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Kwa Park: NGO Campaign Based on Falsehoods

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Top: Bargblor, Grand Gedeh County, is one of 78 towns and villages adjacent to the proposed Kwa National Forest. The DayLight/Samuel Jabba

By Varney Kamara

Story highlights

  • Social Entrepreneurs for Sustainable Development calls for the government to suspend the establishment of the Kwa National Park until local communities complete the customary deed process. 
  • The NGO cites the Gbehzohn Declaration, in which actors resolved on various aspects of land and forest matters.
  • Turns out, the Gbehzohn Declaration does not refer to the proposed Kwa National Forest, which began seven years earlier. In fact, the document does not require communities to get a deed before a park is established on their lands. 
  • The NGO’s claim that the government unlawfully obtained communities’ consent is contradicted by documents consistent with the Gbehzohn Declaration.
  • The NGO is the latest to attempt to use misinformation to delay the conservation of the Kwa forest.

MONROVIA – In August, President Joseph Boakai received documents for his signature as part of a legal procedure to establish the Kwa National Park. When he signs it, the document will go to the Legislature for enactment as Liberia’s sixth and second-largest protected forest.

However, the Social Entrepreneurs for Sustainable Development (SESDev), a Paynesville-based NGO, wants the process suspended until landowning communities adjacent to the forest get their customary land deed.

“If this gazettement goes ahead as planned, it will violate the rights of countless, and as yet undefined, customary landowners whose rights are guaranteed by the law, and create animosity with local communities from the outset of its establishment,” said SESDev in an August letter to the Forestry Development Authority (FDA).

It urged the FDA to respect the Gbehzohn Declaration in which actors agreed on ancestral land ownership and protected forests. It enhances the implementation of the 2018 Land Rights Act, harmonizing stakeholders’ approaches to customary land rights, protected areas, and rights-based conservation governance.

But a DayLight review of the Gbehzohn Declaration shows that SESDev misinterpreted it, undermining the basis of its campaign.  

In the letter to the FDA, the NGO cited a provision of the declaration that communities first acquire a deed and give their consent before the government creates “any new protected areas.” Thus, that provision excludes Kwa, whose establishment began in 2016, two years before the Land Rights Act, and seven years before the Gbehzohn Declaration.  The proposed park is a part of Liberia’s Permanent Forest Estate, established in 1953.

Drone shot of the Proposed Kwa National Forest. The DayLight/Samuel T. Jabba

Interestingly, the Gbehzohn Declaration provides that park procedures can proceed without communities acquiring a customary deed. It states, “At the stage of boundary harmonization, where stipulation (MoU) has been executed by rightsholders, discussion regarding the establishment of [a park] may commence.”

The Gbehzohn Declaration also does not prevent authorities from protecting a forest when landowning communities lack a deed. It does the opposite: “A lack of issuance of deed shall not preclude (stop) consultation with communities regarding the establishment of [a park].”

Covering 171,888 hectares across River Cess, Sinoe and Grand Gedeh, the Proposed Kwa National Park is home to critically endangered western chimpanzees, pygmy hippopotamuses, and forest elephants. It supports national efforts to protect 30 percent of Liberia’s forests and fulfills its climate commitments. Liberia currently has the Sapo National Park, the East Nimba Nature Reserve, the Lake Piso Multiple Use Reserve, the Gola Forest National Park, and the Grebo-Krahn National Park.

The EU is funding Kwa through a collaboration among the FDA, the Liberia Land Authority,  and the Wild Chimpanzee Foundation, an NGO working in the Mano River basin. The funding comes from €289 million (over US$320 million) that the EU has granted Liberia for conservation, agriculture, and other sectors.

Kwa is already behind schedule. Having received the documents in August, the Executive Mansion was expected to send them to the Capitol Building last month. That did not happen amid President Boakai’s travel to this year’s UN General Assembly in America. The Executive Mansion and the EU Delegation in Liberia did not respond to queries on the delay.

Suspending Kwa’s establishment until communities get their deeds could further delay the park. The Land Rights Act grants communities ownership of their ancestral territories, but getting a deed to formalize that ownership has proven to be difficult. About 70 communities have completed the legal steps to get their deed, while 150 are processing theirs.

Sayon Town in the Lower Sanquin Clan, Sinoe County. The DayLight/Samuel Jabba

It is unclear how many clans—the level at which communities get a deed—are affected by Kwa in all three host counties. However, the clans where the 78 Kwa-related towns and villages are located are in the customary deed process.

The process started in 2023 after the Gbehzohn Declaration, a group of NGOs, including SESDev, objected to Kwa. The group flagged that communities had not confirmed their customary ownership of the forestland. Authorities agreed and started the customary land procedures.

But this time, authorities refute SESDev’s criticism.

“Officially, it is the position of the government of Liberia… to ensure that communities… go through the complete [ customary deed] process. That is why we started the process from Grand Gedeh along with all those communities at the fringes,” said Julius Kawa, Director for Planning and Policy at the Land Authority.

“This is not about before or after. It is not just that one must be done before the other one. We are the government of Liberia. We are doing what is right for the people,” added Kawa. He said the Land Authority would complete the customary deed process within two or three months.

Consent and Lies

SESDev also criticized the method authorities used to obtain communities’ consent. By law, local people have the right to consent to projects on their lands. That consent must be free of intimidation or manipulation, prior to a project, and informed in every way.

SESDev dubbed the consent information in the Kwa package “inadequate,” “invalid,” and “non-compliant.” Forms were not signed by required community bodies, and locals received no legal advice before signing them.  

“As a result, the consent forms included in the gazettement package are inadequate and unable to provide the consent they purport to contain,” said SESDev.

“This again provides sufficient grounds for invalidating the [consent] process that was carried out. On that basis, it was non-compliant with national and international standards,” added the NGO.   

A screenshot of the relevant portion of the Gbehzohn Declaration SESDev wrongly cited as a basis for the NGO’s campaign for the government to suspend the establishment of the Kwa National Park.

But the official documents SESDev condemns, and interviews The DayLight conducted with townspeople tell a different story. The evidence shows communities are aware of Kwa, participated in its processes, and consented to its formation.  Townspeople even signed boundary agreements and agreed to co-manage the park alongside authorities. They attended a series of meetings and participated in awareness campaigns on forest conservation.

“In 2023, SESDev… ignored all available [consent] documents. Now they are still ignoring all available documents, including the entire [customary land formalization] documentation,” said Dr. Annika Hillers, Wild Chimpanzee Foundation’s Country Director. “Instead, they are misinforming and sharing wrong information with the EU.”

SESDev’s letter to the FDA to suspend Kwa is not the first to be based on falsehoods.

A DayLight investigation in July established that cocoa farmers in Grand Gedeh lied in a complaint to President Boakai about their participation in Kwa processes. A report from an inquest ordered by the President on the matter has yet to be published

Then, weeks after SESDev’s communication, local people in the Lower Sanquin Clan in Sinoe County wrote a letter to the EU, claiming they also did not participate in Kwa processes. A DayLight publication revealed they actually consented to the creation of the park.    

For instance, Reason Seequeh, the community land leader for the Lower Sanquin Clan, Sinoe, claims his signature on a boundary agreement was forged. However, two other people who signed the document said they saw Seequeh sign it.

The Land Authority said it would investigate amid the false claims.

Locals Lie to the EU over Proposed Park, Investigation Finds

Top: A view of Kallor Town, in Lower Sanquin Clan, Sinoe County. The DayLight/Samuel T. Jabba

By Varney Kamara, Esau J. Farr and Samuel T. Jabba

KALLOR TOWN – People in Sinoe County lied in a letter to the European Union Delegation in Liberia regarding their participation in the establishment of a proposed park, a DayLight investigation found.

In early September, the Lower Sanquin Clan citizens wrote ex-Ambassador Nona Deprez to intervene in an alleged violation of their customary rights regarding the Kwa Proposed Protected Area, according to the letter, seen by The DayLight. In the letter, they claim that they did not sign any agreement with authorities and had not consented to the establishment of Kwa. They are asking the EU, which is funding the park, to halt the process until they get redress.

