditional lands
forests grow. These people number around one million, or a third of the total
population of Liberia. Map 3, page 8, shows the substantial area of Liberia that
is forested.
The precise purpose of the study was fourfold:
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– to identify the customary tenure relationship of people with forests today;
– to examine how this is or is not supported in national law;
– to examine the legal and governance implications;
– to articulate strategic ways forward.
Inevitably, reform in one degree or another is suggested in the construction of
land relations underpinning forests and other customary assets. This is timely
given the Johnson Sirleaf Administration’s commitment to land reform, preparations
for which are under way under the leadership of the Governance Reform
Commission (GRC). 3 The findings of this study suggest that the position of
customary tenure in state law will necessarily be a key focus for reforms affecting
rural areas. The community rights law provides an important opportunity to
make first changes. It is increasingly accepted that its provisions will have an
amending effect not just upon the new National Forestry Reform Law 2006 but
also on other land and governance legislation.
3 GRC 2007a, 2007b, The Analyst 2007.