Publications

This report acts as an annual forest sector report card for Liberia which assesses the transparency of the sector as part of the Making the Forest Sector Transparent project. It recommends that the government fully implement transparency measures contained in various laws and develop action plans to make information accessible and transparent.

This report examines forest law enforcement and governance in post-conflict Liberia and catalogues major issues in the implementation of forest sector reform. It asserts that failure to fully implement reform may put the livelihoods of communities at risk and undermine the implementation of the Poverty Reduction Strategy and any future Voluntary Partnership Agreement with the EU.

This report throws a spotlight on Liberia’s fledgling oil and gas sector. An oil find in Liberia, which is still recovering from two natural resource fuelled civil wars, could provide desperately needed revenues if the industry is sufficiently reformed. But this report highlights that Liberia is not currently ready for oil without a comprehensive reform of the country’s oil and gas industry.

This report catalogues the social and environmental impacts of ArcellorMittal's mining activities globally. It highlights the issues with the company's activities in Liberia such as the lack of transparency in the management of the operations, the displacement of communities, the failure to produce secure employment and the environmental impact on the East Nimba Nature Reserve.

This report is a follow up to 2009's ‘ArcelorMittal: Going nowhere slowly' and takes an in depth look at the company’s activities in Liberia in terms of their contribution to the country’s development and highlights the failing of the County Social Development Fund in addressing the needs of communities impacted by the operations of ArcelorMittal.

ArcelorMittal Liberia contributes US$3 million annually to the County Social Development Fund (CSDF) for development in counties hosting its operations. This report examines the mismanagement of the fund and as a result how it is failing to make significant impacts on the lives of the target beneficiaries. The report recomments reform of the fund to ensure it is accountable, transparenct and involves citizen's participation.

This brief is a simplified version of the concession agreement between the Government of Liberia and Goldren Veroleum Liberia. It highlights key areas of concern related to community rights such as provisions on land use, options for government to reclaim concession land and community development promises. It is for educational purposes only.

This brief is a simplified version of the concession agreement between the Government of Liberia and Sime Darby dated July 23, 2009. It highlights key areas of concern related to community rights such as provisions within the contract to resettle communities and rights over natural resources. It is for educational purposes only; for legal interpretations please refer to the original contract.

This report charts the impacts of palm oil company Sime Darby's operations on communities in Liberia. It presents testimonies of from affected communities and highlights the fears of others where the company plans to expand. It concludes that a new approach to land allocation needs to be developed based on fairness and justice, and backed by appropriate legislation.