About 150 delegates from across the nation and other countries including foreign missions will gather in Monrovia from November 3-5 as the Forestry Development Authority hosts Liberia’s National Forest Forum 2025 aiming to increase revenue from sustainable forest management.
The three-day event, themed “Leveraging Liberia’s Forest for Economic, Social, and Environmental Sustainability,” aims to strengthen partnerships and reaffirm national commitments to sustainable forest management.
The NFF 2025 will serve as a strategic platform to showcase the FDA’s achievements, challenges, and lessons learned since the last forum in 2023.
It will also facilitate dialogue among stakeholders on the future of Liberia’s forest sector.
FDA Managing Director Rudolph Merab will deliver the opening keynote, provide a sectoral overview and outline the agency’s vision for sustainable forestry.
President Joseph Boakai is expected to attend and deliver a special address emphasizing the sector’s role in national development and urging delegates to chart a forward-looking path.
The forum will bring together approximately 150 delegates, including representatives from international development partners such as the World Bank, African Development Bank, UKAID, SIDA, and the European Union. Forestry experts from Guyana, Ghana, and Sierra Leone will also participate, alongside national institutions including the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Liberia Land Authority (LLA), and the Ministry of Mines and Energy.
Liberia’s forest governance has evolved significantly since the end of the civil conflict in 2003 and the lifting of UN sanctions on timber exports.
Key legislative milestones include the 2006 National Forest Reform Law, the 2009 Community Rights Law, and the 2018 Land Rights Act. These reforms underpin the FDA’s “Four C’s” framework—Community Forestry, Conservation, Forest Carbon, and Commercial Forestry—which guides its operational mandate.
The forum will critically assess the sector’s trajectory amid the proposed cancellation of the Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA), the shift toward a Forest Partnership model, and the implementation of the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR).
Strategic Alignment and Expected Outcomes
Discussions will also focus on enhancing inter-agency coordination to implement the Arrest Agenda for Inclusive Development (AAID), and aligning forestry initiatives with international environmental conventions, including the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Convention to Combat Desertification, and the Convention on Biological Diversity.
Although closed to the general public, the forum is expected to yield actionable outcomes, including Increased revenue and income from sustainable forest management, strengthened management of current and future protected areas, equitable benefit-sharing from forest resources, and improved coordination among government agencies and stakeholders.
The FDA envisions a forestry sector that serves as a cornerstone of inclusive and sustainable economic development in Liberia.
