The headquarters of the Environmental Protection Agency of Liberia in Sinkor. The DayLight/Mark B. Newa
By Esau J. Farr
MONROVIA – The Environment Protection Agency (EPA) has disapproved of carbon credit negotiations between an American-owned company BlueEarth Capital and rural communities following an investigation by The DayLight that exposed irregularities with the deal.
“[The EPA] has thus issued an immediate resolute call to all communities involved in discussions with the company (BlueEarth) to cease all engagements without delay or risk drastic actions,” said the agency in a statement over the weekend.
“EPA’s involvement and approval are non-negotiable pre-requisites in carbon credit deals in Liberia,” it added.
The agency further expressed “profound dismay” over the ongoing illegal carbon negotiations between BlueEarth Capital and residents of Ziadue Clan, River Cess County.
The release came on the back of a DayLight story on BlueEarth’s proposed MoU with Ziadue to save carbon credits on more than 55,000 hectares of forestland.
The DayLight reported a number of illegalities associated with the proposed deal.
The investigation showed BlueEarth induced community leaders to consent to the deal by underwriting their transportation and food costs.
It proved that ordinary townspeople and some community leaders were still unaware of the deal despite emerging in March, a violation of locals’ right to free, prior and informed consent (FPIC). (FPIC is guaranteed in the Community Rights Law, the Land Rights Act, and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples)
The deal sought over 55,000 hectares, more than 8,000 hectares of the uncontracted area Ziadue has.
It was illegally intended to last for 25 years, 10 more than the legal duration of a community forest contract, based on the Community Rights Law.
EPA, one of the agencies responsible for regulating the carbon industry, said it was caught unaware by The DayLight’s investigation.
BlueEarth Capital intended to capture carbon credits in more than 55,000 hectares of forestland in Ziadue Clan, Central River Cess District in River Cess County. The DayLight/Carlucci Cooper
“Their intent is to exploit these forests for carbon harvesting and subsequent trading of carbon credits on the international market,” it said. BlueEarth has also engaged communities in Nimba, Grand Cape Mount and Gbarpolu.
Ziadue Clan’s land leadership said they would now focus on getting its ancestral land deed, a process it has almost completed.
“We are customary people. What we are running after now is our confirmatory survey to get a deed from the Liberia Land Authority (LLA),” said Emmanuel Roberts, the chairman of the Ziadue’s community land development management committee (CLDMC).
“If we have anything to do with BlueEarth Capital, it will not be hidden from the national government, civil society organizations and our consultant.”
Augustine Jarrett, BlueEarth’s American owner and former presidential adviser, did not answer questions for comments on the matter. However, he defended his institution in a statement on Monday evening.
“We are deeply committed to the principles of transparency, integrity, and community engagement,” Jarrett said.
Top: Ziadue, Teekpeh and Dorbor have all reached the confirmatory survey stage in the legal process to obtain their customary land deed. The DayLight/Carlucci Cooper
By Esau J. Farr
CENTRAL RIVER CESS DISTRICT – Three clans in River Cess County have met the requirements for a government-conducted survey, the final legal step leading to a customary land deed.
Ziadue, Teekpeh and Dorbor—all in the Central River Cess District—reached the landmark early last month.
“We are aware that three communities are ready…,” said Lincoln Flomo, the head of the monitoring and evaluation division of the Liberia Land Authority (LLA).
Flomo said the leaderships of the three communities would have to meet with LLA representatives and civil society organizations (CSOs) before the survey was conducted.
The Ziadue, Teekpeh and Dorbor self-identified as landowning communities, mapped their respective boundaries and drafted bylaws and constitutions to reach this stage. They formed their respective leadership structures, known as community land development and management committees or CLDMCs.
The Land Rights Act grants rural community people ownership of traditional land but requires them to go through a legal process to get a deed.
“I am happy to get our land deed because the forest [is]for us and our children will benefit,” said Betty Gaywea a member of Ziadue’s CLDMC.
Prior to the passage of the Liberia Land Rights Act, rural communities did not own the land they lived on and did not have a say in the management of its resources.
The law grants members of rural communities the right to manage their lands and benefit from their resources.
“Getting the land deed will empower us to tell people that the land belongs to us,” said Patience Smith, a member of Teekpeh’s CLDMC member.
Having started their journeys in 2020, two years after the signing of the law, the three clans resolved long-standing disputes in the process.
