The Government of Liberia has kicked off a national land conference, the second after several to discuss Liberia’s growing land crisis.
By Judoemue M. Kollie
Gompa City, Liberia, September 26, 2024—Stakeholders in land and agriculture investment, in partnership with relevant state actors and civil society members, have converged in Gompa City, Nimba County, to host Liberia’s second national land conference.
The conference, which runs from September 23 to 27, 2024, seeks to review the progress made in implementing the Land Law Act of Liberia.
Participants will identify progress, emerging challenges, and opportunities to advance and fast-track land reform processes within the country.
It is organized by the Multi-Actors Platform on Land Governance and Responsible Agricultural Investment in Liberia (MAP Liberia Land Platform) in collaboration with the Liberia Land Authority (LLA).
It comes following the hosting of the first national land conference three years ago held in Buchanan, Grand Bassa County.
The conference theme is “Looking Backward, Looking Forward after the First National Land Conference.”
Several top government officials are attending the conference, including lawmakers and heads of ministries and agencies involved with land issues. Development partners and regional leaders, local authorities, youths and women, and people with disabilities are also there.
Speaking at the conference’s opening on Tuesday, September 24, the chairman of the Liberia Land Authority, J. Adams Manobah, called on civil society organization actors and legislators to join the Land Authority in implementing the land law.
He said implementation of the land law is very much cardinal to sustaining the country’s peace, so participation of all stakeholders can’t be overly emphasized.
“If this law is not implemented to the letter, the nation is poised to experience the next civil war as there is land conflicts in every part of the country, he cautioned the participants.
Monomah underscored a need for government to prioritize land issues in the national budget, rather than to depend on donor fund.
The Minister responsible for Planning and Development at the Ministry of Agriculture, David Akoi, who spoke on behalf of Dr. J. Alexander Nuetah, said land governance is crucial in enhancing agricultural productivity and making rural communities peaceful.
He called on the participants to deliberate on those issues that will reduce land conflicts in the country.
The chairman of the Steering Committee on the MAP Liberia Land Platform, Henry Augustus Roberts, called for the active participation of the private sector in resolving land conflicts.
Roberts said that the private sector, which also includes farmers, must be involved in all discussions about land, if they are to profit from agriculture.
For her part, the Chairperson of the Civil Society Council of Liberia, Loretta Pope-kai said, Liberia still faces numerous challenges about land issues and there is a need for government to adequately support formalization of land in rural communities.
“There is a need to explore innovative solutions for land problems, and much still needs to be done,” she said.
Over 200 delegates representing various institutions including government agencies, CSOs Working Group on Land Rights Reform, academia and Community-Based Organizations (CBOs), Community Land Development Management Committee (CLDMC), national and international organizations as well as donor partners are expected to be in attendance.
Key topics include customary land formalization, land rights of women, youth, and people with disabilities, land administration and registration, conflict around land using the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) approach, decentralization of land services, linkage of land rights to responsible agricultural investment, with emphasis on livelihood and food security, among others. Editing by Jonathan Browne
