23 September 2014: Following the New York Declaration on Forests agreed to at Climate Summit 2014, Liberia and Norway announced a six-year US$150 million partnership to end deforestation in Liberia by 2020.

The project will provide direct payments for conservation to forest dwelling communities, recognize indigenous land and use rights in forests, and freeze the issuance of logging licenses. The project also aims to protect 30% of Liberia’s forest area by 2020 and address issues of illegal logging.

Overall the project is expected to allocate US$80 million for verified emission reductions (VER), with the remaining funding to be used for REDD+ readiness activities including the development of a measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) system.

It is expected that the project will compliment efforts by the Government of Liberia to improve forest governance and law enforcement and engage in public-private partnerships for green growth. The Government of Norway has also signed a partnership to halt deforestation with the Government of Peru. [Government of Liberia Press Release] [Government of Norway Press Release]