Ziadue, Teekpeh and Dorbor had a conflict over a town named Sand Beach Junction. After two years of claims and counterclaims, Ziadue and Dorbor surrendered the town with more than 30 houses to Teekpeh.
Ziadue and Teekpeh also had a four-year conflict over Yarvoi Town, according to locals.
“It was tense to the extent that people from both clans carried cutlasses and single-barrel guns but there was no firing or injuries,” recalled Jackson Sando of the Sustainable Development Institute (SDI). The NGO is helping the clans meet legal requirements for their deeds as part of a US$3.54 million project.
Townspeople from Teekpeh and Dorbor alongside civil society actors pose for a picture after a boundary meeting in Garpu Town, Dorbor. The DayLight/Esau J. Farr
Dorbor had a major boundary dispute with Gbarsaw, another clan, over a parcel of farmland across a creek. The conflict ended with Gbarsaw prevailing.
“I am happy because we had problems with our boundaries and you people have come and settled everything because we want our deeds,” said Nancy Garpu, Clan Chief of Garpu Clan.
SDI has been working with the communities under the Tenure Facility project to assist them in getting deeds to their ancestral lands since 2020.
Ziadue, Teekpeh and Dorbor add to scores of communities across the country that are awaiting confirmatory survey, according to the LLA.
Top: Liberia’s proposed memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Blue Carbon of the United Arab Emirates targets areas in Lofa County, which hosts logging agreements. The DayLight/James Harding Giahyue
By Emmanuel Sherman
MONROVIA – Forest communities across the country have shown reluctance over Liberia’s negotiation with UAE-based Blue Carbon fearing it would fail them like logging contracts.
Blue Carbon, owned by a member of the Royal family of the United Arab Emirates, signed a carbon credit memorandum of understanding (MoU) in March with the Liberian government.
The deal intends to cover over one million hectares of forestlands in River Cess, Sinoe, Gbarpolu, Lofa and Margibi, places that have had bad experiences with logging contracts.
“We are already challenged with [logging] that has a legal framework,” says Andrew Zelemen, the national facilitator of the National Union of Community Forest Development Committee (NUCFDC), comprising some 500 logging-affected communities.
“Our fear is the actual benefit community should get may not get because we don’t know how it is and how it will be,” adds Zelemen.
Logging companies began signing contracts with forest communities over 15 years ago, a major component of Liberia’s forestry reform.
But most contracts have failed, with companies owing huge sums of land rentals and harvesting fees. They have failed to start or complete mandatory projects.
Matthew Walley, an affected community leader of a 57,287-hectare forest that the proposed agreement targets, questions the proposed MoU’s payment method.
“If I get 57,000 hectares preserved as carbon area, what will be the calculation? How will it be done? Through what kind of benefit-sharing mechanism,” says Walley.
“The government can’t just come and say this place is declared as a carbon area. We will not accept it,” says Walley.
Andrew Zelemen, national coordinator, National Union of Community Forest Development Committee (NUCFDC). The DayLight/James Harding Giahyue
Blue Carbon intends to avoid the pitfall of logging, according to the draft agreement, seen by The DayLight. Communities stand to receive a credit royalty of 10 percent of the value of the carbon credits the forest will generate.
It proposes a payment scheme through a five-person committee, two each from the community and the government and one from Blue Carbon.
“Community will directly benefit from a dedicated Account, not the consolidated account,” says Adams Manobah, the Chairman of Liberia Land Authority (LLA). “And that benefit will go directly into their own account that will be controlled by the people themselves.”
The International community has criticized the proposed payment mode for being vague, according to a document seen by The DayLight.
But communities should not depend on Blue Carbon’s contract for their shares of carbon credits, according to Zelemen. There should be a “roadmap” for carbon trading.
In the roadmap, develop a legal framework that will guide the process of carbon trade like we have law guiding timber trade,” says Zelemen. NGOs have made the same call.
Both Blue Carbon and Liberia want the deal to help their climate targets. Liberia has a commitment to reduce carbon emissions in its forestry sector in halves by 2030. Blue Carbon, on the other hand, intends to remove carbon from the global economy with such MoUs in line with the UN agenda to combat climate change.
But communities have not been consulted, a violation of Liberia’s Land Rights Act (LRA) and the Community Rights Law of 2009 with Respect to Forest Land, and other legal instruments.
These laws give the communities the right to free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) to land and forest-related concessions. A UN-backed doctrine, FPIC requires that villagers give their consent to contracts prior to any project or negotiation.
“I’m not aware [of] the negotiation between the government of Liberia and the Blue Carbon company from UAE,” said Jerome Poye, a member of an affected community in Gibi District, Margibi County, that the draft agreement also targets.
Top: A graphic depicting BlueEarth Capital’s CEO Augustine Jarrett and townsmen of Ziadue Clan. The DayLight /Rebazar Forte
By Esau J. Farr
BlueEarth Capital, a company seeking a carbon contract with Ziadue Clan, River Cess, gave locals money ahead of an agreement, undermining villagers’ right to free, prior and informed consent.
The proposed agreement targets over 55,000 hectares of forest, more than Ziadue’s uncontracted forest area
Liberia has no laws or policies for carbon trading, and the duration of the proposed deal is not backed by existing laws
Many townspeople The DayLight interviewed said they were not aware of a proposed contract with the company, another red flag.
Locals expressed concern over BlueEarth’s lack of expertise in the emerging carbon credit market and are uncertain about their fair share of benefits
ZIADUE CLAN – The ongoing negotiation between the Liberian government and the UAE-based Blue Carbon would affect parts of River Cess. But a community in the southcentral county is negotiating its own carbon agreement with another company—and under similar controversial circumstances.
Ziadue, located in the Central River Cess District, is negotiating a carbon credit memorandum of understanding (MoU) with BlueEarth Capital, an American-owned company. The parties had earlier signed a letter of intent. The company wants to harvest carbon from over 52,000 hectares of forest and trade the carbon credits it obtains on the international carbon market.
But BlueEarth Capital has been providing food and transportation fares for community leaders reviewing the agreement, according to the company itself and townspeople. Recently, the company gave the community cash for the same purpose.
“We hosted a meeting to view this thing (draft agreement) that they brought here… So, they sponsored the meeting that time,” said Emmanuel Roberts, the chairman of the Ziadue’s community land development and management committee. Under the Land Rights Act, the CLDMC, which comprises locals from towns and villages, represents customary communities in land matters.
Roberts claimed that BlueEarth provided about L$25,000 for a recent meeting in a town called Gbardiah he used to buy food and reimbursed attendees’ transportation fares.
Friday Wesseh, the treasurer of the CLDMC, told The DayLight Roberts informed him that BlueEarth had sent him US$10 but had yet to receive it. Roberts denied that claim, saying he had only promised Wesseh on his own accord.
“Even though Wesseh did not attend the meeting in Gbardiah, being a CLDMC leader, I decided to give him something from my pocket,” Roberts told The DayLight in a phone interview.
BlueEarth’s payments to local has undermined the principle of free, prior and informed consent (FPIC), a right granted to rural people in the Land Rights Act and the Community Rights Law… The word “free” in FPIC means void of intimidation, coercion or manipulation.
Augustine Jarrett, BlueEarth’s sole owner said the payments were not meant to influence villagers. Jarrett said the payments were part of a tradition for people seeking to work with communities.
“We did facilitate bringing people to areas… We don’t expect them to come with their lunches…,” Jarrett told The DayLight in an interview at his Tweh Farm office outside Monrovia. “We are not attempting to induce anybody to do anything they are unwilling to do.”
Emmanuel M. Roberts, Ziadue’s CLDMC Chairperson. The DayLight/Esau J. Farr
But Jarrett’s claims are not backed by facts. Companies underwrite expenses for communities’ meetings It is true in forestry. However, that happens in cases where such payments are captured in an existing agreement, and not an FPIC engagement.
BlueEarth’s proposed MoU also flouts the FPIC standards in other ways. Ziadue and BlueEarth have been negotiating the deal since February but many townspeople said they were unaware of it. Only three out of 40 CLDMC members had signed the letter of intent, the document shows.
“That’s my first time hearing about it,” said Patience Smith a member of the CLDMC.
“The one I know about is… [the logging company],” added Betty Gaywea, a women leader. She was referencing EJ&J Logging Company which works in Ziadue.
In order for a community to give its consent, all of its representatives must have their say through a transparent process. That is according to the UN’s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which Liberia has ratified, and Liberia’s own FPIC Policy.
Jarrett claimed his company respected FPIC and would get the community’s general consent in time. He wrongly claimed that FPIC “continues over the entire life of the project.” Actually, FPIC must occur prior to the approval or commencement of a project, according to the United Nations.
