Africa-Press – Liberia. In the deep rainforests of Liberia, thousands of felled logs lie rotting in company’s yards, swamps, and roadside fields—harvested but never exported, valued but never accounted for. From Lofa to Sinoe, from Grand Bassa to Nimba and Gbarpolu Counties, communities are left staring at wasted resources, broken promises, and unanswered questions amid widespread poverty.
Liberia’s growing log abandonment crisis—a quiet but devastating failure in the country’s forestry sector that points to something deeper: a pattern of corporate neglect, weak enforcement, and suspected illicit exports. “The logs were exported to Europe despite not being from a legal source, violating Liberia’s timber trade agreement with the European Union, Daylight’s investigation, supported by LFMW uncovered in August 2025 in Nimba County.
The Scale of the Problem
Between 2019 and 2024, at least five major logging companies—including Alpha Logging, Mandra Forestry, International Consultant Capital (ICC), Masayaha Logging, and Sing Africa Plantation—have abandoned thousands of logs across the country. In Sinoe alone, Mandra Forestry is reported to have abandoned nearly 7,000 logs to decay. In Nimba and Rivercess, ICC reportedly abandoned over 3,000 harvested logs.
“Some of these logs were cut years ago. Now they’re rotting, covered in grass, or submerged in water,” said a community forestry monitor in Grand Bassa County. “Nobody has come back for them, and nobody is explaining why.”
The logs, many of them high-value species like ekki, iroko, and niangon, represent millions of dollars in potential revenue—revenue that communities were promised as part of benefit-sharing agreements, and revenue the government could have collected through fees and taxes.
Forest issues trackers like Forest Trends and the media estimate that more than 17,000 logs have been abandoned nationwide since 2019, representing a potential market value of over US$20 million. Of this, they say communities were due hundreds of thousands of dollars in land rental and social development fees, while the government itself lost millions in taxes, stumpage fees, and export duties—funds that could have strengthened education, health, and rural infrastructure.
Failure to Enforce
Liberia’s forestry laws are clear. According to Regulation 116-17 of the Forestry Development Authority (FDA), once logs are harvested but not exported or accounted for, the FDA is required to launch an investigation within 10 working days, impose fines (triple the value of the logs), and seek a court warrant to seize and auction the abandoned logs.
But in many of these cases, no investigations were launched, no seizures made, and no auctions announced. The logs were left to rot—companies either ceased operations, unceremoniously departed the communities or allegedly diverted their exports through unofficial means.
“The law is not the problem,” says a local forest governance advocate. “The problem is lack of political will and the absence of transparency at the FDA.”
Critics argue that the failure to apply these penalties may amount to negligence—or corruption—on the part of the authority. In rare instances, some communities had to seek court redress to get their forests back from failed logging companies.
In a shocking revelation made on August 15, 2024 on Forest Hour, the FDA that generates logging revenues said it is both financially and logistically incapacitated to monitor and enforce governance national-wide. The continuous silence and or inaction by the authority has only fueled suspicions that officials and operators may be complicit in covering up the true scale of the problem that have resulted into widespread waste and abuse of natural resources across the country.
Grass overtaken some of the abandoned logs
Signs of Something Bigger
The pattern of abandonment has led to growing concerns that some companies may be deliberately exploiting the system: harvesting as much as possible, exporting what they can through both official and unofficial channels, and abandoning the rest to avoid paying taxes or community dues.
A 2021 investigation by the Associated Press (AP) found that up to 70% of Liberia’s timber exports were not being tracked through the country’s official legality assurance system, LiberTrace. This suggests a shadow economy of timber exports—possibly with the silent consent of some officials.
In the same vein, abandoned logs may be a smokescreen for illegal logging operations, where only select high-quality logs are exported off the books, while lower-grade logs are left behind to decay—never entered into the system, never taxed, and never benefiting local people.
Broken Promises to Communities
In towns like Bluyeama (Lofa), Gbarsaw (River Cess), Bokay Town (Grand Bassa), Korningba A (Gbarpolu), communities are demanding answers. Many had signed community forestry agreements (CFMAs) with the expectation of roads, schools, clinic support, and annual land rental fees. To the contrary, they are paid back with abandoned logs, environmental destruction, water pollution, and unpaid dues. One of the communities, Korningba A is demanding $4 million in damages before it can proceed to review existing logging contract.
In the case of Sing Africa Plantation Liberia Ltd, communities say more than 2,500 logs were abandoned—worth over US$2 million—and that the company failed to pay promised social fees. In Masayaha’s concession, roughly 595 logs were harvested and left in the open. Many of them have since rotted.
From Blessing to Curse
Forest resources that were meant to be a blessing for the communities now appear to be a curse-with many community members living with the excruciating pains they least thought of during the negotiation stage of these forest concessions/contracts.
Beyond this, the human toll is clear. In Grand Bassa, some farmers say their farmlands were cleared for logging but never restored, leaving them without food security. In River Cess, women complained that promised clinics and schools were never built. Children in some towns covered long distances to reach schools that should have been constructed under their forestry agreements. “We were told the logs would bring us development, but all we see is waste,” said an elder in Bokay Town.
Forest communities in 11 of Liberia’s 15 counties are demanding settlement of unpaid arrears of approximately US$5,335,025.71.
Community Members in Korningba B brief LFMW Team about abandoned logs
Environmental Fallout
Environmentalists warn that abandoned logs are more than just wasted resources. They alter natural drainage systems when left in swamps, increase the risk of flooding, and degrade soil fertility. Rotting logs also release stored carbon, undermining Liberia’s commitments to fight climate change.
“Every abandoned log represents double harm,” said a forest ecologist. “First, the tree was cut and biodiversity was lost; then, the log is wasted, adding to carbon emissions without any benefit to people.”
Global Trade Links
The problem is not confined to Liberia’s borders. China remains the largest buyer of West African timbers, and Liberia’s wood still enters those markets despite legality concerns. European buyers under the EU-Liberia Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA-FLEGT) are left frustrated that after a decade and half, Liberia cannot meet the benchmark of the VPA which calls for adherence to the country’s constitution for logs leaving Liberia.
Observers say if enforcement does not improve, Liberia risks sanction or trade restrictions, which could devastate the formal forestry sector and push more operators into the shadows. Ongoing plan by the European Union to cancel its VPA-FLEGT Program with Liberia is a clear sign.
Conclusion
Whether Liberia’s log abandonment crisis is the result of failed businesses or something more sinister, the facts remain troubling: millions of dollars are lost, communities are betrayed, and the forests are being sacrificed without accountability.
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