Do you know that the Environment is Life? By protecting the environment our heritage is in our hands.
My name is William B. Pewu. I am a Liberian and a Forester working with the Forestry Development Authority (FDA). The FDA monitors and supervises all forestry-related activities in Liberia, West Africa. Having worked in this sector for more than a decade, I believe the world can become a better place if we protect our forests which form a macrocosm of our environment.
I am a prospective Environmentalist and a lover of nature. I am presently training in Tanzania, where I am improving my English skills at the British Council under the auspices of AusAid (the Australian Development Aid). After the training, I will be traveling to Australia to pursue Masters Study in Climate Change.
As a result of my passion for the environment, I have decided to research the impact of forest degradation on the lives of the Lofa people of my home country. Why the Lofa People? Because they used to live in a dense forest community but, now, half of their forest is faced with deforestation due to uncontrolled farming and intensive logging activities. Lofa County, which is the largest of the 15 counties (provinces) in Liberia, has a population of more than 300,000 people, with 5 major tribal groups. All of these groups are agrarian in culture. They live on subsistence farming.
Join me as we discuss the impact of forest degradation on the lives of the Lofa people.
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Liberia Forest Cover:
Liberia is situated in West Africa; a tropical rainforest belt stretching from the Republic of Cameroon to the Republic of Guinea called the Upper Guinea Forest Region. The total land area of Liberia is about 9.59 million hectares; with forest covering about 4.39 million hectares, equivalent to about 45% of the land area. (FDA-2006).
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Historically, commercial forestry started in Liberia as far back as the 50s to meet the wood needs of major industries for construction of factories in residential areas. In recent years, the forest of Liberia has decreased due to uncontrolled logging and an expansion of land used for Agriculture purposes. Deforestation has continued unabated at an annual rate of about 2%.
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Forest Degradation in Lofa County:
In the early 60s, when Bopolu, Gbarmah and large portion of Lower Lofa combined with Upper Lofa to form what is now Lofa County, the region was then a dense forest. Between 1970 and 1990, more than 15 logging companies operated in Lofa County, with more than half of the logging companies actively working in the Bopolu and Gbarmah region. However, as a result of the uneven distribution of wealth, Bopolu and Gbarmah jointly requested for a county status in order to separate them from Lofa County. Their request was accepted by 1985 allowing Bopolu and Gbarmah to form a confederation called Gbarpolu County. In addition to its reduction in size due to the confederation, Lofa forest has continued to reduce as a result of logging, slash and burn farming system, and alluvial mining. Other causes of deforestation and forest degradation in Lofa County are attributed to uncontrolled chain saw operation, coupled with internal migration and establishment of new settlements due to population increase.
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Impact of Forest Degradation on the Lofa People:
The negative changes in the forest area of Lofa County which has limited its production capacity is a result of forest degradation, while the permanent removal of upland forests has contributed to deforestation. In recent years, 10 years after the civil conflicts, deforestation and forest degradation have been on the increase. Furthermore, Lofa County which was once considered the Food Basket of Liberia, with a rich culture has begun experiencing a hot weather and poor agricultural yield.
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Combating Global Warming:
Forests are important in efforts to finding solution to climate change. Forests are one of the greatest environmental challenges and opportunities facing the world. When they are destroyed, their ability to absorb carbon dioxide is also hindered and eventually destroyed thus, releasing CO2 into the air (World Resource Institute). This is why Lofa County must be protected from deforestation and forest degradation.
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Conclusion:
The exercise of forest governance, assessment and monitoring for Reducing Emission from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD), must be a mechanism to seek and provide incentives to reduce greenhouse gas emission (Courtesy of FDA).
While it is true that the World Bank along with the Forest Carbon Partnership has extended financial assistance to Liberia to prepare a Readiness Preparation Proposal, the government should ensure that systems are put in place to address the causes of deforestation and forest degradation in order to avert the possibility of foreseeable human suffering in Lofa County.
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Historically, commercial forestry started in Liberia as far back as the 50s to meet the wood needs of major industries for construction of factories in residential areas. In recent years, the forest of Liberia has decreased due to uncontrolled logging and an expansion of land used for Agriculture purposes. Deforestation has continued unabated at an annual rate of about 2%.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Forest Degradation in Lofa County:
In the early 60s, when Bopolu, Gbarmah and large portion of Lower Lofa combined with Upper Lofa to form what is now Lofa County, the region was then a dense forest. Between 1970 and 1990, more than 15 logging companies operated in Lofa County, with more than half of the logging companies actively working in the Bopolu and Gbarmah region. However, as a result of the uneven distribution of wealth, Bopolu and Gbarmah jointly requested for a county status in order to separate them from Lofa County. Their request was accepted by 1985 allowing Bopolu and Gbarmah to form a confederation called Gbarpolu County. In addition to its reduction in size due to the confederation, Lofa forest has continued to reduce as a result of logging, slash and burn farming system, and alluvial mining. Other causes of deforestation and forest degradation in Lofa County are attributed to uncontrolled chain saw operation, coupled with internal migration and establishment of new settlements due to population increase.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Impact of Forest Degradation on the Lofa People:
The negative changes in the forest area of Lofa County which has limited its production capacity is a result of forest degradation, while the permanent removal of upland forests has contributed to deforestation. In recent years, 10 years after the civil conflicts, deforestation and forest degradation have been on the increase. Furthermore, Lofa County which was once considered the Food Basket of Liberia, with a rich culture has begun experiencing a hot weather and poor agricultural yield.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Combating Global Warming:
Forests are important in efforts to finding solution to climate change. Forests are one of the greatest environmental challenges and opportunities facing the world. When they are destroyed, their ability to absorb carbon dioxide is also hindered and eventually destroyed thus, releasing CO2 into the air (World Resource Institute). This is why Lofa County must be protected from deforestation and forest degradation.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Conclusion:
The exercise of forest governance, assessment and monitoring for Reducing Emission from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD), must be a mechanism to seek and provide incentives to reduce greenhouse gas emission (Courtesy of FDA).
While it is true that the World Bank along with the Forest Carbon Partnership has extended financial assistance to Liberia to prepare a Readiness Preparation Proposal, the government should ensure that systems are put in place to address the causes of deforestation and forest degradation in order to avert the possibility of foreseeable human suffering in Lofa County.