‘Not a forestry company’
BlueEarth eyes a 25-year contract with Ziadue, subject to a 10-year review. Those timeframes go against the Community Rights Law of 2009 with Respect to Forest Lands. The law sets a 15-year ceiling for community forest-related contracts, with a five-year review period.
BlueEarth seeks over 55,000 hectares of forest in Ziadue, River Cess, which the clan does not have. The DayLight/Carlucci Cooper
Jarrett said BlueEarth’s proposed MoU was not a forestry contract, so, 15 years was not attractive enough for investors.
“How can I ask a person to invest in Liberia’s forest conservation if we can’t guarantee that we are going to conserve the forest over the next… 30 years?” Jarrett said.
“We are not regulated under the forestry law, we are not a forest company and we are not going to extract forestry assets,” he added.
Those points are largely misleading. While Liberia does not have any specific legal framework on carbon credits, the emerging industry is more related to forestry than other sectors. The Forestry Development Authority (FDA) is playing a key role in the negotiation between Liberia and the UAE-based Blue Carbon. The FDA has also added carbon credits to its communities, conservation and commercial pillars. Liberia’s first-known carbon negotiation about 15 years ago targeted 400,000 hectares, the maximum under the National Forestry Reform Law.
The size of the forest is another issue. BlueEarth’s MoU targets 55,123 hectares of forestland but Ziadue does not have such land area to lease. Ziadue’s uncontracted forest covers only 47,000 hectares, according to BlueEarth. That is 8,000 hectares less than BlueEarth’s target.
Moreover, that 47,000 hectares is questionable. Blatoe, a town arguably in Ziadue across the Cestos River, has a boundary issue with a town in the neighboring Beaworn Clan. That problem has stalled Ziadue’s quest to acquire its ancestral deed, a journey the clan started in 2020. (Under the Land Rights Act, a community must resolve its border issues before the government surveys its lands and gives its deed)
A collage of BlueEarth’s map (left) and the Sustainable Development Institute’s map of Ziadue
Early last month, monitors of the Liberia Land Authority (LLA) found Ziadue was unready for an official survey, a requirement for the issuance of the document. This week, the Sustainable Development Institute (SDI), which is assisting with Ziadue in getting its deed, told The DayLight that the Blatoe issue had been resolved. However, LLA did not confirm the information.
Jarrett declined to comment on that matter.
‘Think carefully’
Locals have consulted SDI on the proposed MoU.
“We are waiting on our consultants for advice before we accept or reject BlueEarth,” said Samuel Morris, a member of Ziadue’s CLDMC. “For me, I am not yet encouraged whether BlueEarth is a good company or not because I do not know anything about carbon.”
Elijah Garsuah, the acting clan chief of Ziadue, even feared BlueEarth Capital would end up like EJ&J Logging Company. The firm contracted a portion of the forest Ziadue shares with its neighbor, the Ziadue and Teekpeh Community Forest in 2018 and did not live up to the agreement. In fact, the leadership of the community forest has resolved to cancel its agreement.
Under the MoU, BlueEarth will pay land rental fees of US$82,684 for a one-year feasibility study at US$1.50 per hectare.
After that period, the company will pay Ziadue 10 percent of the total sales of carbon credits on the voluntary carbon market, according to the document. Companies trade carbon credits to other companies that want to offset their carbon emissions on the voluntary carbon market.
Critics say Liberia does not have the expertise and laws to regulate such a complex industry.
Elijah Garsuah, Acting Clan Chief of Ziadue. The DayLight/Esau J. Farr
BlueEarth was founded in February last year, with Jarrett as its sole American owner, according to the company’s article of incorporation. Jarrett was the chief finance officer of Liberia Wood Industry, a parent company of International Consultant Capital (ICC), which holds a logging contract for forest in River Cess and Nimba. However, he does not have any experience in carbon trading.
SDI said it was analyzing the proposed MoU and had observed that the proposed 10 percent share for Ziadue from potentially generated revenue from the carbon project in the agreement is not fair to the community.
“We advise the community to think carefully before signing this deal,” said Nora Bowier, the coordinator of SDI’s land rights program.
“We know that development opportunities are crucial for these communities but proper due diligence is necessary to ensure that communities do not make the same mistakes of the past by signing agreements with companies that had no capacity to deliver.”
Top: Carbon Harvesting Corporation (CHC) proposed a carbon credit deal for 400,000 hectares of forest in River Cess that would have left Liberia US$2.2 billion poorer. The DayLight/Derick Snyder
Well, that is not true. Liberia’s first carbon trading discussions occurred more than one-and-a-half decades ago with a Carbon Harvesting Corporation (CHC), based in the United Kingdom, and worth US$2.2 billion.
The CHC deal went on to become one the biggest scandals of the administration of then President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. It sparked cross-border investigations, with Monrovia requesting London to extradite a British businessman involved.
Liberian investigators found officials connived to grant CHC the carbon concession without any bidding. Evidence showed that Liberia would have lost millions of dollars, the Forestry Development Authority (FDA) board of directors and violated Liberian procurement law.
The CHC cross-border scandal had all the ingredients of a crime story: fraud, bribery, other violations of Liberia’s concession-related laws, and even plagiarism of an American study.
The four-year criminal activities ended with the arrest of the British businessman, a presidential pronouncement for the prosecution, reprimand and dismissal of the officials involved, and the impeachment of the senator.
From a carwash to theOffice of the President
In 2007 about this time of the year, George Antwi, a Ghanaian, approached then River Cess senator Jonathan Banney about a carbon trading investment in the county. Antwi had been hired by Michael Foster, the owner of Carbon Harvesting Corporation (CHC), a firm based in Liverpool.
The deal appeared simple to Banney: CHC wanted to sequester carbon on 400,000 hectares of forestland in the southcentral county, obtain carbon credits and then sell them on carbon markets to companies wanting to offset their own carbon emissions. It would take eight years for the world to adopt carbon offsetting as a way to combat climate change at the Paris Climate Summit. However, experts, some in Liberia, were setting the pace for the global carbon trading market, a process still being done today.
Banney bought Antwi’s proposal right away.
“[Antwi] informed Mr. Foster about my eagerness of wanting investment to go to River Cess,” Banney would later tell investigators.
“Thereafter, I got an email. I informed the President about this investment proposal and that I wanted to extend [an] invitation to the investors. She agreed,” Banney would add.
In December of that year, Banney arranged a meeting between President Sirleaf and CHC represented by Foster, Antwi and other members of the company.
Things moved with lightning speed thereafter. By July 2008, there were meetings with the President and John Woods, the Managing Director of the Forestry Development Authority (FDA) at the time. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the chiefs and elders of Yarnee District, River Cess had been signed and Banney paid the FDA approximately US$15,000 for a biomass study.
Then in July 2008, CHC presented its proposal to the Liberian government to sell carbon credits on the unregulated and unverified carbon market at the rate of US$4 per tonne. It claimed that it had to trade below the international estimate of up to US$15 per tonne because Liberia’s rainforest was not recognized by the Kyoto Protocol, the UN operational mechanism for reducing carbon emissions.
That was followed by an analysis cost and benefits of its investment CHC claimed to have done, which found Liberia would benefit more from carbon credits than from commercial logging.
UK Police Arrests Foster
Then in February 2009, Woods informed the board of directors of the FDA and asked for the Public Procurement Concession and Commission (PPCC) for the CHC contract to be single-sourced, which was granted in December that year.
It was Woods’ efforts to get the green light from the Inter-ministerial Concession Committee (IMCC) that coincided with the demise of the CHC deal.
The Chairman of the National Investment Commission Dr. Richard Tolbert question the legality of the FDA negotiating the CHC instead of the IMCC. Tolbert suggested that the CHC proposals be sent to all members of the IMCC, including the Ministry of Justice and Finance. “I assume that the IMCC, constituted by the President for forest management contracts is the same body to act on this matter,” Tolbert said in a letter to Woods in early 2010.
Michael Foster faced extradition from the United Kingdom to Liberia between 2010 and 2015 for alleged bribery, fraud and criminal conspiracy over a carbon credit deal. Picture credit: Liverpool Echo
Tolbert’s communications on the CHC deal continued until President Sirleaf requested him to constitute an IMCC negotiation of the CHC deal.
It emerged that the company had calculated that Liberia would save 423 tonnes of carbon emissions in each hectare of the River Cess 400,000 hectares of forest. That meant 162 million carbon credits to Liberia, the Guardian of the U.K. reported.
Downing said the carbon credit figures were “unreasonably high” and had “no commercial value” for Liberia. GEMAP was created by Liberia and the international community to help combat corruption after the country’s civil wars.
