Conservation & Communities: Protecting the Gola Rainforest in Liberia

Conservation often needs an important balance. To protect a global biodiversity hotspot, like the Gola Rainforest in West Africa, it’s important to work with local communities and develop nature-friendly, sustainable job opportunities.  

That's why the RSPB has been working together with the Society for the Conservation of Nature of Liberia (SCNL) to support their 'Forest Communities Livelihood Programme'. This works takes us, together with other partners, to Lofa County in the north of Liberia. But what impact is the programme having on the region’s people and forests? Let’s find out... 

Liberia is the most forested country in West Africa, with 68% of its land area covered by trees. Together with neighbouring Sierra Leone, western Liberia’s forests form part of the Greater Gola Landscape; a vast, 350,000-hectare (ha) expanse of protected areas, community forests and agricultural lands.  

The Landscape is home to over 320 species of birds, as well as endangered mammals like Forest Elephants, Chimpanzees, pangolins and the elusive Pygmy Hippo. As a result, Gola is of international importance, both for its incredible biodiversity and the millions of tonnes of carbon stored within its forests. 

Protecting this vital ecological resource is far from straightforward. In March 2024, the UN listed Liberia at 177th out of 193 countries on the Human Development Index, which measures health, education and standard of living. Over half of the country’s population live in multidimensional poverty (deprivation of one or more of those measures).  

It’s easy to see why there can be great pressure on people to exploit the resources provided by forests. However, this can lead to damaging activities like timber extraction, mining, and unsustainable hunting. So, it’s vital to develop sustainable sources of income to both support local people and protect these valuable forests.  

SCNL’s Forest Communities Livelihood Programme is focused on doing just that by combining a range of important initiatives. These include beekeeping, cocoa production and community microfinance. 

In 2024, a new Village Savings and Loans Association was established in the town of Massabolahun. Designed to help local people access financial support, the scheme provides a 25,000 Liberian dollar loan (about £110) to local people. The money can then be used to develop new businesses and achieve greater financial independence. 

For example, a single mother who had been struggling to feed her children was able to start a new farming business thanks to an affordable loan. She’s now able to save money through the scheme and is training other women in the business skills she has developed. 

Savings contributions are made on a regular basis and members can take out loans based on the amount they have saved. The interest charged on the loans is then re-invested into the fund for future loans.  

By offering affordable financial support, our partnership with SCNL is helping to develop skills in managing finances. It’s also encouraging local people to develop new income streams and reduce overreliance on the forest. 

Unfortunately, Gola’s protected areas still face pressure from illegal activities including bushmeat hunting, mining and timber extraction. However, under the community livelihood programme, a team of local, volunteer Community Ecoguards has been trained to patrol these areas and record signs of illegal activity.  

The Ecoguards receive stipends for their work and also record signs of wildlife. These can include direct observations or indications of a species' presence, such as the dung of Pygmy Hippos. This vital data is captured and shared through smartphones using the SMART system (Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool). 

In the three months between July and September 2024, Ecoguard patrols covered over 300km in the area’s protected forests. 

In Lofa, SCNL is working with more than 1,400 farmers to develop their cultivation of shade-grown cocoa. This is because the crop can offer much needed income without the need to clear-cut forest trees as others require.  

Help is also being given to restore degraded farms by distributing cocoa tree seedlings, providing training on farm management, and offering centralised processing techniques. For example, the use of centralised solar dryers helps farmers to produce better quality beans and receive the highest prices at market. 

Improvements are also being made when it comes to selling the cocoa beans. A revolving fund, supported by the SCNL programme, provides money to buy beans from the farmer’s cooperative.  

The beans are then sold on, and the proceeds from these sales go back into the fund to support the next purchase of cocoa beans from the cooperatives. This saw the sale of nearly 3,000kg of processed cocoa beans between August and October 2024 alone! 

Samuka, a farmer who lives on the outskirts of Massabolahun town, describes how things have changed thanks to the training and support offered by SCNL and the local farmers’ cooperative: 

“Things were really tough; we were planting cocoa but not getting a good price… people were buying the cocoa and selling it in Sierra Leone. Now when I pick the cocoa I am able to get plenty of money.” 

Cocoa isn’t the only produce that’s helping to boost livelihoods sustainably in this part of Gola. The project team are also busy introducing beekeeping opportunities to local farmers.  

Implementing partner, Universal Outreach, distributes beehives to groups of farmers and offers training on best practices and hive construction using local materials. Like cocoa, honey production can offer farmers another livelihood source that doesn’t require forest clearing. 

Through close collaborations with partners and local communities across the Gola Landscape, we're working to show how landscape-scale conservation in tropical forests can bring about impactful change for people, wildlife and climate.

This work is being undertaken by the Society for the Conservation of Nature of Liberia in partnership with the RSPB and has been made possible thanks to the generous support of the Ecological Restoration Fund.  

The Ecological Restoration Fund supports work that protects biodiverse hotspots, rejuvenates degraded landscapes and promotes local environmental activism. They are committed to re-establishing nature’s essential interconnections while fostering cultural, social and economic opportunities for the communities inhabiting those landscapes.