How are Ministries Fighting Liberia's Clear-Cutting?
Liberia’s forest is under serious threat. There are massive legal and illegal logging activities everywhere in the forest. Chainsawing is at its highest level. Protected forest areas are being invaded on the quest for mineral resources, firewood, and human settlement.
Traditional sacred trees are unmercifully cut while secret forests conserved for many years are depleting at an unbelievable rate. The precious forests are dreadfully being cut down every single day.
Mounting scientific evidence and much prodding from environmental justice advocates point to rapid deforestation of Liberia’s forests. There is loss of biodiversity, depletion of forest resources and changes in the weather pattern.
Certainly, there is a need to enforce the acceptance of forest-protection policies in Liberia and dedicate more portions of the forests as protected areas. The Norwegian intervention of 150 million dollars to stop deforestation is a step in the right direction, but more need to be done to ensure the million dollars program adapt a people-oriented approach. This clearly demonstrates how deforestation needs to be addressed, because it erodes human well-being and economies.
There is a resounding question: What is the involvement of Environmental Protection Agency, Ministry of Land Mines and Energy, Forestry Development Authority, Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Legislature doing to tackle deforestation?
Tomas Munita/CIFOR