Publication: Harnessing Forests as Pathways to Prosperity in Liberia: Policy Note
Loading...
Date
2021-03
ISSN
Published
2021-03
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
Liberia is the most forested country in West Africa, with more than two thirds of its land surface covered by forest. In 2019, 47.5 percent of the Liberian households (HHs) lived in proximity to and were significantly dependent on the country’s forests. Results from the recent sample-based National Household Forest Survey (NHFS 2019) conducted in these forest-proximate areas reveal a high dependence on forest products both for direct consumption and as a source of income. These forest products, ranging from fuelwood to medicinal plants, also provide HHs with an important social safety net during natural and economic shocks and crises, such as the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. At the same time, Liberia is one of the world’s poorest countries. The NHFS found that the average income for these forest proximate HHs which is substantially below the country’s average annual HH income. This points to the need to maximize the potential of forests for poverty reduction in a sustainable manner. Using the data collected from the recent NHFS, this policy note unpacks the HH and forest interactions, for forest-proximate HHs. The note: (1) identifies the sources within forestry and other sectors from which HHs derive their subsistence and income needs; (2) looks at the income generating potential of various activities that a HH participates in and its labor time allocation; and (3) highlights the gender aspects of poverty, particularly as they relate to the forestry sector.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“World Bank. 2021. Harnessing Forests as Pathways to Prosperity in Liberia: Policy Note. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/35343 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication Liberia - Employment and Pro-Poor Growth(World Bank, 2010-11-29)Fourteen years of civil conflict (1989-2003) have destroyed Liberia's social and economic infrastructure and brought the economy nearly to a halt. Workers who came of age during the conflict are largely unskilled, and the supply of workers exceeds demand by a substantial margin. The negative effects of unemployment, underemployment, and low productivity on economic growth have made employment the most urgent demand of the population and the top priority for Government action. This report offers guidance to the Government of Liberia in its development of a more strategic approach toward increasing productivity and employment, in order to achieve its pro-poor growth objectives. This report includes seven sections: employment is key for poverty reduction; one in five workers is unemployed or underemployed; the structure of Liberia's economy limits prospects for formal sector employment; transformation of the agriculture sector is essential for pro-poor growth; investment and job growth in the formal sector are constrained by three main factors; labor-intensive public works programs are necessary for the very poor; and education and training must be improved to enhance employability.Publication Senegal : Looking for Work - The Road to Prosperity, Volume 2. Annexes(Washington, DC, 2007-09)This economic study comprises four parts. Part one analyzes the economic performance of Senegal with a view to understanding how an efficient labor market is an essential (but not sufficient) condition for achieving sustained and shared growth. This section focuses on the role of the labor market in (i) promoting a virtuous circle between economic growth and poverty reduction through equitable distribution of earned income (which is the main source of income for the Senegalese population, accounting for up to 3/4 of total resources, according to the results of the first household survey ESAM-I); and (ii) creating a competitive and dynamic private sector, as the wage bill accounts for a predominant share of the costs of Senegalese companies. The second part of the study focuses on the perspective of companies motivated by the objective of maximizing labor productivity to become as competitive as possible. The third part of the study presents the perspective of workers or that of the search for job security. The objective is to examine in detail whether the labor market is capable, not only of offering jobs to the majority of the population, but also whether this job provides sufficient income and conditions that allow workers to live free of poverty. The fourth and final part will summarize lessons learned from the previous parts.Publication Pathways to the Middle Class in Turkey : How Have Reducing Poverty and Boosting Shared Prosperity Helped?