GLA 2 - Liberia

Efforts in Liberia will be on effective implementation of the country’s progressive land legislation taking advantage of the opportunities it presents for further securing Customary Land rights through formalization. This will strengthen community ownership and control over their Customary Land and enable them to enjoy the full ‘bundle of rights’ including the right to access, use, transfer and (most importantly) exclude oncommunity members including agribusinesses and logging companies from enjoyment of these rights. Formalized land and forest ownership will empower local communities to develop local policies, laws, norms and practices that address factors contributing to climate change, including deforestation and conversion, protect and advance human rights, and safeguard local livelihoods. A second focus will be improved national policy and legal frameworks on agriculture, improved corporate policies and practices, and EHRDs and Local Communities’ use of existing complaints and grievance mechanisms. This will aim to reduce external pressure from harmful investments on Local Communities lands and forests by holding corporations and financiers to account.