February 2, 2023, EJS Ministerial Complex<\/strong><\/p>\n

On behalf of the World Bank Group family, it is a great honor for me to be participating in this two-day Liberia Forest and Climate Resilience Forum whose objective is to catalyse partnerships and renew political commitments and broad interest at the highest level in sustainable forest management and climate resilience as a key strategy for supporting Liberia\u2019s pro-poor agenda for prosperity and development.<\/p>\n

The World Bank Group\u2019s mission in its member countries is to help them achieve the twin goals of ending extreme poverty and boosting shared prosperity. In Liberia, these twin goals are very much aligned to the Government\u2019s pro-poor agenda for prosperity and development (PAPD). To reduce poverty and promote shared prosperity requires the identification of all the available pathways for reducing poverty and promoting shared prosperity, and what needs to be done to maximize the opportunities along those pathways.<\/p>\n

Across the world, the Forest sector has been identified as one possible pathway for helping countries reduce poverty and promote shared prosperity. It is estimated that about 350 million people who live within or close to dense forests depend on them for their subsistence and income. Forests are an important aspect of rural livelihoods, with rural households living near forested areas deriving as much as 22 percent of their income from forest sources according to the World Bank\u2019s Poverty and Environment Network (PEN). This contribution is greater than that of wage labor, livestock, self-owned businesses or any other category aside from crops.<\/p>\n