Kwa is a collaboration among the Forestry Development Authority (FDA), Wild Chimpanzee Foundation (WCF), and the Liberia Land Authority (LLA). Legislation to finalize its formation is now before President Joseph Boakai for his signature. Thereafter, the document would go to the Legislature for enactment. 

“To be clear, our community has not given [its consent] for the creation of the park,” read the Sanquin citizens’ letter. “We have asked that the gazettement be delayed until the FDA, the LLA, and the WCF propose a model of conservation that will respect our customary rights.”

But a DayLight review of official documents and interviews—including with signatories—contradicts the claims in the letter.

Contradiction

Covering 171,888 hectares, the Kwa Proposed Protected Area spans River Cess, Sinoe, and Grand Gedeh Counties. The forest is a habitat for Liberia’s second-largest known population of critically endangered western chimpanzees, pygmy hippopotamuses, and forest elephants. It supports national efforts to protect 30 percent of Liberia’s forests and fulfills its climate commitments. 

In 2016, the Kwa process started. However, in 2023, a group of NGOs, including Social Entrepreneurs for Sustainable Development (SESDev), objected to the process. The group flagged that communities had not confirmed their customary ownership of the forestland. The advocacy referenced the Gbehzohn Declaration, in which actors agreed to confirm customary land tenure before establishing a park.

Eventually, the process resumed in early 2023, with customary land activities. Locals finally gave their consent for Kwa, signed boundary agreements, and agreed to co-manage the park alongside authorities, official documents show. They also participated in meetings about the humid forestland.

“Our towns commit to actively participate in the sustainable management of protection of the future… Kwa National Park,” read one document they signed. “Our town wishes to receive specific benefits based on negotiations from the future… Kwa National Park.”

Ironically, three individuals who co-wrote the letter to the EU envoy had signed documents to establish Kwa.

Evelyn Kpalleh, Town Chief of Kallor Town, signed a Kwa co-management agreement on April 5, 2023, and a boundary paper on June 27 this year. She admits to signing the documents, but said she co-wrote the EU letter because she was allegedly left out of the boundary process.

Esther Broh, a farmer in Kallor Town, signed a similar Kwa co-management document that Kpalleh signed on the same day. However, she denies signing the document. “I don’t remember signing any agreement that the park should come to our community,” said Broh in an interview with The DayLight at her home.  

However, the evidence does not support Broh’s comments. Broh and three other Kallor townspeople even agreed to take part in species monitoring and patrols, according to official documents. They promised to farm outside “the agreed harmonized boundary” of the proposed park.

Reason Seequeh, the chairman of the Upper Sanquin Clan’s land committee, speaks with The DayLight. The DayLight/Samuel Jabba

Reason Seequeh, who heads the community land leadership, signed a Kwa boundary agreement with five other people, including Kpalleh and Clan Chief Anthony Blay. Seequeh now claims his signature on the Kwa document was forged, and accused authorities of extending the boundary into his farmland. 

“I remember attending a meeting in Bolue-2. We only signed the attendance sheet for people who participated in the meeting. I did not sign any form for the establishment of this park,” said Seequeh.

Two townspeople who also signed the boundary agreement confirmed Seequeh signed it.

“We signed the paper. Mr. Seequeh, who is our chairman, also signed the document,” said Sarah Jlateh, a Sayon Town leader.

“We signed the document in a big meeting in Kallor Town. I signed it. Mr. Reason Seequeh and other people signed it. The only issue we have now is that when they got ready to cut the line, they did not involve us in the process,” said Jerry Baker, a Sayon Town resident. 

Dr. Annika Hillers, WCF’s Country Director, said all legal procedures regarding customary land were followed.

“These steps served to ensure that the communities’ farming activities were excluded from the park and the boundary was shifted and the size of the park was reduced to make sure that no crops were affected,” Dr. Hillers said. “The communities were fully part and thus influenced the boundary location.”

