Conservation Works Activity

General

(Liberia): Liberia is home to 4.3 million hectares of tropical forest, including 44 percent of the remaining Upper Guinean Rainforest. Rich in biodiversity, the Liberian rainforests are home to multiple threatened species including the Western Chimpanzee, the Forest Elephant, and Pygmy Hippos. The preservation of Liberian's protected areas is jeopardized by shifting agriculture, bushmeat hunting, logging, agricultural concessions, and mining. USAID is currently designing a new activity to support biodiversity conservation in Liberia. The purpose of this activity is to conserve threatened and endangered species by expanding protected areas and improving economic conditions for Liberians that live near protected areas. The core goals of this activity will be the protection of contiguous tracts of forest land that are home to threatened and endangered species and the improvement of livelihoods for rural communities. This new activity will support two key objectives: 1) creating new protected areas and improving management of existing protected areas, and 2) strengthening sustainable conservation enterprises that generate local income and create jobs. Using FY 2021 funds, USAID will support legal recognition of new protected areas, improve management and governance capacity at the national and community level, develop community livelihoods, and support the expansion of ecotourism. The community-centered interventions will help shift dependence away from forest resources and toward more sustainable and resilient livelihood opportunities. Ecotourism efforts will be focused at the national level and on site-specific interventions at potential ecotourism sites. $3 million of funding within this activity will meet the Great Apes non-SPSD and biodiversity earmark.