Abidjan, Ivory Coast - As a prelude to the development of the Grebo-Krahn National Park management plan in Liberia, Earthworm Foundation is leading a satellite image interpretation project covering this recently protected area (the park was created in October 2017) and its periphery. The project began in March 2019 and will last for three months.
The park covers approximately 96,000 hectares of forest and is located on the border between Liberia and Ivory Coast. It is an essential link in the landscape that, from Sapo to Tai, constitutes a real biodiversity hotspot for the dense West African humid forests. The park faces many threats (poaching and collection of non-timber forest products, mining and clearing among them).
In order to develop its management plan, and with the financial support of the German Cooperation (GIZ), the Liberian Forestry Development Authority (FDA) is seeking information on land use in and around the park.
Earthworm Foundation is therefore conducting a mapping study to characterise the state of forests throughout the study area to assess possible trends in land use change, both within the National Park and in adjacent areas of the rural landscape. The extension of the work to adjoining areas of the park, accompanied by exchanges with riverside communities, should make it possible to direct possible measures to support local development and, also, to consider a connectivity option between the two blocks constituting the park.
About Earthworm
Earthworm Foundation is a non-profit organisation with 20 years of experience in the forest sector and rural development, motivated by the desire to positively influence the relationship between man and nature.
About GIZ
GIZ has more than 50 years of experience in a wide variety of fields, including economic development and employment promotion, energy and the environment, and peace and security. GIZ works with governments, companies, civil society actors and research institutions, promoting a fruitful interaction between development policy and other areas and fields of activity. GIZ is part of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
The Forestry Development Authority (FDA) is a state-owned corporation established in 1976 by an act of the Legislative Assembly with a mandate to sustainably manage and conserve all Liberia's forest resources for the benefit of present and future generations.
