By Preston Slami Panyonnoh
SINOE COUNTY, LIBERIA – Once hailed as Liberia’s ecological crown jewel, Sapo National Park is now fast becoming a symbol of national neglect and desperation. Allegations of corruption, illegal mining, and widespread human suffering are now converging in a forest originally meant for protection.
Established in 1983 in District #3, Sinoe County, Sapo National Park was Liberia’s first protected rainforest reserve. For decades, it served as a haven for rare wildlife and a beacon of national pride. Today, however, it is being overrun by thousands of illegal miners, settlers, and desperate job seekers who now see the park not as a sanctuary, but as a last hope.
Entire informal settlements have mushroomed deep within the forest, bearing names like “America,” “Dubai,” “China,” “New Liberia,” and “Philadelphia.” These ironic tributes to wealth and prosperity stand in stark contrast to the grinding poverty that drives people into the park.
“After a week or so, they don’t want to leave,” a young miner told Verity News Online. “Because here, even the risk is better than just sitting jobless back home.”
Between 3,000 and 5,000 individuals — including Liberians from various counties and foreign nationals from Sierra Leone, Guinea, and other West African countries — are now believed to be living inside the park.
New allegations have surfaced, further complicating efforts to reclaim the park. On August 1, 2025, a government-led operation involving the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) and other national security units was launched to expel illegal settlers from the Kojayee area of Wakaba Statutory District.
However, the operation was unexpectedly halted.
Eyewitnesses allege that two local officials — Sinoe County Development Superintendent Hon. Fredrick K. Call Jr. and Wakaba Statutory District Superintendent Hon. Kewku Queelley — intervened during the raid and requested a three-day grace period for the illegal miners to leave.
Multiple sources, including members of the joint task force, have since alleged that the superintendents accepted over LD$400,000 and an undisclosed amount of gold from the miners in exchange for halting the eviction.
“They didn’t just apologize on behalf of the miners — they negotiated behind closed doors,” one security source claimed. “The next thing we knew, the operation was stalled, and the miners were still digging.”
Preliminary investigations now suggest that the two officials may have actively encouraged miners to remain in the park, directly undermining a national conservation mandate.
Dr. Annika Hillers, Country Director of the Wild Chimpanzee Foundation in Liberia, has been vocal about the escalating crisis.
“On April 28, 2025, I raised the alarm. Illegal mining activities inside Sapo National Park are not just hurting the forest — they are threatening Liberia’s most important biodiversity,” Dr. Hillers said. “This is a national emergency, not just an environmental one.”
The park, home to rare species such as pygmy hippos, forest elephants, and chimpanzees, is now at risk of irreversible ecological damage. Forest trails have been widened into mining routes, trees felled for camps, and streams contaminated with mercury from artisanal mining.
Forgotten Communities Cry Out
Just outside the park’s boundaries, surrounding communities like Jalay are suffering in silence.
A photo obtained by Verity News Online shows the current state of one of the schools in a nearby town — a dilapidated structure barely standing, with no proper roof, desks, or instructional materials. The community falls within the district represented by Hon. Alex Sunnboy Noah, who has yet to respond to calls for basic education and infrastructure.
Residents say they feel abandoned by both conservation authorities and local leadership.
“You cannot talk about saving the forest while ignoring the suffering people who live next to it,” said a resident of District #3. “We have no roads, no clinics, and no clean water. They tell us to leave the forest alone, but what do they give us instead?”
Mid-Shift Education: A Desperate Compromise
With limited support from government agencies such as the Forestry Development Authority (FDA) or the Ministry of Education, parents are now resorting to unconventional schooling methods.
Many schools in forest-fringe communities operate on mid-shifts — flexible learning hours that allow children to attend school while still helping their families farm, mine, or sell goods.
Though undocumented at the national level, this emerging education pattern is a clear sign of the impossible trade-off that families are being forced to make.
“Education is a right,” one teacher said, “but in these parts, it has become a luxury.”
As Liberia’s most treasured national park slips further into chaos, calls are growing louder for accountability, reform, and urgent intervention.
Environmentalists want stronger enforcement. Communities want development. Conservationists want protection. And the nation demands answers.
The future of Sapo National Park, along with the reputation of the officials meant to safeguard it, now hangs in the balance.
