Artisanal mining inside Protected Area

Yuzhou — 2022-07-26T18:22:15Z

Mining for mineral resources (mainly iron ore, gold and diamond)is a major government income earner for both Liberia and Sier-ra Leone. Gola Forest is known to be occupied with deposits of these minerals. Mining is therefore one of the major sources of threat for biodiversity conservation and fo-rest resources management in the Gola Landscape. It has remained one of the frontline issues of conflict betweeen protected area management, communi-ties, forest anagement institutions and civil so-ciety organisations.

Although the Law of Liberia disallowed mining ac-tivities in Protected areas, lack of law enforcement makes it difficult to control the small scale artisanal mining in the core of the National Parks, most espe-cially in Liberia. Industrial ining groups have esta-blished camps close to the boundary of the National Parks, posing threat to wildlife populations and impac-ting negatively on vegetation.

Increased logging and timber extraction

Yuzhou — 2022-07-26T18:20:37Z

Illegal logging and timber extraction has remained a major threat to Community Forests and sometimes the Protected Areas over a long time. Chainsaw logging poses significant threat to forests and biodiversity on the Landscape. Trees are felled and split into planks. The planks are taken from the forests to the access roads and taken to markets in towns and cities.

Access to forests by chainsaw millers and sellers are made possible by community members who clear new farms.

Felling of trees for charcoal production is also very high, most especially in Liberia. Impacts of tree extraction is also a major issue in the forest edge communities to the National Park in Sierra Leone.

PAPFor

Artisanal mining inside Protected Area

Increased logging and timber extraction