“I had understood that the Carbon Harvesting proposal had been definitively rejected. Thus, I was surprised to hear that it still enjoyed some support,” Downing said.
“The proposal, if adopted, would be quite damaging to the FDA. Indeed, it could cost [Liberia] hundreds of millions of dollars,” he added.
Liberia investigates the CHC deal
Back in Liberia, hell broke loose. President Sirleaf set up an official inquest into the CHC scandal. The head of the CHC Investigation Committee was Cllr. Negbalee Warner, the future dean of the Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law at the University of Liberia. Future deputy police chief Rose Stryker and one William Massaquoi completed the team.
“The President’s communication to the committee suggested that certain procedural requirements relative to the granting of such [a] concession might not have been followed,” Warner told the Guardian at the time. “For example, the proposal was recommended to the inter-ministerial committee without any open competitive bidding process.”
In roughly four months, Warner’s committee was back with its findings. It interviewed 19 people and institutions, including forest watchdog Global Witness and the United Nations Panel of Experts.
The committee recommended Banney be impeached as senator for abusing his legislative functions and bribery. CHC paid Banney over US$20,000 for arranging a meeting with President Sirleaf, getting River Cess communities’ consent for the project, running errands and pressuring the FDA and other entities to grant the concession.
Minister of Internal Affairs Ambulai Johnson was recommended to face prosecution for allegedly soliciting a US$2 million bribe from CHC. The committee heard the company asked him for help when it faced “obstacles” from other officials.
The committee recommended the dismissal of the Executive Director of the PPCC Peggy Meres. She allegedly influenced the procurement process through which CHC, a gaming company until now, single-sourced the concession.
The committee asked that Augustine Johnson, the agency’s geoinformation service manager, and Joseph Neufville, an adviser at the PPCC, be dismissed immediately. It found the duo allegedly solicited and accepted bribes and committed a procurement offense.
Woods, who was now replaced at the FDA over his poor health, was asked to be reprimanded over his alleged role in the scandal. “The MD has been paid and is on our side as he is dependent on us in the future,” the investigation found CHC officials bragged among themselves.
The committee also found that Woods had allegedly ignored the pieces of advice from Downing and Silas Siakor, the executive director of the Sustainable Development Institute (SDI), and others.
The Carbon Harvesting Corporation deal plagiarized a study from the United States Forest Service estimating that it would capture 423 carbon credits in one hectare of tropical rainforest in Liberia. It was exposed following an investigation by a special presidential committee headed by Cllr. Negbalee Warner. The DayLight/James Harding Giahyue
Downing’s case was more startling. The committee found that he had informed Woods that CHC’s so-called cost and benefit analysis was plagiarized from the United States Forest Service’s study on a California rainforest. Downing shared copies of the plagiarized study with Woods severally and both men even viewed the two documents.
Minister of Planning and Economic Affairs Amara Konneh was reprimanded for issuing CHC a concession certificate in breach of the procurement law. Konneh denied any wrongdoing, saying the report was politically motivated.
The committee recommended Foster and Antwi face the law in Liberia for alleged fraud, bribery and criminal conspiracy. Both men denied the allegations.
President Sirleaf agreed with the committee’s recommendation and took the actions it had suggested. She called on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to request the extradition of Foster and announced additional restrictions on presidential visits.
But President Sirleaf later rescinded her decision against the Liberian officials. About a month later, she dismissed her entire cabinet, except for one minister.
Foster extradition case lingered until 2015 when police dropped all charges against him. U.K. police said they could not obtain evidence in key areas of their investigation.
The story was a production of the Community of Forest and Environmental Journalists of Liberia (CoFEJ).
A swampland rice farm in Foya, Lofa County. The DayLight/James Harding Giahyue
Top: A swamp rice project in Foya, Lofa County. The DayLight/James Harding Giahyue
By Ambulah Mamey, Matthew Nyanplu, and Thomas B. Kanneh
The World Bank’s latest report that says the Liberian economy grew in 2022 by 4.8% is inaccurate. In the report, titled: “Getting Rice Right for Productivity and Poverty Alleviation”, the World Bank relied, in part, on the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)’s forecast of projected increase, NOT actual increase, in rice and cassava production as the most contributing factor to Liberia’s real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth in 2022. This reliance, as we indicated to the World Bank’s report team, makes the 4.8% GDP growth figure concerning. GDP measures an economy’s actual output in a given period. For 2022 (a year that has already ended), the calculation of Liberia’s real GDP growth is to be based on the realized output of 2022; not forecast for 2022.
