Standing with Communities Across Liberia

On this International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies, the Natural Resource Women Platform (NRWP) stands with communities across Liberia that continue to face the devastating effects of industrial pollution, deforestation, and extractive activities.

Clean air is a human right, yet for many Liberians, it remains a daily challenge.

Communities Under Threat

Communities near Firestone Rubber Plantation, Salala Rubber Corporation, Liberia Agriculture Company (LAC), Equatorial Oil Palm, Mano Oil Palm, MNG Gold, Bea Mountain, and ArcelorMittal face widespread pollution and environmental damage:

• Rubber companies (Firestone, Salala, LAC): Burning rubber wood, chemical spraying, and waste dumping pollute air and water causing respiratory diseases, miscarriages among women, and soil degradation that endangers food production.
• Oil palm plantations (Equatorial & Mano Oil Palm): Large-scale deforestation, toxic fertilizers and pesticides, and land clearance fires destroy forests, release carbon emissions, and displace rural women farmers.
• Mining companies (MNG Gold, Bea Mountain, ArcelorMittal): Blasting, dust, and chemical contamination pollute the air, contaminate rivers, destroy farmlands, and expose communities to long-term health risks.

Women and children bear the heaviest burden collecting contaminated water, struggling with food insecurity, and caring for sick relatives affected by pollution and unsafe surroundings.

Voices from Communities

Reports by Green Advocates International and Swedwatch document these struggles.

• Women near oil palm plantations told researchers: “Our farms are gone, the chemicals are making us sick, and we have no clean water.”
• In mining-affected areas, another woman explained: “The dust and blasting make our children cough every day. Even the river we depend on is poisoned.”

These testimonies echo across Liberia proof that environmental destruction is not an abstract issue but a lived reality for thousands of families.

Our Call for Urgent Action

• The Government of Liberia must strengthen and enforce environmental laws, hold companies accountable, and prioritize the health and rights of affected communities.
• Corporations must end harmful practices, adopt cleaner technologies, provide remedies to communities, and respect Liberia’s environment and people.
• International partners must support community-led struggles for environmental justice and amplify the voices of rural women demanding clean air, healthy lands, and safe livelihoods.

Our Vision

Clean air is not negotiable. It cannot be sacrificed for corporate profit.

The women of Liberia envision a future where every child can breathe freely, grow food on safe land, and live in dignity.

Clean air is life – we demand it, we deserve it, and we will keep fighting for it.