Protecting Liberia's forests and oceans for the benefit of people

 
 

Since 2001, Conservation International-Liberia has worked to balance conservation, sustainable production and the economic development of Liberia.

By working with local communities to promote forest protection, we're helping conserve biodiversity-rich forests in East Nimba — securing their climate and socioeconomic benefits for generations to come. Our Blue Oceans Program is promoting the establishment of new protected areas, tackling plastic pollution and restoring the critical benefits that Liberia's coastal and marine ecosystems provide for communities and wildlife.

We're working closely with the government to incorporate natural climate solutions into Liberia's commitments to the Paris Agreement, helping the West African country to develop a nature-first strategy that prioritizes the protection and restoration of vital ecosystems that store large amounts of potentially climate-warming carbon.

 

Highlight project

© Michael Christopher Brown

Protecting threatened forests and mangroves

As part of the Food Systems, Land Use and Restoration (FOLUR) Impact Program — a joint effort by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and World Bank — Conservation International-Liberia is working to promote biodiversity conservation and sustainable food systems in northwest Liberia.

Home to some of the largest remaining forests in West Africa, northwest Liberia is a global conservation priority for carbon, biodiversity and vital ecosystems that provide fresh water for more than a million Liberians.

The multi-year project, which began in 2021, will strengthen land-use planning to identify essential areas for forest protection and restoration, and for the sustainable production of crops, including palm oil and cacao.

Under our GEF Natural Capital Accounting Project, we are also working with the government of Liberia to establish mangrove ecosystem accounts. The objective is to enhance the conservation and sustainable use of Liberia's natural capital by integrating the value of nature into the country's development trajectory.

 

Where we work in Liberia

 

News from Liberia

New NASA maps will help Liberia chart course for a sustainable future

© CI/photo by Bailey Evans


Within Liberia’s borders lies one of the last strongholds of intact forests in West Africa.

But as Liberia’s economy recovers following years of civil war, experts fear that these forests — and other ecosystems across the country — could become victims of unsustainable oil palm development, urbanization and logging. 

To prevent this, the Liberian government must first know where its most valuable ecosystems are located, how much of them is left and what critical services they provide to people. 

A groundbreaking effort is helping them achieve the first step in charting a course for a more sustainable future. 

In partnership with Conservation International and NASA, the government of Liberia recently mapped the country’s diverse ecosystems — from lush forests to coastal mangroves — and analyzed how they have changed over time. 

These “Ecosystem Extent Maps” will help the government quantify the economic benefits of Liberia’s natural resources and the services they provide to people — the country’s “natural capital.” They were created using remote-sensing data generated by NASA’s fleet of Earth-observing satellites and field surveys from Conservation International scientists on the ground. 

The next step: For decision-makers to use these maps to promote the value of Liberia’s natural capital when planning its long-term economic growth and development. 

“The maps enable the government to determine the true extent of Liberia’s forests, mangroves and freshwater ecosystems, each of which provides the economy and communities with services essential for livelihoods and long-term economic resilience,” said Daniel Juhn, vice president of Conservation International’s Moore Center for Science. 

Working with the Liberian government, Conservation International and NASA will continue to develop even more detailed maps of the country that account for the condition of its ecosystems and quantify the specific services they provide to people at community and regional levels. 

The mapping initiative in Liberia — which serves as a model for similar, future projects in Gabon and Botswana — supports the goals of the Gaborone Declaration for Sustainability in Africa (GDSA), a commitment made by 18 African countries to invest in a new model of development that takes into account the economic value of the continent’s natural resources. 

“With this effort, the Liberian government is leading the way regionally in assessing nature’s values, something that is needed to inform planning, sustainable development and conservation efforts in-country and across Africa,” Juhn added.

To learn more about how the Liberian government will use these maps to protect the country’s nature and economy watch the video below. 

Video courtesy of NASA.

Kiley Price is a staff writer for Conservation International. Want to read more stories like this? Sign up for email updates. Donate to Conservation International.

Cover image: A man looking out at the East Nimba Nature Reserve, Liberia (© Conservation International/photo by Bailey Evans)


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Hear directly from Conservation International employees on the ground in Liberia.

 

References

  1. Fedele, G., Donatti, C. I., Bornacelly, I., & Hole, D. G. (2021). Nature-dependent people: Mapping human direct use of nature for basic needs across the tropics. ScienceDirect, 71. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2021.102368
  2. Conservation International (2021, November). Irrecoverable Carbon. Retrieved January 2025, from https://www.conservation.org/projects/irrecoverable-carbon
  3. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. (2024). Table 8a: Total, threatened, and EX & EW endemic species in each country [Fact sheet]. https://www.iucnredlist.org/resources/summary-statistics#Summary%20Tables