Peace Resources? Governing Liberia's Forests in the Aftermath of Conflict

Abstract

Natural resources represent both peril and promise for peacebuilding. Natural resources can support economic recovery and sustainable livelihoods, and contribute to trust and cooperation frequently lacking in war-torn societies. Natural resources can also catalyse social disputes and provide revenue for would-be insurgents. Recognition that natural resources can be an opportunity and challenge for peace has led international peacebuilders to intervene in post-conflict countries to establish governance reforms that promote sustainable peace and development. This article examines international efforts to govern natural resources in the aftermath of conflict. Specifically, it focuses on Liberia, where timber was recognized as a key factor in fuelling the decade-long civil war; and as a result, forest reform was a peacebuilding priority. I argue that although there have been some positive results, the forest reform process has been controversial in part due to international interventions that mirror pre-war forest governance arrangements in which patronage and corruption historically took root and work to rekindle past sources of tension. I suggest that international peacebuilders should not see themselves as interveners but conveners that use natural resource governance as a way to build confidence and serve as a foundation for cooperation and peace.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The author would like to thank Ken Conca and Richard Matthew as well as two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments and advice. Research funding was provided in part by the United States Institute for Peace through the Jennings Randolph Peace Scholar Dissertation Program.

Notes

1. Peacebuilding refers to actions to ‘strengthen and solidify peace’ and for the purposes of this article includes preventing the outbreak, reoccurrence or continuation of armed conflict. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, An Agenda for Peace: Preventive Diplomacy, Peacemaking and Peacekeeping, New York: United Nations, 1992, p.5; UN Security Council, ‘Statement by the President of the Security Council’, UN doc., S/PRST/2001/5, 2001.

2. International peacebuilders are people, organizations and countries that intervene to build peace in the aftermath of conflict. This definition comes from Séverine Autesserre, Peaceland: Conflict Resolution and the Everyday Politics of International Intervention, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2014, p.10.

3. Päivi Lujala and Siri Aas Rustad (eds), High-Value Natural Resources and Post-Conflict Peacebuilding, New York: Earthscan, 2012.

4. Ibid., p.571 and p.613.

5. Between 2008 and 2010, I gathered 85 interviews with government officials, representatives of international organizations and advocacy groups, Liberian activists and community residents. I also analysed publically available reports, internal memos, meeting notes and draft policy documents. For reasons of confidentiality, I do not quote interviewees by name.

6. Stephanie L. Altman, Sandra S. Nichols and John T. Woods, ‘Leveraging High-Value Natural Resources to Restore the Rule of Law: The Role of the Liberia Forest Initiative in Liberia's Transition to Stability’, in Lujala and Rustad (see n.3 above), pp.337–65.

7. Thomas Homer-Dixon, ‘Environmental Scarcities and Violent Conflict: Evidence from Cases’, International Security, Vol.19, No.1, 1994, pp.5–40.

8. Michael Ross, ‘The Natural Resource Curse: How Wealth Can Make You Poor’, in Ian Bannon and Paul Collier (eds), Natural Resources and Violent Conflict, Washington, DC: World Bank, 2003, pp.17–42.

9. Paul Collier and Anke Hoeffler, Greed and Grievance in Civil Wars, Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004.

10. United Nations Environment Programme, From Conflict to Peacebuilding: The Role of Natural Resources and the Environment, Geneva: UNEP, 2009; Lujala and Rustad (see n.3 above).

11. Philippe Le Billon, ‘Getting It Done: Instruments of Enforcement’, in Ian Bannon and Paul Collier (eds), Natural Resources and Violent Conflict, Washington, DC: World Bank, 2003, pp.215–86.

12. J. Andrew Grant, ‘The Kimberley Process at Ten: Reflections on a Decade of Efforts to End the Trade in Conflict Diamonds’, in Lujala and Rustad (see n.3 above), pp.159–79.

13. Neil Cooper, ‘As Good as It Gets: Security Diamonds in Sierra Leone’, in Michael Pugh, Neil Cooper and Mandy Turner (eds), Critical Perspectives on the Political Economy of Peacebuilding, New York: Palgrave, 2008, pp.102–17.

14. Karen Ballentine and Heiko Nitzschke (eds), Profiting from Peace: Managing the Resource Dimensions of Civil War, Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 2005, p.6.

15. Cooper (see n.13 above).

16. Ian Bannon and Paul Collier, ‘Natural Resources and Conflict: What We Can Do’, in Ian Bannon and Paul Collier (eds), Natural Resources and Violent Conflict, Washington, DC: World Bank, 2003, p.8.

