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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.   

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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). 

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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.