Twenty-four years ago, Dr. Annika Hillers set out as a researcher in West Africa while pursuing her PhD in biology at the Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam. She stayed and worked in the Taï National Park in the Ivory Coast, a UNESCO World Heritage site, before moving to Sierra Leone, where she lived for seven years working in conservation and biodiversity. She had previously worked in Senegal and Benin.
Dr. Hillers is now the Country Director for the Swiss conservation NGO Wild Chimpanzee Foundation (WCF) in Liberia. Based on her nine years of work in Liberia, she says the country stands a better chance of accessing forest finance due to its vast forests, biodiversity, and mangroves. Her first visit to Liberia was in 2005, a time when the country was still recovering from its 14-year civil war, arriving with a team of researchers.
"We came to assess some areas in the northwest and also in the southeast to know the level of plants, the types of species, and how diverse the place is--to see which areas in Liberia are really important for the world, for research, and for protection," she recalled.
Their work led to the Gola and the Grebo-Krahn forests becoming national parks. "For me, it is actually a privilege to work in Liberia because, you know, it is exceptional what you can find here," she said. "Out of all the West African countries, Liberia is the country where you still have more forest, and a lot of that forest is unexplored."
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Located in Sinoe County, southeast of Liberia, the Grebo-Krahn National Park is home to some 300 western chimpanzees, according to the Wild Chimpanzee Foundation (WCF), which is attached to Taï-Grebo-Sapo, the forest complex extending into neighboring Côte d'Ivoire. This habitat is a critical home to not only chimpanzees but IUCN-listed Endangered pygmy hippos (Choeropsis liberiensis), Endangered western red colobus monkeys (Piliocolobus badius), and Vulnerable forest elephants (Loxodonta cyclotis).
Spanning over 88,000 hectares across the border of Liberia and Sierra Leone, the Gola National Forest represents one of the largest surviving segments of the Upper Guinean Forest in West Africa. As a critical global biodiversity hotspot, it provides a sanctuary for a vast array of life, including more than 200 tree species and 43 species of amphibians.
The forest is a vital refuge for avian and mammalian life, hosting 327 bird species--including the critically endangered Liberian greenbul--and 49 mammal species. In total, Gola is home to over 60 globally threatened species.
Globally, Liberia is known for hosting 42 percent of the Upper Guinean rainforest, a biodiversity hotspot that is home to some of the world's rarest species of plants and animals. Until now, new animals and plants are still being discovered by foreign researchers, says Dr. Hillers.
"We don't even know all the animals and plants you have in Liberia. Sometimes when researchers come, they are still discovering new species that no one knows about. In the southeast in particular, in a proposed national park some years back, a botanist found three new plant species--even trees--that no one has seen before. People coming here can find new snakes, new frogs, and even new insects."
As a foreigner and an expert in West African biodiversity, the conservationist sees her work in Liberia as a privilege, especially where there is a commitment from the government to put more forest areas under protection. These areas can benefit from forest financing opportunities such as carbon projects, ecotourism, and general tourism. Founded in Ivory Coast, WCF is currently present in Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Ivory Coast.
"I love working with the Liberian people, especially the women. For me, I can combine different levels of interests: the interest in nature, the interest in creating development and capacity building, and also women's empowerment."
In Liberia, WCF works within Sapo National Park, Grebo-Krahn National Park, the proposed Kwa National Park, Gola National Park, Foya Proposed Protected Area, Lake Piso Sustainable Multiple Use Reserve, and the Cestos-Senkwehn Proposed Protected Area. WCF works with the Forestry Development Authority (FDA) to create new protected areas, such as the Grebo-Krahn National Park (created in 2017, 970 km²) and the proposed Kwa National Park (formerly called Krahn-Bassa National Park).
In these protected areas, critically endangered Western chimpanzee populations will be protected alongside many other endangered species. The creation of new protected areas contributes to Liberia's national goal to protect 30% of its remaining forest by 2030.
In Sapo National Park, one of the country's key tourism sites, women are trained and work in the lodge to assist visitors and conduct bio-monitoring and patrols. They also engage in many other activities, like beekeeping and honey production.
These services offer employment and income for communities, particularly women. The long-term vision for the management of the parks, programs, and lodges is that they will be spearheaded by Liberians without the ongoing involvement of foreigners or NGOs.
Despite its vast biodiversity and natural importance, Liberia's forest has suffered from illegal logging and deforestation. This is now worsened by the intrusion of cocoa farmers from neighboring Ivory Coast invading protected forests, while schemes to reward conservation by selling carbon credits from intact forests have repeatedly failed to get off the ground and provide tangible benefits to communities . Another crisis involves mining and concession companies operating within conservation or protected areas. This, according to Dr. Hillers, is happening because of the lack of a unified vision within the government.