17. Amos Sawyer, The Emergence of Autocracy in Liberia: Tragedy and Challenge, San Francisco, CA: Institute for Contemporary Studies, 1992; Jeremy Levitt, The Evolution of Deadly Conflict in Liberia: From Paternaltariansim to State Collapse, Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press, 2005.

18. Levitt (see n.17 above).

19. Sawyer (see n.17 above); Robert W. Clower, George Dalton, Mitchell Harwitz and A.A. Walters, Growth without Development: An Economic Survey of Liberia, Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press, 1966.

20. Michael Pugh, Neil Cooper and Jonathan Goodhand, War Economies in a Regional Context: Challenges of Transformation, New York: Palgrave, 2004.

21. Collier and Hoeffler (see n.9 above); David Keen, The Economic Functions of Violence in Civil Wars, Adelphi Papers 320, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998; Global Witness, A Rough Trade: The Role of Companies and Governments in the Angolan Conflict, London: Global Witness, 1998.

22. The Strategic Commodities Act of 1999 gave Taylor control over all natural resource concessions and contracts.

23. Ian Smillie, Lansana Gberie and Ralph Hazelton, The Heart of the Matter: Sierra Leone, Diamonds, and Human Security, Ottawa: Partnership Africa Canada, 2000.

24. UN Security Council, Resolution 1343, UN doc., S/RES/1343, 2001.

25. Global Witness, Logging Off: How the Liberian Timber Industry Fuels Liberia's Humanitarian Disaster and Threatens Sierra Leone, London: Global Witness, 2002; UN Panel of Experts, UN doc., S/2000/1195, 2000, p.12.

26. Save My Future Foundation, Plunder: The Silent Destruction of Liberia's Rainforest, Monrovia: SANFU Foundation, 2002.

27. UN Security Council, Resolution 1478, UN doc., S/RES/1478, 2003.

28. Ibid.

29. National Transitional Government of Liberia, Sanctions Committee Report: A Roadmap for Lifting Sanction on Log and Timber Trade in Liberia: Basic Reforms in the Forestry Industry, Monrovia: National Transitional Government of Liberia, 2003, p.2.

30. UN Security Council, Resolution 1521, UN doc., S/RES/1521, 2003.

31. Liberia's Forest Development Authority was formed in 1976 to oversee the management of Liberia's forests.

32. Jan L. McAlpine, Peter A. O'Donohue and Oliver Pierson, ‘Liberia: Forests as a Challenge and an Opportunity’, International Forestry Review, Vol.8, No.1, 2006, pp.83–92.

33. Forest Concession Review Committee, Forest Concession Review: Phase III, Monrovia: Forest Concession Review Committee, 2005, p.36.

34. Ibid.

35. UN Security Council, Resolution 360, UN doc., S/2005/360, 2005, p.7.

36. Governance and Economic Management Assistance Programme, Terms of Reference for Internationally-Recruited Short-Term Financial Controller for Forest Development Authority, Monrovia: Governance and Economic Management Assistance Programme, 9 Sept. 2005; Mike McGovern, ‘Liberia: The Risks of Rebuilding the Shadow State’, in Charles Call and Vanessa Wyeth (eds), Building States to Build Peace, Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 2008, pp.335–64.

37. International Monetary Fund, ‘Liberia: Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper’, Washington, DC: IMF, 2008, p.21.

38. Ibid., pp.7–36.

39. Ibid., p.64.

40. Government of Liberia, Executive Order No. 1: Forest Sector Reform, Monrovia: Government of Liberia, 2006.

41. Liberia Forest Initiative, Minutes from Liberia Steering Group Meeting, Monrovia: Liberia Forest Initiative, 14 Nov. 2006.

42. Government of Liberia (see n.40 above).

43. Government of Liberia, An Act Adopting the National Forestry Reform Law of 2006, Monrovia: Government of Liberia, 2006.

44. Ibid., p.35.

45. NGO Open Letter, ‘Open Letter: NGO Statement on the Enactment of Liberia's New National Forestry Reform Law – What's Left for Communities?’, 25 Sept. 2006. The open letter was signed by 14 Liberian and 7 international advocacy groups.

46. Government of Liberia, An Act to Establish the Liberia Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, Monrovia: Government of Liberia, 2009.

47. EU/FLEGT [Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade] Facility, ‘Voluntary Partnership Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Liberia’, 20 October 2014 (at: www.euflegt.efi.int/liberia).

