Liberia sees green in reform of 'blood timber'

A lucrative industry long steeped in corruption and used to fuel a brutal civil war, timber may now hold the key to rebuilding the devastated West African nation of Liberia.

Ten months after the country elected Africa's first female head of state, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Liberia is poised for rebirth. And reopening the timber business, which could emerge permanently from under UN sanctions this week, is crucial to boosting its broken economy.

Timber is projected to bring in some $100 million annually, of which Ms. Johnson-Sirleaf's government would get between $7 million and $8 million.

The government estimates that the industry could eventually account for 25 percent of GDP – and create 5,000-7,000 jobs in a country with more than 80 percent unemployment.

The pressure to move quickly is considerable. Violent crime has spiked recently, fueled by large numbers of young, jobless, and restless ex-fighters. The government wants to boost its coffers for much-needed schools, roads and sewers, legal development, and security.

But Liberian and international advocates warn that hasty efforts to reform the industry – which farms teak, mahogany, and walnut, among other varieties – could have disastrous results, shortchanging the land and property rights of forest communities and prompting further unrest.

"We understand the [economic] pressure, but we have to do the right thing," says Alfred Brownell, a Liberian lawyer and cofounder of the Green Advocates rights group. If forest communities feel they are cheated by future logging arrangements, he warns, the country could slide back into conflict, leading Liberia "back to the [former dictator Charles] Taylor's days ... back to Square 1."

Joseph Sesay, a Liberian civil affairs officer for the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL), says he is keenly aware of the need to ensure local residents benefit enough as loggers operate in their areas. But, he adds, Liberia can't afford to wait. "It's a very tough balancing game," he says.

Ms. Johnson-Sirleaf has moved swiftly to get the timber industry into position. She cancelled all timber concessions shortly after her inauguration this year – a move designed to target corruption and bring loggers under the government's eye. In June, she asked the UN to lift sanctions it slapped on Liberian timber in 2003 in response to Mr. Taylor's takeover of the industry using militias stocked with child soldiers. That helped cut off a key source for Taylor's brutal 14-year war against rebels – and, in turn, end the war. Taylor is now in The Hague awaiting trial on war crimes.

The UN provisionally lifted its sanctions early this summer. If it permanently lifts the bans, the government could choose to revoke its own ban shortly thereafter.

Still, rights advocates warn that the country needs to do more to avoid falling prey to timber-funded militias.

"Ex-generals will have a ready [export] market" in neighboring countries, says Silas Siakor, director of the Liberian group Sustainable Development Institute, and an internationally recognized activist (see story, below). He says the government doesn't have the capacity to regulate the industry, and that the ban on exports should remain in place for now.

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