She said while their work supports the Agriculture, Roads, Rule of Law, Education, Sanitation, and Tourism (ARREST) agenda--the roadmap for development under the current administration--the lack of coordination between government agencies is a setback to conservation work, especially now that the country wants to sell carbon credits and ecotourism.
"No one is saying that we only need to go in the direction of conservation, no. Because we all understand that the central government needs income, we understand that the logging sector is important, the mining sector is important, and the agriculture sector is important. But what is lacking is good coordination between the different government institutions. This means an area that has been earmarked as a protected area for decades, where international funding has gone, and communities have already agreed suddenly interests the Ministry of Mines and Energy, and they will just take it for a concession."
This is a setback to decades of work to conserve these areas, even when communities have consented and acquired their customary land deeds. "The same area is important for ecotourism. Because we know that for ecotourism, the reality is that what makes Liberia really interesting for tourists is the nature. Most tourists come to Liberia because they know that the nature is very rich, the forest is very rich, and the nature is beautiful."
Tourists, especially from Europe, are attracted to Liberia for the forest and the wildlife. This can lead to developing ecotourism projects to generate income, but often mining companies are allowed to work in areas where conservation is already ongoing or earmarked for protection, she says.
"The reality is that everything can happen in Liberia. You can have your ecotourism; you can have your protected area; you can have your logging; you can have your mining. But you just need to decide where the best place is to do what so that in the end, we can get the most benefit from everything. This is what is not happening right now."
Roads are a key component of the ARREST agenda. The government has begun upgrading roads to improve accessibility and connectivity, especially in rural areas that have been marred by decades of deplorable roads. As someone who has a decade of experience traveling the road between Sinoe County and Maryland, Dr. Hillers says that with the improvements, people can now travel faster, and more people are visiting the parks, which is a boost to their work.
"We also want to say a big thank you to the current government because we do see a lot of improvement when it comes to the roads in the southeast; the road is much better now to go to Harper, Maryland County."
Another area where Liberia can generate significant income is through scientific research. Liberia holds the largest portion of the Upper Guinean Forest and the highest biodiversity in the region, yet it lacks the infrastructure to monetize this asset through academia. Recalling her own journey, which began two decades ago as a researcher at an international station in Côte d'Ivoire's Taï National Park, she notes that the station is a proven economic model: researchers pay fees, hire local guides, and create consistent employment. Despite having superior forest resources, Liberia currently has no equivalent facility.
Currently, scientific research in Liberia is stalled by two main factors: Academic Gaps (there are no master's or PhD programs in the sciences, meaning local capacity remains limited) and Lack of Infrastructure (foreign scientists interested in Liberia often have no formal point of entry). They usually have to rely on informal contacts with NGOs because there is not a single dedicated research station in the country where scientists can be based to explore.
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To bridge this gap, an International Research and Training Site will be launched this year. This initiative is designed to be a collaborative hub, managed by the Forestry Training Institute in partnership with the Society for the Conservation of Nature (SCNL) and the FDA. This site will offer training for Liberian and international students.
"This is a way where Liberia can actually make money," she said.
Liberia's 2018 Land Rights Law grants communities full ownership of their customary lands, including the right to manage, use, and benefit from forest resources and to enter into agreements with NGOs such as WCF to conserve and benefit from programs. According to Dr. Hillers, although conservation is about protecting biodiversity, communities--the owners of the forest--have been a key partner. While the FDA is mandated to protect natural resources, its physical presence on the ground is simply too limited to be effective alone. The number of FDA rangers assigned to parks and protected areas is insufficient.
"Two people or three people cannot protect 100,000 hectares, and so it means for conservation to be working, you need the local population to be part of it."
The local populations are not opposed to conservation. Dr. Hillers believed they and their ancestors had served as the forest's caretakers for generations. Friction only arises when the government claims total control but fails to provide adequate protection, allowing outside interests to exploit the land.
WCF is currently supporting the FDA through community-driven initiatives: Community Eco-Guide Program: 250 Eco-Guides across Liberia--80 of whom are women. They patrol the forests, monitor wildlife, track illegal activities, and lead community awareness efforts. Auxiliaries and Bio-Monitors.
"And so it means for conservation to be working, you need the local population to be part of it. So conservation in Liberia is really about the Liberian people," said Dr. Hillers.