The LLA, which oversees the customary land activities, said it would investigate Seequeh’s claim. “The same people who are now saying that they did not sign any documents are the same people who participated, got involved in meetings, and signed attendance sheets and other agreements,” said Ezekiel Weah, Assistant Director of Customary Land. The FDA did not respond to queries.

A second lie

Like the letter’s co-authors, several people who signed boundary and consent papers denied doing so. However, reporters interviewed one person who admitted signing the documents.

Mathew Tarpeay, a New Town resident, now Commissioner of Upper Sanquin: “The only issue we had was for the park to go behind our sacred creek. Once that was done and resolved, we agreed and signed for the park to come. We have no objection to it.”

A drone picture of the Kwa Proposed Protected Area in Grand Gedeh County. The DayLight/Samuel T. Jabba

This is the second time local people have lied about their involvement with Kwa. Earlier this year, The DayLight published evidence that cocoa farmers in Grand Gedeh County misinformed President Boakai, leading to a government inquest. The farmers claimed they had not given their consent for Kwa formation. Turns out, like in the Lower Sanquin case, signatories of the presidential letter had signed official documents for Kwa. The findings from the government inquest have not been published. 

But in interviews in four adjacent Kwa communities in Grand Gedeh, townspeople expressed support for the proposed park.

“From the beginning, we said no because the forest is where we can get our living,” said Cephus Krah, Town Chief of Kumah Town in Tchien District. “But after they taught us about the importance of the forest, we signed the document without anybody forcing us.”

US$5.4 Million Grebo-Krahn Park Project Restarts

Top: Participants at the Grebo-Krahn project relaunch in Ziah City. The DayLight/Esau J. Farr, Sr.

By Esau J. Farr, Sr.

ZIAH CITY, Grand Gedeh County – The Forestry Development Authority (FDA) has relaunched a multipurpose project for the Grebo-Krahn National Park. The 4.7 million Euros (US$5.4m) project is called the Tai-Grebo-Krahn Complex Biodiversity Protection Project, meant to manage the park.

The German government is funding the project through the Wild Chimpanzee Foundation (WCF) in Liberia, a conservation NGO. The scheme was approved in 2017 by the German Development Bank (KfW) valued at 6 million Euros. 

“We hope that this project can finally address some of the issues that have been coming from the park since its establishment nine years ago,” said Wild Chimpanzee Foundation’s Country Director, Dr. Annika Hillers, at the project’s relaunch in Ziah City, Grand Gedeh County. “It will bring a lot of relief to FDA, the partners, and most of all, the development of local community members.”

The three-year plan focuses on communities’ benefits. It targets roads to connect communities around the park, and offices for the FDA to support regular monitoring. It intends to train over 300 people, employ locals, and introduce animal farming and local savings clubs.

The project also targets the construction of schools, medical facilities and hand pumps, and 150 solar street lights for communities adjacent to the park.

The FDA’s Deputy Managing Director for Community, Conservation and Carbon, Nora Bowier, encouraged locals to own it.

“You need to own it because if it succeeds, we all succeed, and if it fails, we all fail,” Bowier said. “We listened to all your concerns and interests and we are going to look into them to try and address them to the degree we can.” 

Thomas Yaya Nimely, the Senator of Grand Gedeh County, said locals were willing to help the government protect the forest.  

“Our concern is that our citizens have been keeping this forest for generations and as you have come for it, we want to know what benefits this project will bring to them?”

History and biodiversity

The Grebo-Krahn National Park was established in 2017 through a partnership of the FDA and Wild Chimpanzee Foundation. Its establishment was part of the government’s efforts to preserve a portion of its forest in line with the Paris Agreement.

The 97,136-hectare forest runs from Grand Gedeh through River Gee into the Tai-Grebo area near the Ivorian border. The area hosts several wildlife species,  including forest elephants, chimpanzees and the pygmy hippopotamus.

Additionally, it has 300 known animal species and 270 plant species, highlighting its environmental significance. The region has also been designated as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International, the world’s leading global partnership dedicated to the conservation of birds and their habitats.

An environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) is expected soon, after which road construction will begin.  

