Securing Forests for Peace and Development in Postconflict Liberia

Peacebuilding assumes that security and development foster the necessary conditions for a sustainable peace. No place is the coupling of security and development more evident than in postconflict natural resource governance. Natural resources are considered a security threat because revenues from them can fuel instability and finance war. Natural resources are simultaneously considered a peace resource that can help create jobs, provide revenue and spur economic recovery. It remains an open question the extent to which the dual objectives of security and development work to consolidate peace, especially when it comes to natural resources. This article examines the substantial international efforts to securitize and “marketize” Liberia’s forests in the name of peacebuilding and illustrates how reforms have inadvertently exacerbated existing societal tensions and recreated governance arrangements that are counterproductive for building peace. Based on this, I argue that the nexus of security and development as construed by international peacebuilders overlooks broader dimensions of human security and ignores other approaches to poverty alleviation and equitable development. The article concludes with a broad set of policy recommendations for governing natural resources in postconflict settings.