Paper short abstract:

The presentation 'Reimagining forest conservation: putting communities at the center of conservation efforts in Liberia' highlights the opportunities that now exist to develop and advance a new model for conservation.

Paper long abstract:

Liberia's Land Rights Law of 2018 has reshaped the relationship between government, private sector, conservation NGOs and international organizations working on land and forestry in Liberia. The law recognizes communities' ownership of their ancestral lands and creates opportunities for them to formalize their collective land and forest rights, and to further strengthen their tenure security. In this new position of power, with the needed support and technical assistance, communities could become champions of conservation across rural Liberia. This paper looks ahead and outlines the opportunities that exist to bring communities to the forefront of conservation efforts in Liberia.

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Silas Siakor is actively working with the Government of Liberia and civil society organizations, directly coordinating efforts to bring more than 1 million hectares of land under local communities control and ​ownership to foster community-based conservation and sustainable management. Silas has championed community forest and land rights in Liberia for about two decades. For his work, he has received several international awards, including the Whitley Award for Environment and Human Rights in 2002 (UK), the Goldman Environmental Prize in 2006 (US), Award for Outstanding Environmental and Human Rights Activism from the Alexander Soros Foundation (US), Mundo Negro Fraternity Award in 2018 (Spain) and was among Time Magazine’s Heroes of the Environment in 2008. Silas is currently Country Manager of IDH Landscape Program in Liberia.