Top: Logs felled on 3,200 acres in the Mavasagueh Community Forest claimed by Khalil Haider. Mr. Haider has filed a US$5 million lawsuit against the Forestry Development Authority and C&C Corporation. The DayLight\/Emmanuel Sherman<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By Emmanuel Sherman<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n MONROVIA \u2013 A man has filed a lawsuit against the Forestry Development Authority (FDA) and a logging company for at least US$5 million over alleged damages to his private property in Grand Bassa\u2019s District Number Two.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Khalil Haider accuses the FDA of authorizing C&C Corporation of harvesting trees on 3,200 acres of forestland in the Vambo Township, according to court filings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe FDA took my client\u2019s property, and awarded it to a company, and the company has been [harvesting] logs on the property without the consent and acceptance of my client,\u201d said Cllr. Vaani-Faate Kiawu, Haider\u2019s lawyer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The FDA and C&C Corporation did not respond to queries for comments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Alleged forgery<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Last year, the FDA authorized Mavasagueh as a community forest, covering 26,003 hectares. Then the new community forest signed a contract with C&C Corporation, co-owned and managed by Clearance Massaquoi, a logger active during the Second Liberian Civil War.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Shortly after, Haider wrote to the FDA, claiming the land in the company\u2019s harvest blocks for this year. Haider, a resident of Paynesville, is the administrator of the interstate estate of his late mother, Rosa E. Dillion of Montserrado, court filings show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Later, Haider asked C&C Corporation to settle with him or halt the harvesting. Instead, the FDA acted on a letter that the lawsuit alleges was forged, misspelling Haider as \u201cHajder,\u201d ignoring the plaintiff\u2019s notice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The lawsuit alleges that Rudolph Merab, Haider\u2019s \u201ccousin,\u201d appeared to be “exploiting the relationship to deprive [Haider] of his property rights by granting permission to C&C Corporation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe C&C has been cutting logs for over four months without the consent of [Haider] despite every effort to resolve the issue amicably,\u201d it added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The suit cited a decade-old survey, which found 21 species and 778 trees in every 100 acres of the land, valued at US$672 million, using approved prices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The lawsuit referenced a provision of the National Forestry Reform Law, which recognizes that the state does not own forests on private plots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This story was a Community of Forest and Environmental Journalists (CoFEJ) production.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Top: Logs felled on 3,200 acres in the Mavasagueh Community Forest claimed by Khalil Haider. Mr. Haider has filed a US$5 million lawsuit against the Forestry Development Authority and C&C Corporation. 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Our evidence-based, independent and quality news contents tell you all the happenings across nature\u2019s frontiers and the extractive sector in Liberia. From forestry and fisheries to wildlife conservation and climate change, from renewable energy and land rights to oil\/gas and oil palm, we bring you news on everything about the environment you need to know. 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\u201cAlthough the FDA is a government agency responsible for\u2026 the regulation of forest resources\u2026, it has illegally granted C&C Corporation to cull logs from the private property of the plaintiff.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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