Norway has pledged to provide Liberia with $36.7 million to help the African nation manage its forests more sustainably. The money aims to help change the current commercially focused forest management scheme to one that embraces sustainability principles, such as conservation and providing social value to the surrounding area.

Titled the Liberia Forest Sector Project, the scheme is backed by the World Bank. Up until 2006, Liberia had been prohibited from selling timber products under UN sanction, as proceeds were used to finance the country’s prolonged civil war. Today, the sustainable management and sale of timber products is set to play a significant role in the country's post-Ebola economic recovery.

Speaking to Supply Management, Inguna Dobraja, the World Bank’s country manager for Liberia, said: “[The project] will support the strengthening of relevant institutions, policies and capacities, and attract investments in the sustainable management and use of one of the largest contiguous forest blocks left in West Africa.”

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