Monrovia, Liberia; March 19, 2024: The Liberia Land Authority (LLA) in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) with funding from the Peace Building Fund (PBF) of the United Nations, has trained members of the Customary Land Development and Management Committee (CLDMC) and Local Government Authority (LGA) including Paramount Chiefs, Clan Chiefs, Town Chiefs, and other stakeholders in the land sector.

The training is part of the activities of a newly approved 3 years project “Enhancing Peace and Social Cohesion through the Promotion of Equitable Access to and Use of Land for Rural Women in Conflict-Prone Communities and Concession”.

It was designed to build the capacity of CLDMCs and local actors across the project catchment communities as they carry out their various roles, responsibilities, and functions as enshrined in the Land Rights Act of 2018. 

The training conducted from February 26 to March 12, 2024, in Grand Cape Mount County, covered three of the five project counties, namely, Grand Cape Mount, Bomi, and Nimba.

It brought together at least 175 participants comprising members of the CLDMCs, Community Leaders, Local government, CSOs and CBOs operating in the selected communities, and some officials from the adjacent communities whose boundary will be harmonized alongside the project catchment communities.

The aim is to ensure that County land offices, county land boards, and CLDMCs have the capacity and knowledge of procedures, and systems needed to undertake boundary harmonization and formalization of customary land at the community level, to prevent conflict, ensure peaceful coexistence and respond to the needs of communities including women, youth, and vulnerable groups by creating equal access to land for communities.

Speaking during the opening of the training in Tahn Town, Gola Konneh District, Grand Cape Mount County, the Focal Person of the LLA to the UN, Mr. Julius B. Kawa, said that the exercise was intended to ensure that CLDMC members are knowledgeable of boundary harmonization and confirmatory survey requirements, the various formalization steps as well as their respective functions.

Kawa, also Director of Land Policy, and Planning noted further that another component of the training was to prepare more communities for the next round of the boundary harmonization and confirmatory survey supported by UNDP. “We are optimistic about bigger results and are committed to ensuring that you are trained in the areas of administration, finance, negotiations, and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR),” He added.

The training was also used to build the capacity of CLDMC members on the clauses in the Land Rights Act (LRA) that focus on Women’s Land Rights in the context of customary land formalization, land, and property ownership, and their decision-making roles as elected members of CLDMCs. 

Speaking on behalf of UNDP, Mr. Robert Dorliae, Programme Analyst for the Inclusive Governance Pillar, urged CLDMs to seek the collective good of all communities in helping to address land-related issues and strengthening social cohesion. 

Participants were trained using the simplified version of the LRA and Boundary Harmonization Guide (BHG) and modules on negotiation skills.

The training comes, following the successful completion of the last project “Sustaining Peace and Reconciliation through Strengthening Land Governance and Dispute Resolution Mechanism” project. This three-year project which ended in 2023, witnessed the issuance of Statutory Land Deeds to 8 communities in the 4 project counties, namely, Sinoe, Maryland, Nimba, and Grand Cape Mount. 

This followed a series of processes on boundary harmonization, confirmatory land survey, and mapping supported by UNDP. During these exercises, all existing boundary points between and amongst adjacent communities, including disputed boundaries were identified. 

The new three-year project is jointly implemented by 3 UN agencies - UNDP, UN-Women, and World Food Program (WFP) supporting various government entities, including, the LLA, National Bureau of Concession (NBC), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA).