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Liberia : Indicators

2011 > 20 Key Indicators

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Is there a Freedom of Information Act, which has been passed by the government and established in law? Is the Act publically available in full from official sources (websites and/or offices)?  Read the report...

Freedom of Information Law

The Freedom of Information Act was signed into law in 2010 and is publicly available, but the Independent Information Commissioner has not yet been appointed by the President as required in Chapter 5 of the law. Read more...
Is there an explicit current document described as the national forest policy? Is the policy document available in full to the public from official sources (websites and/or offices)?  Read the report...

National Forest Policy

The National Forest Policy in 2006 sets out to address immediate rehabilitation and 10 year medium term needs of the nation, and is primarily focused on deriving macro-economic benefits from the forestry sector. Read more...
Is there a codified forest law and lower level norms (regulations, procedures, decrees, technical directives etc) that make the forest laws operative? Are the law and supporting norms available in full to the public from official sources (websites and/or offices)?  Read the report...

Codified Forest Laws and Norms

The National Forestry Reform Law was adopted in 2006, and subsequently Ten Core Regulations and regulations on benefit sharing have been passed. These norms are publicly available. Read more...
Has the country signed an international trade agreement that relates to forest products (logging and other products)? Are the agreements, including official discussions on their content, available in full to the public from official sources (websites and/or offices)?  Read the report...

Signed International Trade Agreements on Forests

The Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) was initialled between Liberia and the European Union in May 2011. It is available at the VPA Secretariat but has not been uploaded on an official website. However, information on the official discussion is available at www.loggingoff.info Read more...
Are there any forest-specific written laws and regulations that develop the right to access public information on the sector? Are the provisions in laws and regulations available to the public through official websites and other sources?  Read the report...

Provisions for Transparency in Forest Laws

Section 18.15 of the National Forest Reform Law provides for public access to a range of forest sector information, Regulation 108c makes all information in the chain of custody system public, and Section 4.1 of the Community Rights Law provides for transparency and accountability in management of community forestry funds. Read more...
Are customary and traditional rights recognised in codified forest law and norms? Are the provisions in the law and norms available in full to the public from official sources (websites and/or offices)?  Read the report...

Legal Recognition of Customary and Traditional Rights

Although the Constitution of the country recognizes customary and traditional rights, they are not fully recognised in forest laws and there are challenges in how the government supports local communities to enjoy this recognition. Read more...
Are there any documented procedures (in the form of regulations, official guidance etc) that lay out the methodology for consultations that should take place regarding new forest-related policies, laws, regulations etc (for example on REDD)? Are the reports from consultation processes available?  Read the report...

Legally Recognised Procedure for Consultation on New Forest-Related Norms

The National Forest Reform Law and regulations 101-07 set out procedures for public consultation, which have been held on newly approved laws and regulations, for example on Benefit Sharing and the Community Rights Law. However, no reports from consultation processes have been published. Read more...
Is there any law that recognises the right to consent of indigenous peoples and communities on forest uses? Is the law available in full to the public from official sources (websites and/or offices)?  Read the report...

Law Recognising Right to Free Prior Informed Consent

Ten Core Regulation 102 requires that in order to undertake commercial use on customarily held Forest Land, a Community Forestry Development Committee must grant free, prior and informed consent. Read more...
Is there an explicit current document that sets out the national policy on land tenure, including forest tenure? Is the policy document available in full to the public from official sources (websites and/or offices)?  Read the report...

National Land Tenure Policy

There is no current document that sets out the national policy on land tenure, but the Land Commission has been established to develop this policy. Read more...
Are there official maps showing current forest ownership by title and/or forest areas where concessions, permits and other authorisations have been granted? Are the maps available in full to the public from official sources (websites and/or offices)?  Read the report...

Land Ownership and Forest Use Maps

The Forestry Development Authority has digitised maps for all contract areas and protected areas. They are made available to the public on request; however there is a charge to access them. There are no maps that show current forest ownership. Read more...
Is there a formally regulated system of permits for commercial logging operations? Are the contracts/permits granted under the system publically available from official sources (websites and/or offices)?  Read the report...

