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Liberia To End Deforestation

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In one of the major announcements made at the UN Climate Summit in New York during late September, Norway declared that they will offer funds to Liberia, provided that the latter country stops cutting down their forests. Provided the West African country halts deforestation by 2020, Norway will disburse $150 million in developmental aid to Liberia. In addition, new logging concessions cannot be issued until current ones have been independently reviewed. The country has also agreed to put 30% or more of its forests under a protected area status by 2020.

West Africa has some of the highest deforestation rates in the world. Thanks to logging activities, Liberia’s forests are now one fifth of its original size. While the country’s forests are not the largest in the region, it is home to a significant part of West Africa’s remaining rainforests. It is also a hotspot for global diversity and home to the last viable populations of exotic species such as forest elephants, leopards, and western chimpanzees.

Norway is willing to aid by implementing forestry monitoring and policing systems to ensure that Liberia is meeting goals and adhering to their agreement. This may be easier said then done because logging in impoverished regions is a main source of revenue for governments and locals. This is crucial in Liberia, as rights over land and the management of resources is of great importance following a 14-year civil war. Prior to the 2013 Land Rights Policy, land without legal ownership documentation was treated by the government as public space. This allowed for legal and illegal logging, mining, and similar activities to be carried out on private land without any royalties given to those from which the resources were taken from. Unfortunately, this only escalated poverty, resulting in a positive feedback loop which puts more pressure on cutting down the remaining forest in order to make a living.

Reducing poverty is not the only hopeful benefit from the deal; the current Ebola outbreak also plays a factor. The outbreak may have been a result of the deforestation in West Africa. Due to less forest cover, humans and wild animals have been brought closer together, which encourages the spread of disease from animals to humans. Two animals that carry the Ebola virus, chimpanzees and fruit bats, are also significantly closer to human population centres. Exacerbating the problem, humans are also going deeper into the jungles in search of precious minerals and metals, exposing them to these animals.

Preventing deforestation while combating a major international health crisis and a worsening economy will prove difficult for Liberia. However, provided everything works out, it will hopefully help reduce poverty and the impact on the environment that deforestation has brought to the country.

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