U.S. Bilateral Assistance to Liberia: Forestry as the Cornerstone to Peacebuilding
Publisher: Sandra S. Nichols and Lisa Goldman
Date: 2011
Topics: Cooperation, Dispute Resolution/Mediation, Humanitarian Assistance, Land, Peace Agreements, Peace and Security Operations, Renewable Resources
Countries: Liberia
In international peacebuilding circles, the post-conflict natural resource reforms that have taken place since Liberia’s fourteen-year civil war ended in 2003 are commonly heralded as a new watershed. Natural resources—timber in particular —were central to the war. The warring factions used billions of dollars of timber revenues to purchase arms and military training. Oriental Timber Corporation, an Indonesian-owned company registered in Liberia, deposited millions of dollars into President Charles Taylor’s personal bank account in exchange for tax credits. Similarly, Sergeant Samuel Doe traded the largest timber concession in West Africa for military training (Blundell 2008). In an attempt to quell the violence, and in recognition of the role that timber revenue played in the acquisition of arms, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) issued Resolution 1478 on May 6, 2003, prohibiting member states from importing round logs originating in Liberia (UNSC 2003a).