00:00:58.800 --> 00:01:02.959
In 2007, I was producing coal.

00:01:03.839 --> 00:01:04.959
I was a farmer.

00:01:09.800 --> 00:01:12.559
So the FDA people
(Forestry Development Authority) came

00:01:12.559 --> 00:01:15.760
and decided to do some
patrol around the area.

00:01:18.199 --> 00:01:19.680
So they came to my base,

00:01:19.680 --> 00:01:22.000
where I was producing
my black diamond (charcoal).

00:01:22.000 --> 00:01:24.040
Because we can call it black diamond.

00:01:24.040 --> 00:01:27.040
So they arrested me.

00:01:27.720 --> 00:01:30.199
They said, "Oh, you are
cutting down the forest."

00:01:30.720 --> 00:01:33.559
I said, "Well, that's the only thing
we surviving on here.

00:01:33.559 --> 00:01:35.360
Nothing else to do."

00:01:38.400 --> 00:01:42.639
And then they told me,
"We want to see you, we want you to join us to work

00:01:42.639 --> 00:01:46.959
so that you leave the job you are doing
because that job is against our job."

00:01:51.360 --> 00:01:54.000
So they used to visit me
to my farm all the time.

00:01:55.680 --> 00:01:57.000
Later on, they said, "My man,

00:01:57.000 --> 00:02:00.480
we're tired of your activities
cutting down the trees, producing charcoal.

00:02:00.480 --> 00:02:03.319
We want you to really be part of us.
So come and join us."

00:02:07.519 --> 00:02:10.760
And I knew that I was surviving on this
thing. I have nothing else I can do.

00:02:11.959 --> 00:02:16.480
So later on, they
become friendly with me,

00:02:16.480 --> 00:02:19.000
and then they put me
in the voluntary system.

00:02:19.000 --> 00:02:20.199
Now I was part of them.

00:02:26.160 --> 00:02:31.440
Yes, so that's how I joined
the rangers in 2015 December 31st.

00:03:14.680 --> 00:03:16.160
I love my country.

00:03:18.959 --> 00:03:21.360
We got forest, we’ve got water.

00:03:32.319 --> 00:03:35.959
And we’ve got fresh air that people
can take in to be strong.

00:03:44.239 --> 00:03:46.720
This mountain is divided
and it has names.

00:03:46.720 --> 00:03:48.800
This terrain we call it Mount Gbaam.

00:03:48.800 --> 00:03:52.000
It is between the Guinea side
and the Liberian side.

00:03:52.000 --> 00:03:53.519
We are very close to Guinea right now.

00:03:56.360 --> 00:03:58.599
Animals, they have no boundary.

00:04:00.279 --> 00:04:03.199
Any animal you find in Guinea,
you can find it in Liberia.

00:04:08.360 --> 00:04:11.239
Any animal you find in the Ivory Coast,
you can find it in Liberia.

00:04:13.639 --> 00:04:17.080
When they come to our side, they for us.

00:04:17.080 --> 00:04:18.959
When they go to Guinea,
for Guinea.

00:04:20.959 --> 00:04:24.360
When they go to Ivory Coast,
they for Ivory Coast.

00:04:36.360 --> 00:04:38.480
Before this become a reserve,

00:04:39.199 --> 00:04:41.160
we used to come here, plant rice,

00:04:41.680 --> 00:04:42.959
plantain, other stuff, cassava.

00:04:42.959 --> 00:04:44.559
plantain, other stuff, cassava.

00:04:49.559 --> 00:04:53.360
It was like, a place that was
not yet protected.

00:04:53.680 --> 00:04:57.680
So all the citizens,
they were making farm here.

00:04:57.680 --> 00:05:00.400
You know, at that time,
there were no companies.

00:05:03.319 --> 00:05:07.120
So, it was just a free land,
people were surviving.

00:05:13.279 --> 00:05:15.599
On that side is where they started the mining.

00:05:16.400 --> 00:05:19.040
Call it Old Mine, that is the
name for that place.

