Korniga “B’ Authorized Forest Community (AFC) in Gbarpolu County supported by the Sustainable Development Institute (SDI) through its Forest Governance Program (FGP) along with other partners has received US$200,000 as a result of the legal battle against Bea Mountain Mining Corporation (BMMC) for illegal entry into their forest without authorization to prospect for minerals. In 2023, Korniga ‘B’ AFC filed over a US$4,000,000 lawsuit against the gold mining company for damages caused in their forest. Following a year of legal battle, the company paid the community US$200,000.00 as “compensation” resulting from an out-of-court settlement.
In early March 2022, the people of Korninga “B” accused Bea Mountain of unlawfully entering into its community forest and engaging in activities that resulted in the felling of trees without authorization. Under the Community Rights Law, Korninga filed a US$4.3 million lawsuit against the company at the 16th Judicial Circuit Court in Bopolu City, Gbarpolu County.
The lawsuit detailed claims of extensive tree felling, construction of passages to mining sites, and improper handling of harvested logs. The community alleged that over 2,800 logs were cut down, with some thrown into valleys and others buried, leading to environmental damage and ecosystem disruption.
The court found the company liable for the claims and ruled that it pays US$1,311,401.21 in special damages and US$3 million in general damages.
But Bea Mountain denied any wrongdoing and filed for a retrial, which was granted based on alleged jury oversight and inconsistencies in witness testimonies. The company later withdrew the request as both parties agreed to an out-of-court settlement. According to Aaron Mulbah, Chief Officer of the Korniga “B” AFC, the check of US$200,000.00 was issued in July 2024 by the company. The Korninga “B” AFC has expressed thanks to the SDI and other partners including Heritage Partners and Associates (HPA), National Union of Community Forest Management Bodies (NUCFMBs), and Foundation for Community Initiatives (FCI) that supported them during the legal battle with Bea Mountain.
Speaking recently at a community meeting in Gbarpolu, the Executive Committee Chair, Zinnah Mark, thanked the entire Community Forest Management Body for their steadfastness and determination to represent their community against such a big multimillion dollars’ entity and was glad that the matter was finally resolved.
Following the out-of-court settlement of the payment of US$200,000 to the communities, Liberians are not happy; alleging that the communities compromised their own interest. This has created a huge debate through comments under a post on the official page of the Voice of Gbarpolu, a local radio station based in the county.
In his comments as the debates intensified, the Coordinator of the Forest Governance Program at the SDI that worked with Korninga “B” AFC, Jonathan W. Yiah, said, “This is a precedent set by the communities to win against a multinational company, and not to say the least, even collect US$200,000 in settlement.”
Mr. Yiah further said, “For those of you not aware, the communities won a US$ 5 million case against Bea Mountain in the court and the company refused to pay, and the government did not shut the company down. The court later advised the parties to undertake an out-of-court settlement, which has now resulted in the US$ 200,000 to these communities. The community wanted to take an appeal to the Supreme Court to compel the company to pay, but it did not have the little money lawyers representing them needed, so they agreed to this out-of-court settlement out of necessity, so you know.”
SDI is supporting three (3) Authorized Forest Communities including Korninga “B” in Gbarpolu County under the Norad Grant coordinated by ClientEarth. However, the content and views expressed in this story rest on the shoulders of SDI and are not of Norad/ClientEarth.