Land Tenure, Natural Resource Management & Conflict Case Studies from Nimba County Vaneska Litz Deputy Chief of Party, PROSPER Tetra Tech ARD

USAID Community Forestry Programming in Liberia Background USAID Community Forestry Programming in Liberia USAID-funded project to assist Government of Liberia to develop and apply a “community forestry framework”; 3+year pilot initiative that ended in October 2011 Field activities in four pilot communities (Nimba & Sinoe Counties) & worked closely with FDA and Land Commission Activities continued with USFS/USAID support through May 2012 (LFSP) in Nimba County PROSPER project awarded in May 2012: a five-year (ca. 2012-2017) project that will continue to support the expansion of sustainable forest management and CF in Liberia through education and improvements to human, legal, regulatory and institutional capacities

Case Study Locations

Environmental Context of Northern Nimba County Nimba Mountain Complex straddles the border between Ivory Coast, Guinea, and Liberia Biodiversity Hotspot & World Heritage site (except Liberia) Significant biodiversity including: >2000 plant species 500+ animals including endangered species Grasslands Primary forests Primary Threats Farming Hunting Mining The Nimba Mountains were established as a nature reserve in 1943 in Cote d'Ivoire, and in 1944 in Guinea. The nature reserve on the Cote d'Ivoire side is a "foret classee", under national ownership. The Guinea portion of the massif was accepted as a biosphere reserve in 1980, consisting of 17,130 ha. Both reserves now form a World Heritage Site, gazetted in 1981 for Guinea and in 1982 for Cote d'Ivoire. A home for more plants than anywhere else in the world and over 500 types of animals The Nimba Mountains are cut up by deep, richly forested valleys. There is great topographical diversity, with valleys, plateaux, rounded hilltops, rocky peaks, abrupt cliffs and bare granite blocks, and the whole area constitutes a vast water catchment. The Nimba Mountains have attracted the interest of scientists, including geographers, geologists, soil experts, botanists, zoologists and other specialists ever since the late 1930's The Nimba Mountains are characterized by evergreen forest of medium altitude (Guillaumet & Adjanohoun, 1971). The region below 800 m is entirely covered by primary tropical forest and, above 800 m, where the mountain becomes steeper, the vegetation is interspersed with montane forest and patches of high terrestrial herbaceous vegetation and savanna. Thus, there are three vegetation types which dominate the Nimba mountains (WCMC, 1982): 1) High altitude grassland near the summit and woody plants on the slopes, which are absent from the ridges; interspersed with patches of montane forest, dominated by Myrtaceae species, and Marantaceae and Zingiberaceae growth. 2) Savanna and 3) Predominantly primary forest, located mainly on the foothills More than 2,000 plant species have been described from the Nimba region, and about 16 are thought to be endemic (Adam, 1971-1983). The area has, as a result, been identified as a center of plant diversity under the IUCN-WWF Plants Conservation Program (IUCN/WWF, 1988).

Case Study Locations

The Forestry Legal Framework in Liberia Communal land tenure rights are enshrined in past and current law and some instruments have conveyed fee simple ownership rights to land to communities Aborigines Deeds (1905-1956) Public Land Sale Deeds (1973-2010 moratorium) Communal rights representation remains an issue except with regard to forestry because of the Community Rights Law (CRL) Who represents the community To whom do rights descend? The Community Rights Law classifies deeded forestland as community forestland provides limited forest management and use rights for undeeded communal lands (15 years) Communal forestry rights may be in conflict with other laws/interests (e.g. concessions) Describe in brief the interaction b/w the CFMB and the Bleih Mountain Resourcecs Company – Communities understand that this is AML concession, that they have management and use rights; stopped them from entering the forest, reported to the DC and levied a fine

Statutory Context Forestry Development Authority (FDA) regulates forest use & mgmt National Forestry Reform Law (2006) State forests Protected Areas Community Forests Private Forests Community Rights Law Community Forests considered both statutory and customary Regulates commercial use of forests by communities

The East Nimba Nature reserve Case Study #1 The East Nimba Nature reserve

Customary – Statutory Land Tenure Interface Customary Land Claims* Zor Clan Gba Clan East Nimba Nature Reserve (ENNR) Created in 2003 “Strict” Nature Reserve FDA “managed” Gba Zor * No deeded claims in case study area