00:05:26.000 --> 00:05:29.839
The really great riches in Liberia
is the iron ore.

00:05:29.839 --> 00:05:32.680
Deposits lie far up
in the interior

00:05:32.680 --> 00:05:35.120
in the mountain region of Nimba.

00:05:35.120 --> 00:05:37.800
Near the border of
French Guinea in the north.

00:05:38.680 --> 00:05:41.959
Right at the top are the
camps of LAMCO.

00:05:41.959 --> 00:05:45.040
The Liberian, American, Swedish
Minerals Company

00:05:45.040 --> 00:05:47.319
which is investigating the deposits.

00:05:48.959 --> 00:05:51.599
And my late father worked with LAMCO.

00:05:52.199 --> 00:05:54.199
So I grew up here and make my life here.

00:05:54.879 --> 00:05:56.839
I grew up in Camp 4.

00:06:01.279 --> 00:06:03.279
They were focusing on the mining,

00:06:03.279 --> 00:06:05.360
most of the workers
were driving trucks,

00:06:05.360 --> 00:06:08.720
getting ore and transporting
it to their dumping site.

00:06:12.919 --> 00:06:16.319
But they got only one big
haul way that goes around.

00:06:16.319 --> 00:06:20.879
So people they use and they
transport in one direction.

00:06:21.879 --> 00:06:23.199
That's how they were doing
the mining.

00:06:43.720 --> 00:06:47.559
The war started 1989, in Liberia.

00:06:48.919 --> 00:06:51.800
At that time, we were
like small, small children.

00:06:51.800 --> 00:06:54.599
We were not really, our eyes
were not really open,

00:06:54.599 --> 00:06:56.400
but we remember all that happened.

00:06:59.239 --> 00:07:02.319
The companies decided to stop

00:07:03.120 --> 00:07:05.680
and then they left all their equipment.

00:07:06.000 --> 00:07:10.360
That's how you can see some of
those machines left parking here

00:07:10.360 --> 00:07:13.559
and then everybody went home.

00:07:38.680 --> 00:07:40.279
LAMCO ate the mountain

00:07:42.959 --> 00:07:44.919
but they left something behind.

00:07:46.800 --> 00:07:50.000
They never just cleared
without leaving anything behind.

00:07:56.400 --> 00:07:58.639
And today, it's what we're surviving on.

00:07:58.959 --> 00:08:00.319
They built a community.

00:08:01.040 --> 00:08:02.720
They opened free education.

00:08:03.000 --> 00:08:08.120
Today, people going to school,
learning trade, it's from LAMCO days.

00:08:23.040 --> 00:08:27.360
My parents lived in Yekepa
in the 70s actually.

00:08:27.360 --> 00:08:31.400
My Dad used to teach
at the Catholic school up here.

00:08:32.120 --> 00:08:34.599
When I talk to my parents about Yekepa,

00:08:34.599 --> 00:08:38.360
all of the stories they tell me about
this place was like beautiful stories.

00:08:39.400 --> 00:08:41.080
It was always like this kind of

00:08:41.080 --> 00:08:43.360
mythical place in my mind,
like a very nice place,

00:08:43.360 --> 00:08:44.639
mythical place in my mind,
like a very nice place,

00:08:44.959 --> 00:08:47.239
when it was in its like glorious days.

00:09:02.559 --> 00:09:06.639
I only came here after the
civil conflict, when it was in ruins.

00:09:13.199 --> 00:09:16.680
So, I studied general biology
at the University of Liberia.

00:09:17.000 --> 00:09:19.919
While studying biology,
I became interested in ecology.

00:09:21.480 --> 00:09:24.639
My research is mostly focused
around the forest.

00:09:25.160 --> 00:09:28.599
So, what the forest means
to different actors,

00:09:28.599 --> 00:09:32.319
like how that meaning has changed,
how it evolved over the years.

00:09:35.319 --> 00:09:39.879
So the tropical rainforest makes
up 7% of the land area on earth,

00:09:40.400 --> 00:09:45.680
but more than 50% of biodiversity is found
in tropical ecosystems.

