Description

"Indonesia’s Golden Agri-Resources, the world’s second-largest producer of palm oil, last year signed a concession agreement for its subsidiary Golden Veroleum (Liberia) to develop another 220,000 hectares in the southeast, developing palm oil only.

Golden Veroleum is promising to employ 35,000 people and develop “substantial value-added industries”. Both companies aim to source some crops from smallholders, something the World Bank and other donors say they are ready to support."

It is unclear how much forest exists in the concession area, but southeast Liberia is heavily forested, and much of that forest has no legal protection.