Logging companies which operated in Liberia prior to timber sanctions being imposed owe the country US$64m in taxes, according to the Sustainable Development Institute (SDI).
SDI has also called for the implementation of the forest concession review report’s recommendations so UN sanctions can be lifted.
The institute says 17 logging companies had links with the conflict in Liberia, while 26 concessions covering 25 million acres of forest had been granted despite the fact that the country only has 10 million acres of forests.
It alleges companies cannot prove they legally procured concessions and that Liberia’s forest sector continues to be “grossly mismanaged”.