(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2014-04)Turkey's poverty reduction performance in the 2000s has been remarkably consistent. Extreme and moderate poverty have fallen considerably since 2003. Between 2002 and 2011, extreme poverty fell from 13 percent to 5 percent, while moderate poverty halved from 44 percent to 22 percent (respectively, defined using the World Bank's Europe and Central Asia regional poverty lines of 2.5 and 5 USD/PPP). Most of this poverty reduction (89 percent) has been driven by growth, a performance consistent with most countries in Europe and Central Asia. This is substantially different form the recent performance of other regions, such as Latin America, where redistribution contributed to poverty reduction almost four times more than in Turkey. Turkey has also achieved sustained consumption growth of the bottom 40 percent of the population, even during the years of the world recession. Turkey's performance in poverty reduction and increased shared prosperity has been complemented by the systematic expansion of the middle class by 20 percentage points. This paper analyzes the main drivers of poverty reduction, shared prosperity, and changes in inequality in Turkey from 2002 to 2011. The analysis shows that labor markets, demographics, pensions, and social assistance have played a critical role in this process. It further explores some of the mechanisms that have facilitated these changes.Publication Liberia's Cash for Work Temporary Employment Project(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2011-07)Together with reductions in indirect taxes on food imports, cash for work programs were one of the main responses implemented by African governments following the food, fuel, and financial crisis of recent years. The main objective of those programs was to help the poor cope with the various shocks by increasing their net earnings through community-level work paid for under the programs. Yet it is unclear whether these cash for work programs indeed reached their intended beneficiaries and to what degree they generated other, potentially long-term beneficial impacts. This paper explores these issues in the context of Liberia and the performance of the Cash for Work Temporary Employment Program (CfWTEP) funded by the World Bank through an emergency crisis facility in response to the 2007/2008 food crisis. Both quantitative and qualitative data are presented, focusing on the operational and policy experiences emerging from program implementation. This paper analyzes the context that led to the creation and implementation of the CfWTEP in Liberia, the nature and administrative arrangements for the program, and its operational performance. The objective is to share the lessons learned from evaluation findings so that they can be useful for implementing similar programs in the future in Liberia itself or in other countries. Findings from the analysis highlight the possibilities of implementing public works program in low capacity, post conflict setting and the scope for using the program as a springboard towards a broader and more comprehensive social safety net.Publication Liberia Poverty Note : Tracking the Dimensions of Poverty(Washington, DC, 2012-11)Poor governance and nearly fifteen years of brutal conflict have made Liberia one of the poorest countries in the world. An important objective for the democratically elected government of post-conflict Liberia is to reduce poverty. As part of its long-term vision plan, the Government is preparing a second Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS) to set out its medium-term approach to poverty reduction. The current climate of peace and security, as well as continued improvements in the economy, offer the Government a unique opportunity to improve on the gains that it has made in reducing poverty under its previous PRS. However, as cross-country evidence has shown, growth alone is not sufficient for poverty reduction. The Government must also take steps to break the cycle of chronic poverty by ensuring that the poor are given opportunities and support to emerge from poverty, and that those who have emerged from poverty do not fall back into poverty. This poverty note is intended to assist the Government in formulating evidence based policies aimed at poverty reduction. This policy note draws from rich information provided by the 2007 and 2010 Core Welfare Indicator Questionnaires (CWIQs). It also benefits from qualitative data from a relatively large number of focus groups on gender and youth. In addition, the note benefits from the analysis contained in the 2011 human opportunities report for Liberia, which focuses in particular on access to education.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication Services Unbound(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-12-09)Services are a new force for innovation, trade, and growth in East Asia and Pacific. The dramatic diffusion of digital technologies and partial policy reforms in services--from finance, communication, and transport to retail, health, and education--is transforming these economies. The result is higher productivity and changing jobs in the services sector, as well as in the manufacturing sectors that use these services. A region that has thrived through openness to trade and investment in manufacturing still maintains innovation-inhibiting barriers to entry and competition in key services sectors. 