48. UN Panel of Experts, UN doc., S/2008/785, 2008.

49. Silas Kpanan'Ayoung Siakor, Forest Governance and the Voluntary Partnership Agreement, Monrovia: Sustainable Development Institute and Friends of the Earth-Liberia, 2011, pp.20–1.

50. UN Panel of Experts (see n.48 above).

51. Ibid.

52. Interview with international forestry consultant.

53. Sustainable Development Institute, Liberia: The Promise Betrayed, Monrovia: Sustainable Development Institute, 2010.

54. Ibid.

55. UN Panel of Experts (see n.48 above), p.23.

56. UN Panel of Experts, UN doc., S/2009/640, 2009.

57. Global Witness, ‘Liberia Poised to Hand Forests to Timber Pirates’, Briefing Document, 15 Jul. 2009 (at: www.globalwitness.org/library/liberia-poised-hand-forests-timber-pirates); the companies were Alpha Logging, Atlantic Resources and Southeast Resources.

58. Ibid.

59. Ibid.

60. Ibid.

61. ‘Liberia: Global Witness Paralyzes Forestry Sector’, The Analyst, 10 Aug. 2009 (at: www.allafrica.com/stories/200908101386.html).

62. UN Panel of Experts (see n.56 above).

63. Global Witness, ‘Signing Their Lives Away: Liberia's Private Use Permits and the Destruction of Community-Owned Rainforest’, 4 Sep. 2012 (at: www.globalwitness.org/library/signing-their-lives-away-liberia%E2%80%99s-private-use-permits-and-destruction-community-owned).

64. Ibid.

65. Special Independent Investigating Body Report on the Issuance of Private Use Permits (PUPs), 19 Dec. 2012 (at: www.illegal-logging.info/sites/default/files/uploads/SIIBReportonPUPs.pdf); Government of Liberia, Executive Order 44, Protecting Liberian Forests by a Temporary Moratorium on Private Use Permits, Monrovia: Government of Liberia, 4 Jan. 2013.

66. Government of Liberia (see n.43 above).

67. Tom Lomax, ‘Forest Governance in Liberia: An NGO Perspective’, Brussels: FERN, 2008.

68. Interview with Liberian activist.

69. Liz Alden Wily, Who Owns the Forest: An Investigation into Forest Ownership and Customary Land Rights in Liberia, Monrovia: Sustainable Development Institute, 2007.

70. Interview with international advocacy organization official.

71. Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Liberia, ‘Final Report’, 2009 (at: http://trcofliberia.org/reports/final-report).

72. NGO Coalition of Liberia, Reform in Jeopardy: Reflections on the Forest Sector Reform Process in Liberia, NGO Coalition of Liberia, 31 Jul. 2008.

73. Ibid.

74. Ibid., p.6.

75. Ibid.

76. Interview with Liberian forestry official.

77. Forceh Soloh, ‘The Role of Local Communities in Community Forestry’, Center for International Forestry Research, Proceedings of the First International Workshop on Community Forestry in Liberia: Towards a Shared Vision and Action Frame for Community Forestry in Liberia, Bogor Barat, Indonesia, 12–15 Dec. 2005, pp.26–30.

78. Sawyer (see n.17 above), p.242.

79. Lomax (see n.67 above), p.20.

80. Sustainable Development Institute, The Hunters Whistle: An Opportunity for the Liberian Legislature to Rescue Our Rural Communities from the Plunder of Our Forests: A Renewal of Illegal Logging, Failed Promises and Socioeconomic Development, Monrovia: Sustainable Development Institute, 2009.

81. UN Panel of Experts (see n.56 above).

82. Ibid.

83. Interview with Liberian forestry official.

84. Stephen Binda, ‘Community Rights Law Secretly Altered’, Daily Observer, 24 May 2010.

85. Lomax (see n.67 above), p.20.

86. UN Panel of Experts (see n.56 above).

87. Interviews with Liberian and international advocacy groups.

88. Global Witness, Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Must Get Forest and Mining Reforms Back on Track, London: Global Witness, 21 May 2010.

89. Altman (see n.6 above).

90. Patrick Chabal and Jean-Pascal Daloz, Africa Works: Disorder as a Political Instrument, Oxford: James Currey, 1999.

91. Jennifer Wallace and Ken Conca, ‘The USAID Forest Conflict Initiative’, in Lujala and Rustad (see n.3 above), p.506.

92. Ibid.

Additional information

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Michael D. Beevers is an assistant professor of environmental and international studies at Dickinson College.