Environment, Climate and Resources Reporting

New Narratives supports dozens of investigations into climate, land and water justice in West Africa each year. We shine a spotlight on the impacts on real people here on the frontlines of climate change. IN Ghana our work has focused on the dramatic impacts of air pollution. We have highlighted the work of changemakers and supported the work of civil society organizations bringing transparency to these crucial sectors. See some of our work here. We thank our donors – the Clean Air Fund, American Jewish World Service, Australian Aid, German Development Cooperation, and Norad – for support.

Forest Hour

Radio panel on the issuance of exploration license in Blei community forest in Nimba County, northern Liberia by the Ministry of Mines and Energy. Panelists discuss the license, which has some experts say clashes with the Community Rights Law of 2009 with Respect to Forest Lands. The program was sponsored by New Narratives with funding…

Okay Fm
Forest Hour
Digging in the Past: A New Look at the Customary Land Conflict in Liberia

Digging in the Past: A New Look at the Customary Land Conflict in Liberia

In 2018, the Land Rights Law of Liberia was passed into law. This was a good hundred years after the government formally declared “perfect, complete and absolute” possession of all lands within the borders of the State, This new law finally gives back to tribal people, the lands of their ancestors. It offers them the protection of…

By D. Othniel Forte
FrontPage Africa
Grand Bassa Officials Sign Bogus Logging Agreement with ‘Serbian’ Company

Grand Bassa Officials Sign Bogus Logging Agreement with ‘Serbian’ Company

Editor’s Note: This story is the first of a two-part series on an illegal logging agreement between Vambo and Marloi townships in Grand Bassa County, and African Trades Entrepreneur Enterprises Incorporated.    VAMBO – Officials of Grand Bassa County have signed an illegal deal with a company to pave a dusty road through two townships in…

By James Harding Giahyue
FrontPage Africa
GVL Lays Off Nearly 450 Workers

GVL Lays Off Nearly 450 Workers

BUTAW, SINOE COUNTY – Four hundred and forty-three workers have been laid off at Golden Veroleum Liberia, more than 10 percent of its workforce, the company said on Saturday. “[They are] due to the downturn of the global economy due to the coronavirus and the constant drop in the price of oil palm on the world…

By James Harding Giahyue
FrontPage Africa

More Cases of Multiple Sales of Land Despite Law

PIPELINE – In 2009,Jimmy Dasaw’s plan to expand Kiddies College was underway when he purchased three acres of land for US$2,600 in Pipeline, Paynesville from Johnny Hill, the administrator of Tarsue Gbazue Estate in Johnsonville. That dream for his elementary school eventually turned into nightmare.   Five years after purchasing the land, in 2014, Dasaw found himself…

By Varney Kamara
FrontPage Africa

Communities Use New App to Track Illegal Logging

SALAYEA, Lofa County – Rural towns and villages are now using ForestLink, a new app, to track illicit forest operations and deforestation across Liberia, including illegal logging and mining, and poaching in their communities. The tool also makes it possible for them to store and share information on mobile phones in a short period of time from…

By Varney Kamara
FrontPage Africa

Nimba Clans Square Off Over Customary Land Title Claims

TAPPITA DISTRICT, Nimba County – This disarmingly peaceful forest area in Liberia’s far north Tappita District has been the scene of conflict of one form or another for decades. But since 2014 it had enjoyed some peace as two clans here, supported by a US-backed project known by the acronym PROSPER, agreed on a boundary line…

Gerald C. Koinyeneh
Front Page Africa

Land Title Authorities Overwhelmed By Disputes

GBONYEA, Bong County – Emmanuel Tokpah always wanted a home of his own. The 27-year-old bike rider had saved enough money to begin construction on a house in this village. But his dreams were shattered in July 2016 when a group of men from neighboring Gbonata came and ordered him to stop work.  The men claimed…

Mae Azango
FrontPage Africa

River Cess the Latest Flashpoint in Clashing Laws over Land

VONDEH TOWN, River Cess – The people of this area celebrated in 2019 when a forestry company began operations here. The five-year Social Agreement signed with the company, African Wood and Lumber, an Italian-owned company, was supposed to deliver the community US$5,000 each year in scholarship funds, US$15,000 in land rental fees, two feeder roads,…

Eric Opa Doue
The Bush Chicken

Conflicts Over Land Acquisition for Mining in Liberia and Sierra Leone

In December 2019, conflict broke out between an iron ore miner, Solway Mining Company and Gbazor villages when the company entered the Blei Forest after acquiring a mining licence from the Liberian government. The conflict was caused by a disagreement between government that badly needs revenue from the mining company and the Gbazor community who…

Allieu Sahid Tunkara
NightWatch SL

Bea Mountain Shifting to Underground Mining amid Environmental Concerns

KINJOR, GRAND CAPE COUNTY – Musu Konneh recalls she became speechless for several minutes when she heard that Bea Mountain Mining Corporation intends to start underground mining for gold by 2022 in a stakeholder consultation conducted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Konneh’s clan was one of 322 families who relocated from their ancestral villages…

Alloycious David
The Daily Observer