Forest communities especially in the south-eastern part of Liberia, in recent times, have realised a lot of oil palm concessions on their customary lands that threaten to clear up forests that they have owned, occupied, used and relied on for their livelihoods and survival. Whilst there are more forest communities (which keep increasing by day) that have been affected by
the cultivation of oil palm plantations in the southeast, SESDev and FPP have managed to provide technical and legal support to just a handful of these communities which enabled a vital space to open up, which to a large extent, slowed and halted the expansion and impact of oil palm concessions particularly in Sinoe, Grand Kru and Maryland counties. This, notwithstanding, there is the need to continuously support this forest communities to enter
and use these spaces created so as to maintain the resistance that held back the expansion and to better defend and protect their rights over their customary lands and forest as well as extend the support to other forest communities that have been affected by the operations of these oil palm
concessions but had never received any form of support. There is also the need to implement a strategic monitoring and advocacy solution that will help local communities and civil society in Liberia to ensure that palm oil concessions meet the commitments they have made in local
community land use agreements as well as international safeguards.