Pursuing community forestry in Liberia

Abstract While Liberian forests are a biodiversity hotspot and integral to the livelihoods of indigenous communities, 14 years of conflict forestry turned this national asset into a source of economic inequality and corruption in an extreme example of a ‘natural resource curse’. Moreover, overharvesting of timber through the conflict period has endangered community livelihoods and raised concerns regarding resource sustainability from international conservation organizations. Since the end of conflict in 2003, the Liberian government has forged international partnerships to create a reformed policy framework balancing commercial, conservation and community (the three Cs) interests. In an effort to contribute to the larger body of work on the role of natural resource management institutions in the creation and fostering of the resource curse, this paper offers a case study of timber in Liberia. We feel that an in‐depth understanding of the Liberian case clarifies the challenge of timber as an extractive commodity and how the institutional framework can be shaped to provide a positive contribution to economic development. The discussion focuses on the historical development of Liberian land and forest tenure institutions that lead to poverty, ecological degradation and conflict. Tracing the more recent implementation of the three Cs, this paper analyzes the current conditions of community engagement and outlines critical steps to be taken for Liberia to escape further resource driven cycles of conflict. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.