Contractual land rights* Arcelor Mittal Liberia Mineral Development Agreement 25 years Environmental offset Negotiated rights not subject to some Liberian law Have the right to mine in the ENNR; have not exercised to date AML * Boundaries are approximate

Interests and Positions – FDA and AML “Strict” Nature Reserve Communities do not respect the law Arcelor Mittal Liberia Environmental offset Have the right to mine in the ENNR; not exercised

Interests and Positions – Zor Community This is “our” land; Gba only have user rights FDA did not consult FDA needs to cooperate with the Zor to enforce regs Want access, use & mgmt rights to the ENNR

Interests and Positions – Gba Community This is “our” land; given by the Zor FDA did not consult FDA needs to cooperate with the Gba to enforce regs Want access, use & mgmt rights to the ENNR

Case Study #2 The West Nimba Forest

Customary – Statutory Land Tenure Interface West Nimba State Forest (FDA) Highly degraded Unmanaged Encroachment from Guinea Not recognized by Ministry of Lands Proposed Protected Area (conservation NGO/FDA) Significant biodiversity Going quickly

Customary – Contractual Land Tenure Interface Gba Community Customary land Requested community forest status AML Minerals Development Agreement Right to mine Right to exclude in operating areas Right to relocate

Interests and Positions – FDA and ENGO FDA Community Department Some management better than no management FDA Conservation Department & ENGO Expand protected area system Communities lack management capacity Access AML offset $$

Interests and Positions - Community Gba Community Want customary rights acknowledged; access, use & mgmt rights Want to co-manage the forest as a community forest Need support for conservation and alternative livelihoods

Interests and Positions - AML Arcelor Mittal Liberia Want good relations with the community Must mitigate damage to environment Need to put in place a conservation offset Need to exclude people from operational areas May need to expand operations

What Stances should be Taken by Different Actors? Assignment What Stances should be Taken by Different Actors? Group # 1: Government Agencies? Group # 2: Non-Governmental Organizations and Private Sector? Group # 3: Rural Communities? Break up into three groups to discuss what stances each stakeholder group might propose in response to the complex and conflictual tenure situation in North Nimba County. Report back to plenary.

East Nimba Nature Reserve (ENNR) Joint Forest Management Committee Zor/Gba and FDA Community forest estb’d ENNR Boundary redrawn Conservation Agreement in development Supported by CI FFI AML

West Nimba Community Forest

Despite Overlapping Tenure Claims Northern Nimba Today Despite Overlapping Tenure Claims AML Communities FDA Conservation International Fauna and Flora International Local government are engaged in: Landscape level planning & cooperation Developing a Conservation Agreement

But… Individual interests may prevail because of overlapping claims FDA AML Communities Other concessions CI/FFI

Challenges remain…. “the forests that we agreed to set aside as community forests for conservation purposes have all been awarded to mining companies for exploration purposes,” he said. “We want the government to define or draw a clear line between conservation and concession because we continue to see companies coming with licenses to carry out exploration in those forests set aside by us and the Forestry Development Authority (FDA)” - Saye Thompson, JCFMB Chairperson Describe in brief the interaction b/w the CFMB and the Bleih Mountain Resourcecs Company – Communities understand that this is AML concession, that they have management and use rights; stopped them from entering the forest, reported to the DC and levied a fine

Beyond Nimba, challenges remain…. Lack of government coordination results in overlapping claims Private Use Permits Issued without regard to the CRL Issued on forests that should be classified as community forests Agriculture concessions Overlap between deeded, customary & contractual claims Powerful interests, e.g. Golden Veroleum Mining Concessions Overlap deeded, customary and contractual claims Originate in the MLME Describe in brief the interaction b/w the CFMB and the Bleih Mountain Resourcecs Company – Communities understand that this is AML concession, that they have management and use rights; stopped them from entering the forest, reported to the DC and levied a fine

Lessons Learned from Northern Nimba County Learn the Tenure Situation: Successful NRM in Liberia requires understanding tenure rights and claims Coordination between Government Agencies is Key: Need for coordination between government ministries dealing with land issues Tenure Confusions Contribute to Conflict: Rural land tenure issues have the potential to create serious conflict and instability Conflicts of Interest between Ministries Requires New Institutions: Conflicts of interest between ministerial interests may require a “Land Institute” to address competing uses and claims to land Describe in brief the interaction b/w the CFMB and the Bleih Mountain Resourcecs Company – Communities understand that this is AML concession, that they have management and use rights; stopped them from entering the forest, reported to the DC and levied a fine