Forest governance and post-conflict peace in Liberia: Emerging contestation and opportunities for change?

Abstract

International peacebuilders intervened in post-conflict Liberia to influence the direction of forest governance. Peacebuilders promoted reforms designed to ensure that timber revenues could no longer fuel violence and serve as a catalyst for post-conflict reconstruction. These reforms have been contentious, and have not progressed as expected. The anticipated revenue, employment and community benefits of timber extraction have not materialized, and companies that were awarded concessions have failed to honor their contractual obligations and regularly violated Liberian law. This is because the reforms prioritizing state-centric timber extraction are recreating past arrangements that fostered corruption and patronage and exploited forest communities. This paper argues that these difficulties, along with a concerted effort by international and Liberian advocacy groups to publicize the plight of communities, have led peacebuilders to rethink the privileged status of timber extraction towards a policy goal that affords communities more rights in determining how forests are managed and used. The findings suggest that ready-made solutions for the governance of natural resources can be counterproductive and make peacebuilding more challenging. The findings also suggest that despite the substantial influence of international actors involved in peacebuilding, it is possible to challenge existing narratives that allow new policy choices to emerge