'Services Unbound: Digital Technologies and Policy Reform in East Asia and Pacific' makes the case for deeper domestic reforms and greater international cooperation to unleash a virtuous cycle of increased economic opportunity and enhanced human capacity that would power development in the region.Publication Global Economic Prospects, June 2024(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-06-11)After several years of negative shocks, global growth is expected to hold steady in 2024 and then edge up in the next couple of years, in part aided by cautious monetary policy easing as inflation gradually declines. However, economic prospects are envisaged to remain tepid, especially in the most vulnerable countries. Risks to the outlook, while more balanced, are still tilted to the downside, including the possibility of escalating geopolitical tensions, further trade fragmentation, and higher-for-longer interest rates. Natural disasters related to climate change could also hinder activity. Subdued growth prospects across many emerging market and developing economies and continued risks underscore the need for decisive policy action at the global and national levels. Global Economic Prospects is a World Bank Group Flagship Report that examines global economic developments and prospects, with a special focus on emerging market and developing economies, on a semiannual basis (in January and June). Each edition includes analytical pieces on topical policy challenges faced by these economies.Publication Fixing the Foundation(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2023-09-20)Countries in middle-income East Asia and the Pacific were already experiencing serious learning deficits prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-related school disruptions have only made things worse. Learning poverty -- defined as the percentage of 10-year-olds who cannot read and understand an age-appropriate text -- is as high as 90 percent in several countries. Several large Southeast Asian countries consistently perform well below expectations on adolescent learning assessments. This report examines key factors affecting student learning in the region, with emphasis on the central role of teachers and teaching quality. It also analyzes the role education technologies, which came into widespread use during the pandemic, and examines the political economy of education reform. The report presents recommendations on how countries can strengthen teaching to improve learning and, in doing so, can enhance productivity, growth, and future development in the region.Publication Business Ready 2024(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-10-03)Business Ready (B-READY) is a new World Bank Group corporate flagship report that evaluates the business and investment climate worldwide. It replaces and improves upon the Doing Business project. B-READY provides a comprehensive data set and description of the factors that strengthen the private sector, not only by advancing the interests of individual firms but also by elevating the interests of workers, consumers, potential new enterprises, and the natural environment. This 2024 report introduces a new analytical framework that benchmarks economies based on three pillars: Regulatory Framework, Public Services, and Operational Efficiency. The analysis centers on 10 topics essential for private sector development that correspond to various stages of the life cycle of a firm. The report also offers insights into three cross-cutting themes that are relevant for modern economies: digital adoption, environmental sustainability, and gender. B-READY draws on a robust data collection process that includes specially tailored expert questionnaires and firm-level surveys. The 2024 report, which covers 50 economies, serves as the first in a series that will expand in geographical coverage and refine its methodology over time, supporting reform advocacy, policy guidance, and further analysis and research.Publication The Journey Ahead(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-10-31)The Journey Ahead: Supporting Successful Migration in Europe and Central Asia provides an in-depth analysis of international migration in Europe and Central Asia (ECA) and the implications for policy making. By identifying challenges and opportunities associated with migration in the region, it aims to inform a more nuanced, evidencebased debate on the costs and benefits of cross-border mobility. Using data-driven insights and new analysis, the report shows that migration has been an engine of prosperity and has helped address some of ECA’s demographic and socioeconomic disparities. Yet, migration’s full economic potential remains untapped. The report identifies multiple barriers keeping migration from achieving its full potential. Crucially, it argues that policies in both origin and destination countries can help maximize the development impacts of migration and effectively manage the economic, social, and political costs. Drawing from a wide range of literature, country experiences, and novel analysis, The Journey Ahead presents actionable policy options to enhance the benefits of migration for destination and origin countries and migrants themselves. Some measures can be taken unilaterally by countries, whereas others require close bilateral or regional coordination. The recommendations are tailored to different types of migration— forced displacement as well as high-skilled and low-skilled economic migration—and from the perspectives of both sending and receiving countries. This report serves as a comprehensive resource for governments, development partners, and other stakeholders throughout Europe and Central Asia, where the richness and diversity of migration experiences provide valuable insights for policy makers in other regions of the world.