The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced last week that it has developed a national policy on carbon markets — ahead of a two-day stakeholder’s dialogue aimed at enhancing consultation around the policy.
The policy, the agency noted, is designed to provide a clear vision and guiding principles for Liberia’s participation in carbon market schemes.
However, barely 24 hours to the dialogue, scheduled for August 21-22 in Ganta, Nimba County, CSOs and communities have expressed dissatisfaction with the draft national carbon markets policy, citing concerns about inclusion, transparency, and accountability in its development process.
A leaked position statement from the groups, a copy of which is in the possession of the Daily Observer, highlights the lack of community participation, ambiguities in carbon credit ownership, and potential conflicts with existing laws governing land and forestry rights.
The organizations include environmental and human rights groups, as well as community structures working in natural resource governance. They will present their concerns to the government at the Ganta dialogue today.
The objections underscore the need for stronger community engagement, clearer benefit-sharing mechanisms, and enhanced accountability in the policy framework.
The statement was signed by Mitchell Browne, National Facilitator, NGO Coalition of Liberia; Andrew Y. Y. Zelemen, National Facilitator, Union of Community Forest Development Committees (NUCFDC); and Bonathan G. Walaka, National Union of Community Forest Management Body (NUCFMB).
These stakeholders urge the government to prioritize Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) principles and ensure that communities have a direct role in decision-making processes related to carbon projects.
They highlighted the exclusion of communities during the formulation of the policy, noting that “Many rural and marginalized communities received little or no notice about policy consultations, making meaningful participation impossible; Government claim of carbon ownership.”
They also noted that the draft policy centralizes ownership of carbon credits and Internationally Transferred Mitigation Outcomes (ITMOs) in the government, which CSOs argue undermines landowners and community rights; and contracting rights.
“The proposed benefit-sharing system for community and private lands lacks legal grounding and contradicts existing laws that provide for direct payment to communities,” the statement indicates. “Communities are excluded from key decision-making structures such as the steering and technical committees, and Weak accountability.”
They also noted that the policy lacks strong dispute resolution mechanisms for high-value carbon transactions, exposing Liberia to risks in the international carbon market–emphasizing that FPIC must be a non-negotiable standard and that communities must be given the right to contract directly with project developers.
“We stand ready to collaborate with the Government of Liberia to co-create a climate governance framework that is transparent, inclusive, legally sound, and socially just,” Browne concluded.
Liberia, with its vast tropical forests, is considered a vital player in global climate change mitigation efforts. Forests cover more than 40% of Liberia’s land area, storing significant amounts of carbon and making the country a target for carbon credit and climate finance initiatives.
In recent years, Liberia has expressed a strong interest in engaging in international carbon markets under the framework of the Paris Agreement, particularly through the mechanism of Internationally Transferred Mitigation Outcomes (ITMOs). The government has therefore embarked on developing a Carbon Development Policy, intended to set rules and guidelines for carbon credit projects, benefit sharing, and participation in global carbon trading systems.
However, the policy development process has sparked controversy among local communities, civil society, and rights organizations. Many of Liberia’s rural communities depend on forest resources for their livelihoods and have fought long struggles to secure land rights, culminating in the passage of the Land Rights Act (2018), which recognized customary ownership of land. Similarly, the Community Rights Law (2009) and the Forestry Reform Law (2006) established frameworks for community participation and benefit-sharing in natural resource management.
The current draft Carbon Development Policy, according to CSOs, risks rolling back these legal gains by centralizing ownership of carbon credits in government hands, restricting community contracting rights.
Limiting direct benefits to landowners and communities, critics warn that these provisions could amount to “carbon colonialism,” where local communities bear the costs of climate mitigation projects without fair benefits or decision-making power.
Civil society actors argue that a more inclusive, participatory, and legally consistent framework is necessary to ensure that Liberia’s climate governance system not only attracts international finance but also respects the rights and livelihoods of its people.
By raising these concerns now, CSOs and communities hope to influence revisions before the policy is finalized and adopted. The outcome of this debate will shape how Liberia balances its global climate commitments with domestic rights, land governance, and community development for years to come.
It is now no secret that, as Liberia aims to play a significant role in global climate change mitigation efforts, the controversy surrounding the carbon policy raises crucial questions about the balance between environmental goals and community rights. By voicing their concerns now, CSOs and communities seek to shape a more inclusive and equitable climate governance framework that upholds legal standards and safeguards the interests of all stakeholders involved.