The agriculture sector, according to the report, contributed the most (2.3 percentage points) to the 4.8 percent growth. The report furthered that the 2.3 percentage point contribution of agriculture was a result of a 5.9 percent growth in the agriculture sector which was made possible by a 13 percent increase in rice (paddy) production (or 32,000 more tons of rice) and 15 percent increase in cassava production (or 54,992 more tons of cassava).
Our review of the FAO’s data bank found no evidence that rice and cassava production, respectively, increased in Liberia. Official agriculture data on Liberia are normally released by the FAO, but the institution does not have 2022 output data for rice and cassava produced in Liberia. There is however a FAO forecast which was optimistic that cassava production would increase by 54,992 tons or 15 percent above the five‑year average and rice production would increase by 32, 000 tons or 13 percent in 2022, compared to 2021. The World Bank’s reliance on forecast, not output data for cassava and rice, to announce 5.9 percent agriculture growth and 2.3 percentage point contribution of agriculture to Liberia’s real GDP renders the reported 4.8 percent real GDP inaccurate. Accurate growth figures for Liberia can be computed when output data are available.
When the authors of this opinion piece drew the World Bank’s attention to the FAO estimates not being actual production numbers, the World Bank did not have realized production data to support the growth figures reported for the agriculture sector but promised to update their macro framework when new data become available. Like any other country, Liberia’s real GDP growth should not be based on projections but realized output of each sector from the previous year.
Real economic growth figures are not mere numbers on paper. They provide the blueprint for strategic planning, policy formulation, investment decisions, and more expansive development undertakings that can jumpstart national progress. But they do so only if they are informed by credible data and rigorous analysis. When they lack rigor and have significant data limitations, they can present misleading pictures, lead to erroneous prioritization, misguide national priorities, and potentially undermine progress, and adversely impact livelihoods.
Liberia does face challenges in data acquisition and analysis. This “data poverty” makes it challenging to assess macroeconomic performance reliably. However, substituting forecasts for actual output data when calculating real GDP growth is problematic and not a tolerable option.
Another layer of concern is the report’s silence on the specific interventions and activities that led to the reported increase in rice and cassava production and agricultural growth in Liberia. Such information is crucial to validate and corroborate the growth figures presented. Given that the report is titled “Making Rice Right”, stating the interventions and activities that contributed to the growth in the agriculture sector would have provided valuable insights into what worked, what did not, and what lessons are there to be learned. By not including this information, the report weakened its narrative, raising more questions about the drivers of this agricultural “boom”.
The World Bank has acknowledged concerns about its report’s silence on interventions that might have led to the increase in rice and cassava production but named “several reforms including the adoption of an Act to Establish Seed Development and Certification Agency and the approval of a Seed Regulation in 2021″ as potential growth catalysts. While the Seed Development and Certification Agency (SDCA) laid the groundwork for the development of the seed sector, the SDCA is not yet operational and could not have contributed to growth in the agricultural sector in 2022.
Drawing from the African Union’s 2021 bi-annual review of Liberia’s agriculture sector, and considering the lack of any substantial intervention in the sector between 2021 and 2023, the growth of the agricultural sector painted by the World Bank is difficult to reconcile. Liberia fell short on 21 out of 24 progress indicators for agriculture transformation and has been classified as “not on track” to transforming its agriculture sector. Liberia scored a meager 2.4 out of 10 for access to essential inputs and technologies that improve yield, and 3.3 out of 10 for farm productivity.
In a nation like Liberia, where a substantial proportion of the population depends heavily on agriculture for their livelihood, data inaccuracies are not just a statistical misstep—they translate into real-world ramifications. Overestimated figures might engender complacency, while underestimations could induce undue alarm. For potential investors, eyeing Liberia’s agriculture sector, unreliable growth data do not instill confidence. A variance between actual numbers and estimates, when they eventually come to light, jeopardizes trust in any reports that paint a picture of the economy that is not based on the actual output of the economy.