Regulated Permit System for Commercial Logging Operations

The forestry law and regulations and the Public Procurement and Concession Act require transparent processes for allocating forest use permits, including publication of the final contract. Read more...
Is there a requirement in the forest law and norms for stakeholder consultation prior to the allocation of commercial logging permits? Are the reports from consultation processes available?  Read the report...

Legal Requirement for Stakeholder Consultation before Allocation of Commercial Logging Permits

Regulation 104-07 Part Two Section 22 clearly states that “Before seeking a Certificate for Concession with respect to an area, the Authority shall conduct preliminary consultations with Affected Communities”. Read more...
Prior to the allocation of permits for logging or other extractive use (e.g. mining) of forest land, is there a formal process in the regulations for independent “due diligence” checks to verify the eligibility, suitability and capability (technical and financial) of applicants? Are the findings and conclusions of the verification process made available to the public?  Read the report...

Verification Process (Due Diligence) of the Eligibility of Permit Applicants

Public procurement and forestry law include requirements for verification of applicants, but not all due diligence reports conducted on logging concessions have been made public. However, they can be obtained from FDA on request as these reports are listed as documents that should be available to the public. Read more...
Once a permit or concession has been issued, is there a formal requirement for the completion of forest management plans on the operations? Are the forest management plans available to the public from official sources (websites and/or offices)?  Read the report...

Forest Management Plans

The forestry law requires that concession holders should not be issued a harvesting certificate until the holder has an approved forest management plan. In practice, none of the logging companies issued harvesting certificates have made a management plan available publicly or on the Forestry Development Authority website. Read more...
Is there a formally agreed system for the regulation of environmental services, such as water, carbon and biodiversity, as it affects forests? Are the regulations for the system available to the public from official sources (websites and/or offices)?  Read the report...

Regulation of Environmental Services

There is neither applicable legislation nor policy for environmental services. The National Climate Change Secretariat (NCCS), the policy arm of government on climate change, has not developed any policy for environmental services. Read more...
Is there a formal strategic process set out in policy to determine the priorities for land use between forests, mining, large-scale agriculture, infrastructure development and other demands? Is the policy available in full to the public from official sources (websites and/or offices)?  Read the report...

Strategic Environmental Assessment of Development Priorities

A donor-driven Strategic Environmental Assessment was conducted in 2008/09. Concessions and permits for forestry, mining, agriculture and other land uses were granted before this assessment, and since then the Government has not established a formal strategic process for determining future priorities. Read more...
Is there an independent monitor, auditor, ombudsman or any other body with an officially recognised role to scrutinise forest governance and operations? Are reports by the independent body available to the public?  Read the report...

Independent Monitoring of Forest Governance and Operations

Regulation 108-07 on Chain of Custody states that “It shall be the policy of the Authority to move over time toward a formal system of Independent Forest Monitoring”. After six years there is little progress in establishing a body with this official role, but the Voluntary Partnership Agreement with the European Union includes scope for civil society monitoring. Read more...
Is there a regulated fiscal system to collect taxes and redistribute royalties from forest operations, or provide subsidies and funding to support forest operations? Are figures on the amounts collected and distributed available to the public from official sources?  Read the report...

Forestry Tax Collection and Funding Systems

The National Forest Reform Law allocates thirty percent of land rental fees to communities entitled to benefit sharing under Forest Resources Licenses. The Community Rights Law allows communities to receive 55% revenue from logging concessions on community forest land up to 50,000 hectares. The National Benefit Sharing Trust was formally constituted in January 2011 and benefit sharing regulations were approved in June 2011. Read more...
Is the Forest Authority obliged under the norms to collect information on any infractors of the forest law? Are lists of infractors available to the public from official sources?  Read the report...

Forest Infractions

There is no official or systematic publication of infractions, even though publishing a list of infractors and progress on penalties is a requirement of the National Forest Reform Law 2006. The Voluntary Partnership Agreement with the European Union is expected to improve law compliance. Read more...
Is there a requirement set out in the norms for the Forest Authority to produce an annual summary of its activities? Is the report available in full to the public from official sources (websites and/or offices)?  Read the report...

Annual Forest Authority Report

Even though the National Forest Reform Law, Section 20.1, sets out the requirement for an annual report, only a draft 2008 report is available on the Forestry Development Authority website Read more...
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