Liberia: Hopes and fears over forestry laws

Similar to what has happened in several Southern countries harassed by centuries of colonialism, the wealth of Liberia has also been its curse, reports the October edition of the World Rainforest Bulletin. "Tropical forests account for 47 per cent of Liberia’s land. Between 1989 and 2003, revenue from forests was used to fund a brutal conflict fuelled by the pillaging of forests. Timber was a key resource for Liberia's armed factions. Wood flowed out; money and arms flowed in. So many concessions had been corruptly awarded that they totalled more than the land area of Liberia."