Two Protected Forests Near Establishment

Group pic Gt
Group pic Gt

Top: Stakeholders at the Proposed Kwa Gazettement forum in Monrovia. The DayLight/Esau J. Farr

By Esau J. Farr

MONROVIA – Forestry actors agreed to establish the Kwa and Wonegizi Protected Areas in Liberia, and expect them to become reality soon.

Officials held two public engagement forums in Monrovia to gather stakeholders’ input for Kwa and Wonegizi’s gazettement. Scores of conservationists, forest campaigners, and governmental agencies participated in the events.

“Today, we have come with a package to put this portion of the Kwa into protection for the future of our people,”  said Rudolph Merab, the FDA Managing Director, at the Kwa event. “We appreciate the efforts of all who helped reach this far.”

Pygmy hippo

Kwa and Wonegizi safeguard critical swathes of Liberia’s remaining portion of the Upper Guinean forests. They are home to endangered species and are part of the country’s commitments to preserve 30 percent of its forests.

The Kwa Proposed Protected Area covers River Cess, Sinoe and Grand Gedeh Counties, extending some 236,246 hectares. Its establishment began in 2016. The FDA partners with the Wild Chimpanzee Foundation, based in the Mano River basin, and the US-based Rainforest Trust to establish the area.

Kwa supports Liberia’s second-largest known population of critically endangered western chimpanzees, endangered pygmy hippopotamuses, and critically endangered slender-snouted crocodiles.

Dr. Annika Hillers, the Country Director of Wild Chimpanzee Foundation, told the Kwa ceremony reveled in the progress.

“We need to talk about what is best for the country and not what is best for an individual. We hope that for the best of Liberia, the proposed Kwa National Park will become a reality as soon as possible,” added Dr. Hillers.

Meerab
FDA Managing Director, Rudolph J. Merab, Sr. The DayLight/Samuel Jabba

Zebra duiker

The Wonegizi Proposed Protected Area covers 27,645 hectares in Lofa County’s Ziama Clan. Started in 2013, the FDA works with Fauna & Flora (FFI), a UK-based NGO, to establish Wonegizi. Located along the Liberian-Guinean border, it is an important transboundary forest landscape with Guinea’s Biosphere Reserve.

Full of rocky terrain and lowland rainforests, Wonegizi is home to forest elephants, pygmy hippopotamuses, and the rare zebra duiker. It allows large mammals to migrate safely between the two countries, maintaining a range of diverse species across regional highlands.

The formation of Wonegizi is also meant to prepare communities for carbon trade with an estimated US$2.5 million community benefit annually, according to FFI.

“I am very pleased that we have come to this stage finally. It took a long process,” said Dr. Mary Molokwu-Odozi, FFI’s country director. “It will now be a smooth process going forward.”

Efforts to establish Kwa and Wonegizi have experienced challenges.

Kwa’s establishment has been stalled due to competing mining interests and agricultural activities.  Between 2002 and 2025, Kwa lost 64,358 hectares or roughly 27 percent of its original size, leaving its current area at 171,020 hectares.

In June this year, citizens from Grand Gedeh’s Gbarzon District accused the FDA of illegally extending Kwa’s boundaries into farmlands and destroying their crops. President Joseph Boakai ordered an investigation into the matter.

Senator Augustine Chea of Sinoe County, Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Judiciary, called for caution.

“Consulting us is the right thing to do, but we must do this against the background that there are people who reside on the land, who have customary rights to the land,” said Chea. “Conservation is good, but survival is more important than conservation.”

Ancestral land deed

Meanwhile, Wonegizi’s establishment was delayed due to adjacent communities’ efforts to obtain ancestral land deeds. The communities finally obtained their deeds last year and earlier this year, thrusting the process forward.

Stakeholders also raised qualms about the human-elephant crisis in the region. In the last decade, elephants have raided towns and farms in the northwest in search of food. This has caused people to migrate to new areas.

“The elephant issue must be looked at as we don’t intend to harm them. Each and everyone’s interest must be protected in the process,” said Lavelah Massaquoi, the Superintendent of Lofa County.