The World Bank’s report on Liberia does more than just offer figures—it suggests a trajectory. But for Liberia to truly harness its potential, these trajectories need to be rooted in concrete realities, not just optimistic projections. Towards the future, we hope for assessments that are rigorous, more transparent, and reflective of the on-the-ground realities because in these numbers lie Liberia’s hope, direction, and potential. Liberia must invest in strengthening its capacity to collect and report data on a timely basis to support the meaningful work of the World Bank and others. For Liberia to overcome income poverty, it first needs to pull itself out of “data poverty” so that development planning and macroeconomic outlooks are informed by credible and real-time data.
Authors: Ambulah Mamey specializes in international agricultural development. Matthew Nyanplu specializes in economic development and human security. Thomas B. Kanneh is a public financial management specialist. Contact email: am0826a@alumni.american.edu.
Top: A collage showing townspeople from the Central River Cess District, River Cess County and Gibi District, Margibi County. Graphic by Rebazar Forte and pictures by James Harding Giahyue
By James Harding Giahyue
YARPAH TOWN; GIBI – Communities that would be affected by a potential carbon credit deal between Liberia and the United Arab Emirates-based Blue Carbon are demanding their right to consent.
The Liberian government has been negotiating with Blue Carbon to sequester carbon on more than a million hectares of forestlands as part of a US$50 billion deal that also involves Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe and possibly Angola. The potential 30-year deal would affect towns and villages in Margibi, Sinoe, Lofa, Gbarpolu and River Cess.
But local people who own the forest have not given their consent as required by Liberia’s land and forestry laws. More than a dozen people The DayLight interviewed in potentially affected communities in River Ces and Margibi expressed dissatisfaction.
“We think we should be contacted and we should be apart because carbon has something to do with the community people,” said Matthew Walley, a local forestry leader in the Central River Cess District, River Cess County. The proposed Blue Carbon agreement targets over 57,000 hectares of forest in the region.
“We want the government to halt the arrangement and they should come to us and sit with the community,” Walley added.
But national and international campaigners have criticized the deal for—among other things—disregarding the rights of rural communities. The Land Rights Act and Community Rights Law… with Respect to Forest Lands guarantee locals’ free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) for land and forest-based concessions.
A draft of the controversial agreement, seen by The DayLight, shows that the government intends to get communities’ consent between August and November. However, that should have happened prior to the government’s initial MoU with Blue Carbon, based on the principle of consent.
“The government feels that they have power over [us who] live within the communities. So, they do things on their own they don’t inform us,” added Marthaline Smith, a member of the leadership.
“If they want to really give our forest out to company or NGO, we have to sit down and discuss it…,” Smith added.
Yarpah Town, River Cess is one of the communities that would be affected if Liberia signs a carbon credit deal with Blue Carbon of the United Arab Emirates. The DayLight/James Harding Giahyue
“The government has to talk to me first,” said Harry Lawgar, an elder in the Poye community Gibi District, Margibi County.
The deal targets the Gibi Proposed Protected Area, covering over 88,000 hectares of forest. Like in River Cess, Lawgar and other people in Gibi The DayLight interviewed raised qualms for being overlooked.
“Everybody should be inclusive,” said Jerome Poye a townsman also in the Poye community.
“The community has to get the understanding of it,” Lawgar added.
Locals said they needed to know exactly what was in the agreement for them.
The current draft agreement apportions 70 percent of carbon royalties for Blue Carbon and 30 percent for the Liberian government in the first 10 years and 50 percent apiece thereafter.
It also sets aside 50 percent of the carbon royalties, 40 percent interest from the government’s shares and a five percent interest payment from the government’s stakes in the project for the communities.
But it does not say how the carbon credit will be valued and traded, and how the carbon saving will be generated. It also fails to say what certification standards it would use. Experts say these are the major components of the carbon market, which is still emerging globally.
The international community criticized the “vague” proposed deal when they discussed it on August 3, according to a document seen by The DayLight.
Gibi District, Margibi County, is one of the communities that would be affected if Liberia signs a proposed carbon credit deal with Blue Carbon of the United Arab Emirates. The DayLight/James Harding Giahyue
Villagers in Central River Cess and Gibi, two of Liberia’s remotest regions, demanded to know about their benefits. They said they needed everything from clinics, roads, schools and livelihood programs.
“We want to know the calculation. If I get 57,000 hectares preserved as carbon area, what will be the calculation?” said Walley of River Cess. “Through what kind of benefit-sharing mechanism?”
“How the calculation will be done we don’t know because they will not just come and give the community US$50 or US$100, saying that it is our benefit,” Walley added.
