Liberia is the most heavily forested country in West Africa and contains the last large areas of relatively intact rainforest in the region. Most of Liberia’s rural communities are also dependent on the forest for food, energy and other basic needs. During the country’s long conflict, timber exports were used to finance arms sales and logging companies committed human rights abuses against those living in the forests. In the nine years since the war, the Liberian Government and its international partners have spent considerable time and money reforming the sector – drafting new laws and negotiating a timber trade agreement with the European Union. However, in the span of only two years, companies have used a legal loophole to secretively parcel out dozens of logging contracts covering a quarter of the country’s land area – roughly 26,000 km2 – once again threatening Liberia’s forests and the people who depend upon them.

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Contracts Threaten Liberia Forests

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Forest Conservation in Spotlight

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Illegal Logging Poses Threat to Liberian Forests

• Illegal Logging Poses Threat to Forests
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Illegal Liberian Timber in France

• Illegal Logs From Liberia Found in French Port