Liberia

C

Plants and Animals

The trees of Liberia’s extensive tropical forests include cotton, fig, mahogany, ironwood, and various kinds of palms, as well as rubber trees. Large numbers of pygmy hippopotamus used to be found, as well as chimpanzee, elephant, buffalo, and monkey; wildlife, however, has been severely affected by civil war and many species are now considered endangered.

D

Environmental Concerns

Rich in biodiversity, Liberia was almost entirely forested until recent decades. Forest and woodland now cover only 47 per cent (1995) of the land, although much of this is relatively undisturbed tropical rainforest. Slash-and-burn agriculture is the major cause of forest loss, but logging is an increasingly important factor. In addition to deforestation, major environmental threats include soil erosion and water pollution, from the dumping of iron-ore tailings in rivers to oil and sewage along the coast. Wetlands in river basins and coastal mangroves are also threatened by agriculture and firewood collection. Although there are ten national forests in Liberia, logging is permitted within them. The only truly protected land is in Sapo National Park, which makes up 1 per cent of the country’s area. A well-developed national conservation plan, including several new national parks and nature reserves, and sophisticated management schemes, was proposed in the late 1980s, but development has been shelved because of the civil war. Liberia has ratified international environmental agreements concerning endangered species, nuclear tests, ship pollution, and tropical timber and has signed treaties on biodiversity, climate change, environmental modification, law of the sea, marine dumping, and marine life. Regionally, Liberia has ratified the African Convention on the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources.

III

Population

The population of Liberia comprises some 16 indigenous ethnic groups, belonging to the Mande, West Atlantic, and Kwa linguistic groups, and the descendants of emancipated slaves who emigrated from the United States, known as Americo-Liberians. Agriculture has been the traditional mainstay of the vast majority of the population. Until displaced by civil war, most lived in small towns and villages. Many of the indigenous groups retained their traditional way of life.

A

Population Characteristics

Liberia has a population of 3,193,942 (2007 estimate), of whom at least 25 per cent are refugees abroad. Americo-Liberians make up no more than 5 per cent of the population. The largest of the 16 indigenous ethnic groups is the Kpelle of central Liberia, accounting for about 25 per cent of the population. Other large groups are the Bassa, the Gio, the seafaring Kru, and the Vai. A degree of assimilation has occurred between Americo-Liberians and indigenous peoples since the 1940s.

B

Political Divisions

Effective local government has broken down, but Liberia is divided into 15 administrative divisions: Bomi, Bong, Gparbolu, Grand Bassa, Grand Cape Mount, Grand Gedeh, Grand Kru, Lofa, Margibi, Maryland, Montserrado, Nimba, River Cess, River Gee, and Sinoe.