The gazettement packages of the forest areas are expected to be presented to the Legislature for enactment. Once passed into law, they will be sent to the President for approval.

“We have done a lot, and we are now at the last stage of their establishment,” said Merab. “When we have finally passed the act that creates these areas, we will hope that you will support and ensure that it is not encroached upon.”

Cocoa Farmers Ask Gov’t to Push Proposed Park Behind      

Elders and chiefs at a meeting in Gaye Town to discuss the boundaries of the Kwa Proposed Protected Area in Grand Gedeh
Chiefs and elders meet for the Kwa Proposed Protected Area

Top: Some participants at the meeting in Gaye Town. The DayLight/Esau J. Farr

By Esau J. Farr

GAYE TOWN – Cocoa farmers in Grand Gedeh County have requested that boundaries between the Kwa Proposed Protected Area and their communities be extended.

The communities lie between 3.8 and 19 kilometers from Kwa, which covers 172,200 hectares across Grand Gedeh, River Cess and Sinoe. However, they want the boundary lines to be 10 kilometers further away so they can access more farmlands.

“We can guarantee you that when this boundary line is passed, you don’t need to pay people to protect the park. We ourselves will protect the forest,” said Abednego Zweh, Chairman of Grand Gedeh’s farmers. Zweh spoke at a recent meeting to resolve a dispute with the Forestry Development Authority (FDA) and partners in Gaye Town, Gbarzon District.

“If our request is not honored by the President, we will still appeal,” he added.

The meeting was part of an investigation President Joseph Boakai ordered last month following the farmers’ appeal for his intervention.  

In their letter to President Boakai, the farmers claimed that they did not consent to the proposed park’s boundaries. They accused authorities of abusing their rights, allegations authorities deny.   

IMG 8393
FDA boss Rudolph Merab chats with Grand Gedeh lawmaker Jacob Debee. Lawmaker Jeremiah Sokan and Thomas Yaya and other county authorities at the meeting. The DayLight/Esau J. Farr

The farmers said they participated in meetings, but were unaware of any boundary arrangements.

Clement Tweh, the program manager of Wild Chimpanzee Foundation—an NGO that works with the FDA to establish Kwa—dismissed those claims. Tweh said the farmers signed consent and boundary documents.

“We don’t want a handful of individuals who have farms and are not the actual representatives of the communities to benefit, rather than the entire community,” said Tweh. The DayLight independently reviewed the documents to verify his claims.

‘Let the boundaries remain’

Interestingly, a group of concerned youths of Gbarzon District disagreed with the farmers. Led by Leo Wilson Jahyee, the youths carried placards, brandishing inscriptions: “Let the boundaries remain,” “We need reserved forests for our children,” and “Enough is enough.”

“We believe that forests should be managed, be cared for and the boundary line should remain,” Jahyee said.

The group accused the farmers of wanting to expand their cocoa farms with the help of Burkinabe migrants they host. Several of the farmers The DayLight interviewed had at least two Burkinabe migrants. About 140,000 Burkinabe migrants are in Grand Gedeh and River Gee, according to the Liberia Refugee, Repatriation and Resettlement Commission (LRRRC). 

IMG 8412
Members of the concerned youths of Gbao District at the Gaye Town meeting. The DayLight/Esau J. Farr

Cocoa farming is fast depleting Grand Gedeh’s forest. Local farmers have encroached on logging concessions, community forests, and the proposed park. From 2002 to last year, Gbarzon lost 46,000 hectares, or 14 percent of its primary forest, according to the Global Forest Watch, an app that tracks deforestation.

Following presentations from the opposing sides, the FDA Managing Director Rudolph Merab told locals they would hear from him following a meeting with President Boakai.

“I could have concluded [this matter] right now and made a decision, but unfortunately, I cannot do that because you have also written the President,” said Merab. “I cannot make a decision without consulting him.”

At the end of the meeting, the farmers agreed not to extend their farms until they hear from the FDA.  Meanwhile, the regulator has mandated forest rangers to halt all operations in the disputed areas, pending the President’s decision.