Liberia: In Liberia, a Battered Palm Oil Industry Adjusts to New Rules

May 10, 2017 | Ashoka Mukpo, Mongabay
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At the heart of the palm oil industry’s woes in Liberia are clauses in their contracts in which the Liberian government promised the land they were being given was free from “encumbrances” — an industry term that meant they would not have to worry about land rights claims by locals. But producers quickly realized how disconnected those clauses were from the reality on the ground. Anger in rural communities over being left out of negotiations fed high-profile campaigns by Liberian activists and their allies in organizations like Friends of the Earth and Global Witness.