Save West Africa’s Last Intact Forests in Liberia

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Project Overview

The Upper Guinea Forest stores millions of tons of carbon and provides a home for unique biodiversity.

Species at Risk

Chimpanzee (EN), Pygmy Hippo (EN), Timneh Parrot (EN), Western Red Colobus (EN), Jentink's Duiker (EN), Gola Malimbe (EN)
Carbon stored

68,178,130 mT*

*(metric tons of CO2 equivalents)
Partner

Society for Conservation of Nature Liberia
406,913 Proposed Acres Conserved by

Designation
Project Cost: $1,907,533

Liberia

Proposed Acres

406,913

Project Overview

The Upper Guinea Forest stores millions of tons of carbon and provides a home for unique biodiversity.

Species at Risk

Chimpanzee (EN), Pygmy Hippo (EN), Timneh Parrot (EN), Western Red Colobus (EN), Jentink's Duiker (EN), Gola Malimbe (EN)
Carbon stored

68,178,130 mT*

*(metric tons of CO2 equivalents)
Partner

Society for Conservation of Nature Liberia
406,913 Proposed Acres Conserved by

Designation
Project Cost: £1,513,915

Liberia

Proposed Acres

406,913

Save one million acres of disappearing forest

Liberia’s Upper Guinea Forest is home to incredible biodiversity and stores millions of tons of carbon. But 70% of this forest hotspot has been destroyed by human activity. We need your help today to protect a final 406,913 acres in a multi-year project to safeguard more than 1,000,000 acres of this highly vulnerable region.

Persistent poaching, mining, unsustainable resource use, slash-and-burn agriculture and commercial development is putting endemic and charismatic species in danger of extinction. Resident Chimpanzees (EN), Pygmy Hippopotamus (EN), Timneh Parrots (EN) and Upper Guinea Red Colobus (EN) are quickly losing critical habitat and will soon have no recourse.

Your support of this project extends far beyond local conservation; these acres will store more than 68 million metric tons of carbon in our planet, the equivalent of the annual emissions of over 14 million cars in the U.S.

Explore Liberia

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Chimpanzee, by Liberia Chimpanzee Rescue Protection (LCRP)

Red Colobus in a tree — 3 of 4

Upper Guinea Red Colobus

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Chimpanzee, by Liberia Chimpanzee Rescue Protection (LCRP)

2 of 4

Pygmy Hippopotamus

3 of 4

Upper Guinea Red Colobus

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Timneh Parrot

Be a part of our impact

Rainforest Trust and our local partner, Society for Conservation of Nature Liberia, began an ambitious strategic plan in 2016 to save one million acres of threatened landscape and countless species. This has included creation of the Gola National Forest Park, five community protected areas, and the last phase: establishing the 406,913-acre Foya Nature Reserve.

The proposed land falls within an Important Bird Area as well as a Key Biodiversity Area and will allow for habitat connectivity so wildlife can roam freely. Hundreds of species will benefit from this protection, including 184 bird species, 40 amphibians (more than half of which are endemic), 3 reptiles, 285 butterflies and 313 plants (more than a quarter are endemic).

Protect West Africa’s wildlife

Although the Upper Guinea Forest spans across six countries, the Liberian portion is the most significant, holding 42% of this ecosystem. Once the last phase of protection is complete, this project will bolster protection in the region, significantly contributing to the conservation of West Africa’s forests—of which only 3% are protected.

We Value Transparency

Conservation Action Fund
Conservation work is critical, challenging, and can be costly. We work hard to ensure we raise only the funds needed for each project. In the rare case we raise more money than needed or a project comes in under budget, excess monies will be transferred to the Conservation Action Fund. This fund supports our important conservation work throughout the tropics.

Project Modifications
Rainforest Trust conducts extensive research and due diligence on each of the projects that we support, so that once a project is offered for public support we believe it will succeed. We work closely with our project implementers, offer support, and regularly monitor their progress. Given the nature of the work, projects may not progress exactly as intended and may be unable to meet all objectives. To respond dynamically to the needs of our project implementers and the realities of the landscapes in which they operate, Rainforest Trust expressly reserves the right to modify a project as it deems necessary, provided that donor intent is honored by ensuring that that the original project objectives are diligently pursued and that project funds continue to benefit the landscape and species identified in the project overview. Project modifications that we may need to make in certain circumstances include the specific project implementer, the size of the landscape to be protected, the type of protection to be afforded to the landscape, and the development of sustainability mechanisms.