00:09:52.800 --> 00:09:57.319
So one of the things that, you know,
is very apparent when you come to

00:09:57.519 --> 00:10:04.000
East Nimba Nature Reserve is that sometimes
it can become difficult to know what's

00:10:04.000 --> 00:10:09.279
natural versus what is like,
man or mining-altered.

00:10:09.279 --> 00:10:15.199
But one of the things that I find
very striking is the resurgence of nature.

00:10:18.360 --> 00:10:23.680
How the forest has started to come back,
how the grassland is looking greener.

00:10:29.839 --> 00:10:33.559
These landscapes are like natural,

00:10:33.559 --> 00:10:35.919
but they're also like human-made.

00:10:39.199 --> 00:10:44.160
This place, which is now remnants
of a mining operation,

00:10:44.599 --> 00:10:46.639
was once pristine.

00:10:50.199 --> 00:10:52.959
And even if you go across
the border in Guinea,

00:10:53.120 --> 00:10:55.000
where no mining has been done,

00:10:55.519 --> 00:10:57.959
and you see this landscape
that is untouched.

00:10:58.160 --> 00:11:00.239
And you're like "Oh my God!"

00:11:00.440 --> 00:11:05.040
This was so much more beautiful
when it wasn't altered.

00:11:08.919 --> 00:11:11.519
And that's kind of like,
okay, yes,

00:11:11.519 --> 00:11:14.519
this one is altered, but it has
its own uniqueness

00:11:14.519 --> 00:11:18.480
that comes about because
of what was taken

00:11:18.480 --> 00:11:22.639
what was left, what has regrown,
what is formed.

00:11:22.639 --> 00:11:27.519
It is kind of like a mix
of the old, the new and the future.

00:11:27.519 --> 00:11:29.639
It's kind of like, what can it become?

00:11:35.000 --> 00:11:42.519
If 40 years ago, you told people that this
place will be like an ecotourism hotspot,

00:11:43.000 --> 00:11:45.680
which is becoming now,
they will have doubted you.

00:11:53.279 --> 00:11:56.559
Who wants to come and
see a bare mountain

00:11:56.559 --> 00:11:58.839
with a lot of craters and all of that?

00:12:47.519 --> 00:12:50.639
I'm Catherine Kuku Dolo from Sanniquellie.

00:12:51.279 --> 00:12:53.800
I was selected to work in Nimba,

00:12:53.800 --> 00:12:55.519
as the Chief Park Warden.

00:12:56.319 --> 00:13:03.680
So the East Nimba Nature Reserve
is about 11,553 hectares.

00:13:04.080 --> 00:13:05.760
It has three zones.

00:13:05.760 --> 00:13:08.080
Zone One is in Zortapa,

00:13:08.480 --> 00:13:12.480
Zone Two is in Geipa and
Zone Three is in Camp 4, Yekepa.

00:13:13.959 --> 00:13:16.319
But it is surrounded by two countries.

00:13:17.480 --> 00:13:21.879
We are transboundary of the
Guinea, Ivory Coast and Liberia,

00:13:21.879 --> 00:13:24.040
so we share common boundaries with them.

00:13:30.639 --> 00:13:35.480
The Ecolodge opened
in 2024, July 15.

00:13:47.559 --> 00:13:49.120
We have tourists coming in,

00:13:49.680 --> 00:13:52.360
coming for research and other
things through the Ecolodge.

00:13:58.599 --> 00:14:05.760
These prints are from 1969

00:14:05.760 --> 00:14:10.319
and they were given
to Swedish staff that were

00:14:10.319 --> 00:14:12.839
working at LAMCO when they were leaving.

00:14:12.839 --> 00:14:15.120
This is what became known as Blue Lake.

