The USD3.65 million EU-funded “SUSTAIN – Sustainable Forest Conservation in Southeastern Liberia” project has been launched through the Forestry Development Authority (FDA), the Forestry Training Institute, and partners, including the Wild Chimpanzee Foundation, the Society for the Conservation of Nature of Liberia, and Universal Outreach Foundation.
The event occurred at the Sapo National Park (SNP) in Jalay Town, Sinoe County, on March 13, 2025. Speaking on behalf of the FDA Managing Director, Madam Nora Garmai Bowier, Deputy Managing Director for Community, Conservation and Carbon, told the citizens from Jalay Town and surroundings as well as the delegations present at the launch that she appreciated the European Union’s funding that focuses on Sapo, Grebo-Krahn, and Proposed Kwa National Parks.
“Sapo National Park (SNP) is Liberia’s first national park to be established. This park was established to preserve Liberia’s plants and animal species, some of which can’t be found anywhere else in the world,” she noted.
However, Madam Bowier admonished the citizens of Sinoe to ‘eat some and keep some’ for future generations, while also decrying illegal miners and foreigners who are contributing to the destruction of the park with their illegal activities.
According to Madam Bowier, efforts to put the situation under control are currently underway in the SNP, and the FDA is grateful for the European Union’s support through the Government of Liberia and partners to increase the number of communities ecoguards, strengthen joint patrols around the park and build infrastructure.
“These are things the SUSTAIN project will be implementing,” she indicated. Madam Bowier also noted: “Another one is to support the co-management of the park, which is very important. Communities are encouraged to work with FDA to overcome the challenges we are facing.
The responsibility will also rest on the communities because the FDA can’t do it alone. Most of the Sapo National Park is under threat, but the FDA needs the cooperation of the communities to remove those illegal miners from the various parks.”
While encouraging the communities to work with the FDA to protect the park, Madam Bowier also warned them about the negative impacts of illegal mining, which risks depriving the communities of the forests and their precious resources in the long run.
“Taking the community livelihood very seriously, the government is working very hard to bring better livelihood for its citizens. Knowing that the youth need jobs, the government is working toward that employment opportunity in various ways. Balancing conservation with development, you can’t tell the people to keep their forest and not improve their livelihood,” Madam Bowier said.
She continued: “To gain from our forests through carbon credits is to protect our forests. We can benefit a lot from our forest when we keep it. The SUSTAIN project will establish Village Saving and Loan schemes and women Conservation Enterprises in the communities around and provide agriculture support and livelihood programs.”
Madam Bowier prompted the FDA and the communities to work together and dialogue to preserve the forest. While recognizing the existing challenges, Madam Bowier urged Liberians to “stick together with one voice and focus on protecting our forest to find the balance between conservation and community livelihood”.
The Deputy Managing Director for Administration and Finance, Mr. Victor W. Kpaiseh commended the Jalay Town community for agreeing to keep their forest for today and future generations. “The community proved that they are prepared for conservation and we are ready to keep our forest. “We who eat all stand to lose all”.
Mr. Kpaiseh also urged the community to discourage anyone from destroying the forest and reiterated the FDA’s support. In her remarks, the EU Ambassador to Liberia, H.E. Nona Deprez, said she was very impressed with the Sapo National Park and the Sapo Ecolodge and thanked the people of Sapo for their conservation efforts despite the allure of making fast money through illegal mining. Ambassador Deprez went on to urge the FDA to expel illegal miners from the park, emphasizing the need for immediate action from both FDA and Law Enforcement Agencies, together with NGOs and local communities.
The EU Ambassador also emphasized the importance of taking care of the forest, its resources, and cultural heritage, for the present and future generations, as well as the need for communities to take ownership of the project.
Ambassador Deprez explained the new EU Regulation on Deforestation-free products, under which, for instance, Liberian farmers who want to place their commodities on the EU market must be able to prove that their products do not originate from recently deforested land or have contributed to forest degradation.
During the event, the Country Director for Wild Chimpanzee Foundation, Dr. Annika Hillers, also expressed gratitude for the support from the European Union and said that local communities were playing a key role in the implementation of the project activities.
“This project will continue to implement the community ecoguard and auxiliary programs, biomonitoring, conservation enterprises, agriculture, livelihood, scholarships, and village saving and loan schemes, and community-based ecotourism will play a very important role in the project. It will also promote infrastructure development for both, the communities and the FDA”, Dr. Hillers said on behalf of the Wild Chimpanzee Foundation (WCF), which is leading the SUSTAIN project.
