Liberia

The Mayflower of Liberia departs New York City carrying 86 free black people.

Former slaves or descendants of slaves establish the settlement of Monrovia, named after the United States President James Monroe. Between 15,000 and 20,000 freed black people and Africans rescued from illegal slave ships join them and establish separate colonies. Initially they recognise the customary land rights of the local communities and purchase land, introducing a formalised system of private land titles.

Liberia joins the Allied side in World War I.

Government grants Firestone more than 400,000 hectares to establish the largest rubber plantation in the world, initiating Liberia’s open-door plantation economy.

League of Nations concludes that the Government fostered a policy of intimidating and suppressing Liberia’s Indigenous People.

Government passes the Hinterlands Law recognising the customary land rights of native tribes.

The Law allows chiefs to formalize customary land rights through purchase, however, few are able to take advantage of the opportunity.

Liberia signs four agro-concession agreements totalling more than 400,000 hectares, and initiates a privatisation arrangement that leads to several large-scale private land claims.

Government passes the Registered Land Law, formalising the land registration system and requiring landholders to register their holdings.

Rice Riot unleashes decades of violence and destruction in Liberia.

Massive demonstrations against the Government’s proposal to increase the price of rice turn violent. President Tolbert orders troops to fire on demonstrators, killing at least 40 and injuring more than 500. The credibility of President William Tolbert’s American-Liberian government is damaged. 

Liberians suffer 14 years of brutal civil war.

Accra Peace Agreement ends civil war and calls for land tenure reform.

UN imposes arms, timber, and diamond sanctions on Liberia.

Liberia establishes the Governance Commission.

Commission aims to address the complete breakdown of democratic governance in the civil war. It is charged with making policy recommendations to ensure government functions in ways that are accountable, transparent, participatory and responsive to the interest of the Liberian people.

Truth and Reconciliation Commission, established under the Peace Accord, releases findings based on conflict mapping, that land and property disputes are threats to Liberia’s fragile peace.

By 2012, more than 2.3 million hectares of forest land, or 20% of the country’s total land mass, is promised to commercial interests through private use permits, a type of logging license designed to allow private land owners to cut trees on their property

The permits are later found to be fraudulent and cancelled, and some participating government officials are prosecuted.

Government tables a draft Land Rights Act (LRA), to realise the intentions of the 2013 Land Rights Policy.

Sustainable Development Institute, the Land Commission, and a coalition of civil society organisations begin a partnership with the Tenure Facility.

With financial and technical support from the Tenure Facility, SDI leads a multi-stakeholder initiative to develop and test national guidelines for implementing customary/community land rights. The initiative’s partners are the Land Commission, Foundation for Community Initiatives (FCI), Development Education Network (DEN-L) and Parley Liberia. Their goals are to support the land reform envisioned by Liberia’s new Land Rights Policy, build capacity for implementing the guidelines, and prepare for national adoption and upscaling.

Protocol for community self-identification gives communities the tools they need to take the first steps to gain collective title to their customary land when Liberia passes the draft LRA.

The coalition of society organisations and the Land Commission, with private sector engagement, develop and test the protocol in a variety of settings, involving 11 communities, 45,000 people and 150,000 hectares. They also build capacity for implementing the protocol and prepare for national adoption and upscaling.

Tenure Facility pilot project Liberia 2015 from The Tenure Facility on Vimeo.

Community organisations call on President Weah to approve the draft LRA.

The LRA has the potential to change the game for communities in Liberia by recognising communities’ rights to their customary lands, fundamentally altering the future of land rights in Liberia and setting a precedent for how other countries in the region and worldwide address land issues. President Weah has shown sensitivity to the concerns rural Liberians have for their lands and resources. In his inaugural address, he said “we owe our citizens clarity on fundamental issues such as the land beneath their feet, freedom of speech, and how national resources and responsibilities are going to shift from this capital to the counties.” National and international groups mount a campaign to promote passage of the Bill. About 80,000 Liberians and friends of Liberia abroad sign a petition calling on the Senate, Legislature and President to pass the Bill.

“When we passed the law, I got a call from a traditional chief in Lofa. He said: ‘Senator, we got the good news. We were sitting on the land but we were never part of this country but now we feel a part of the country. In fact the owners of the country.” This statement touched me deeply and he best described my own feeling right now. Look, we know this is a sensitive Bill but we also believe the Bill is a generational piece of legislation. I am satisfied that I was part of passing a Bill recognizing customary land rights⏤a Bill that appeases our ancestors, empowers this generation, and makes sure the next generation is protected.”

Senator George T. Tengbeh of Lofa County, Chair of the Committee on Lands, Mines, Energy, Natural Resources & Environmental Protection

Building on the successful Tenure Facility pilot initiative, four Liberian organizations are scaling up collective customary land rights under the Land Rights Act.

With a Tenure Facility investment of almost 2 million US dollars, a coalition of civil society and government organizations is working to advance tenure security over 583,934 hectares for 24 communities, benefiting 100,000 people in seven counties. The initiative is led by the Foundation for Community Initiatives (FCI), a Liberian non-governmental organization that advocates for the rights of women, youth and other groups that are face social exclusion or marginalization in the natural resource sector. Other partners include Parley Liberia, the Sustainable Development Institute (SDI), and the Liberia Land Authority (LLA). Parley Liberia provides intermediary and advisory services to communities, companies and government regulators who are collaborating to develop land and natural resources in Liberia. SDI works to transform decision-making about natural resources in Liberia, so that benefits are shared equally. The Liberia Land Authority controls access to public land and promulgates regulations necessary for effective land governance.