At Yerevan’s COP17 biodiversity summit, a steep climb ahead for ‘30 by 30’ target
GAYE TOWN, Liberia – Deep in the Liberian bush, there’s a dispute about what to do with a big swath of rainforest. The conservation group Wild Chimpanzee Foundation (WCF) and Liberia’s Forestry Development Authority (FDA), backed by the EU, are looking to establish a new 172,000-hectare (425,000-acre) national park. However, advocacy NGOs say they’re bypassing […]
In the Liberian rainforest, there is an ongoing disagreement about the future of a sizable area of tropical forest. Conservation organization Wild Chimpanzee Foundation (WCF) and Liberia’s Forestry Development Authority (FDA), with support from the European Union, are planning to create a new national park spanning 172,000 hectares (425,000 acres).
However, environmental non-governmental organizations (NGOs) argue that this plan disregards the land rights of local communities. The proposed Kwa National Park would be a sanctuary for endangered species like chimpanzees, forest elephants, and pygmy hippos. The land it aims to protect is currently under threat from commercial cocoa farming, which is rapidly destroying the surrounding forests.
Some villagers have enlisted migrant workers to establish new cocoa plantations within the park’s proposed boundaries. They are now demanding that the Liberian government reduce the park’s size by excluding these areas. Tommy Yarkpawolo, an elder from the village of Gaye, expressed his stance, stating that he desires the boundary line to be adjusted slightly.
He owns a 600-hectare (1,482-acre) farm with 30 workers, which has provided him with a substantial income of over $400, enough to begin constructing a new mud-brick house. Many of his neighbors, however, oppose the idea of reducing the park’s size. They claim that the negotiations between WCF, FDA, and local stakeholders are...
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