Conservation International Liberia (CI Liberia) is the Liberia country programme of Conservation International, based in Monrovia.[1] Conservation International began working in Liberia in 2001.[1]
Work in Liberia has included support for protected-area management and landscape initiatives in the country's southeast, including activities associated with Sapo National Park and the Grebo forest landscape, within a wider protected-area complex linked to Taï National Park in neighbouring Ivory Coast.[2][3][4] Conservation agreements linked to biodiversity protection and community livelihoods have also been developed in Liberia's Nimba Range area in partnership with ArcelorMittal.[2][4]
Conservation International is the implementing agency for a Global Environment Facility Food Systems, Land Use and Restoration (FOLUR) project in the northwest Liberia landscape, focused on reducing deforestation and restoring degraded lands while strengthening governance and market incentives for deforestation-free cocoa and palm oil value chains.[5][6]
In May 2018, Conservation International and the Government of Liberia launched the Liberia Conservation Fund, an independent conservation fund intended to provide long-term financing for the country's protected areas.[7][4]
History
Conservation International began working in Liberia in 2001 and established a country programme based in Monrovia.[1]
In 2007, Conservation International's Rapid Assessment Program published a rapid biological assessment covering North Lorma, Gola and Grebo National Forests in Liberia.[8]
In the 2020s, Conservation International served as the implementing agency for the Liberia component of the Global Environment Facility FOLUR Impact Program in the northwest landscape, focused on reducing deforestation from cocoa and palm oil value chains and restoring degraded lands.[5][6]
Selected programme locations in Liberia (1 Monrovia, 2 Sapo National Park, 3 Grebo-Krahn National Park, 4 Nimba Range, 5 Lofa County (FOLUR Northwest Landscape))
National
In May 2018, Conservation International and the Government of Liberia launched the Liberia Conservation Fund as a mechanism intended to provide long-term financing for Liberia's protected areas. Conservation International committed US$1 million via its Global Conservation Fund, and the Government of Liberia pledged matching support through the Forestry Development Authority.[7][4] The Sapo National Park management plan listed the Liberia Conservation Fund among funding mechanisms supporting park management and noted that it involved the Forestry Development Authority, Conservation International and other partners.[9]
In March 2019, the Government of Liberia, the Embassy of Sweden in Monrovia and Conservation International convened the Blue Oceans Conference in Monrovia, linked to a Blue Oceans Call for Action and voluntary commitments related to marine and coastal governance and sustainable development.[10][11] In July 2019, partners in a Blue Oceans initiative carried out a beach cleanup and amplification activities in Monrovia linked to a Blue Oceans "call to action" focused on coastal and marine protection and waste management.[12]
Liberia's Forestry Development Authority has used a national mangrove dataset from Conservation International in land-cover mapping work, including mangrove mapping based on Landsat 8 imagery from late 2014 and early 2015.[13]
In March 2022, Conservation International donated drones to Liberia's Forestry Development Authority for forest monitoring and enforcement.[14]
Southeast Liberia (Tai-Grebo-Sapo landscape)
Activities in southeast Liberia have been associated with a transboundary protected-area complex that includes Sapo National Park and protected areas in the Grebo forest landscape, alongside efforts to strengthen ecological connectivity with Taï National Park across the Liberia-Ivory Coast border.[2][3][4]
Community Development Committees in fringe communities around Sapo National Park were jointly established by Liberia's Forestry Development Authority, Fauna & Flora International, and Conservation International.[9]
Nimba Range
Conservation agreements linked to biodiversity protection and community livelihoods have been developed in the Nimba Range area in partnership with ArcelorMittal.[2] ArcelorMittal has also worked with Conservation International and Liberia's Forestry Development Authority on a conservation programme in the Nimba Mountains intended to reduce pressure on biodiversity hotspots.[4] In 2016, ArcelorMittal described Liberia's first conservation agreements as having been signed by Conservation International with six communities in northern Nimba in connection with work around the East Nimba Nature Reserve.[15]
Northwest Liberia (FOLUR Northwest Landscape)
The Global Environment Facility FOLUR project targets the "Northwest Landscape" of about 2.5 million hectares and aims to reduce deforestation and restore degraded lands while strengthening governance and market incentives for deforestation-free cocoa and palm oil value chains, including work with local communities and private sector actors such as Mano Palm Oil Industries Inc.[6][5] In March 2022, the Global Environment Facility Council approved a project with total financing of US$74.3 million, implemented by Liberia's Environmental Protection Agency in collaboration with Conservation International and other partners.[16]
In Lofa County, Conservation International conducted a capacity-building training for community-based conservation workers under the FOLUR Impact Program and provided field equipment to support community monitoring and reporting of illegal forest activities, with trainings in Gbarpolu and Grand Cape Mount Counties.[18]
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