00:14:16.959 --> 00:14:21.279
When LAMCO came to Liberia
in the late 50s, early 60s,

00:14:21.279 --> 00:14:25.400
where scientists like the International Union
for the Conservation of Nature

00:14:25.400 --> 00:14:27.599
worked with the mining company to

00:14:27.599 --> 00:14:32.279
ensure that they found out and catalogued
everything that was possible to be

00:14:32.279 --> 00:14:34.120
documented on Mount Nimba.

00:14:34.120 --> 00:14:37.680
To know what is there and
how it will be impacted.

00:14:40.959 --> 00:14:43.519
So you had the Swedish,
Kai Curry-Lindahl.

00:14:49.440 --> 00:14:51.839
You had Lamotte, who did a lot of work
in Guinea and the Ivory Coast,

00:14:51.839 --> 00:14:53.919
also come here to do some work.

00:14:53.919 --> 00:14:57.919
And their intention at the time
was not necessarily,

00:14:57.919 --> 00:15:00.080
about working with
the mining company,

00:15:00.080 --> 00:15:02.199
although the mining company
funded their work,

00:15:02.199 --> 00:15:04.160
but it was about documenting.

00:15:10.040 --> 00:15:12.519
They were discovering a lot of new species.

00:15:12.519 --> 00:15:16.400
Which I think from a scientific
perspective was great.

00:15:16.400 --> 00:15:19.839
But also they were also
thinking about raising alarm

00:15:19.839 --> 00:15:22.879
at the possibility of
these species being lost.

00:15:28.559 --> 00:15:33.400
If you look at the push from
Kai Curry-Lindahl, Lamotte

00:15:33.800 --> 00:15:38.559
and thinking about the current status
of East Nimba Nature Reserve,

00:15:38.559 --> 00:15:42.559
I think they would have been
excited in a certain kind of way

00:15:42.559 --> 00:15:48.919
but also disappointed that all of the
destruction that took place happened here

00:15:48.919 --> 00:15:52.000
before this place was made
into a nature reserve.

00:15:52.000 --> 00:15:56.839
Because from the 1960s, they were
already calling for the protection of this area.

00:16:00.800 --> 00:16:03.879
The early scientific work that was done here

00:16:03.879 --> 00:16:06.400
made this place a biodiversity hotspot,

00:16:06.400 --> 00:16:10.519
even if that term wasn't
being used in the 60s and 70s.

00:16:34.279 --> 00:16:37.000
One thing that is very interesting for me

00:16:37.000 --> 00:16:40.239
is the kind of fauna
you see in this place

00:16:40.519 --> 00:16:43.120
but, you know, specifically
the Nimba toad.

00:16:44.720 --> 00:16:45.559
Hiya chief

00:16:45.559 --> 00:16:48.120
- Let's go, let's go.
- Yeah, let's go.

00:16:49.800 --> 00:16:55.839
As a species, the uniqueness of a toad that
gives live birth to the babies, that's unique.

00:16:56.879 --> 00:16:58.959
So, do you think we'll be
able to see the toad today?

00:16:59.680 --> 00:17:01.480
Yes.

00:17:09.199 --> 00:17:14.120
Last year we came, we observed
that we found a Nimba toad here.

00:17:14.800 --> 00:17:18.480
Since then, from that time,
we never check to see what happened.

00:17:21.680 --> 00:17:26.319
The Nimba toad, all my research,
it has only been found in one area.

00:17:27.839 --> 00:17:32.839
You think about the kind of
specific habitat that it occupies,

00:17:32.839 --> 00:17:34.400
the height of the place,

00:17:34.400 --> 00:17:38.080
the rocks, the crevices,
the temperature.

00:17:38.319 --> 00:17:41.440
Like, a lot of things
have to come together

00:17:41.440 --> 00:17:44.959
for the Nimba toad to be
able to inhabit a place.

00:17:44.959 --> 00:17:49.959
And luckily, East Nimba Nature Reserve
is one of those places that it is found.

00:17:55.000 --> 00:17:57.959
We are like 1,200 meters.

00:17:57.959 --> 00:18:02.279
So, this is the height at which we
can find the toads, right?

00:18:02.319 --> 00:18:02.879
Yes.

00:18:04.279 --> 00:18:09.000
And this particular animals
not like too much heat,

00:18:09.680 --> 00:18:11.120
high temperature.

00:18:11.519 --> 00:18:14.080
They like to be in the cool area.

00:18:14.239 --> 00:18:17.199
So if at all, there's fire burning the mountain,

00:18:17.959 --> 00:18:21.040
it will become a higher threat
to the entire generations.

00:18:24.080 --> 00:18:30.760
And, there are a lot of insects
here living on the mountain.

00:18:30.760 --> 00:18:32.959
The toad eats the insect, right?

00:18:32.959 --> 00:18:36.080
Yes. The toad survives on the insect.

00:18:39.480 --> 00:18:42.959
You have to got patience because
the animals are very hard to find.

00:18:42.959 --> 00:18:44.800
Yeah. Hopefully we get lucky.

00:18:56.160 --> 00:18:59.120
They are the only (truly)
viviparous toads in the world.

00:18:59.120 --> 00:19:03.120
So, automatically the specialness
of the Nimba toad

00:19:03.120 --> 00:19:07.160
makes it like a must protect
for conservation.

00:19:08.519 --> 00:19:13.720
That irreplaceability of the Nimba toad
makes it especially attractive

00:19:13.720 --> 00:19:17.919
as a kind of a flagship for conservation.

00:19:35.480 --> 00:19:39.839
- The same toad?
- Yes, it's the same.

00:19:39.839 --> 00:19:42.239
Pregnant, clearly.

00:19:43.040 --> 00:19:46.319
One of the things that
we need to make sure is

00:19:46.839 --> 00:19:51.319
that particular area needs
to be like protected,

00:19:51.319 --> 00:19:55.519
so that people don't do things that
would disturb the habitat of the toad.

00:19:55.519 --> 00:20:00.000
Because the tourists might not
be as careful as we were.

00:20:03.559 --> 00:20:06.239
Usually some tourists,
when they come,

00:20:07.040 --> 00:20:08.959
these are things they want to see.

00:20:10.959 --> 00:20:12.639
Animals that's hard
to find in the wild.

00:20:15.040 --> 00:20:17.879
The ecosystem there is very fragile.

00:20:17.879 --> 00:20:21.279
Not everything the tourists want,
you give to the tourists.

00:20:23.519 --> 00:20:26.839
Because not everything
should be open to tourists.

00:20:36.720 --> 00:20:39.000
Wow, this place is very beautiful.

00:20:39.519 --> 00:20:42.040
I love this place, can I spend the night here?

00:20:42.319 --> 00:20:43.879
Because I love the environment.

00:20:45.879 --> 00:20:49.559
I like hiking with the tourists,
and I'm a lecturer.

00:20:50.519 --> 00:20:54.279
When I'm walking with the visitor,
I give them some information.

00:20:54.919 --> 00:20:56.000
I love to be here.

00:20:56.800 --> 00:20:58.639
We have got two ways
of walking here.

00:20:58.639 --> 00:21:02.239
We got the mountain walking,
we got the forest walking.

00:21:03.199 --> 00:21:04.959
So these are all edible.

00:21:04.959 --> 00:21:06.639
They cook them with soup.
I think most people know them.

00:21:06.639 --> 00:21:08.360
- We don't know them.

00:21:08.360 --> 00:21:09.800
Yeah, they're medicinal plants.

00:21:11.879 --> 00:21:16.319
Managing this space,
this forest, how people interact,

00:21:18.639 --> 00:21:24.279
the impact it has on the biodiversity,
the plants, the animals, the landscapes

00:21:24.279 --> 00:21:29.319
is seen as very critical to
conservation because if these

00:21:29.319 --> 00:21:31.800
places are left to be destroyed

00:21:31.800 --> 00:21:35.199
the biodiversity that
they hold will be lost.

00:21:37.800 --> 00:21:39.400
These are all historical sites.

00:21:39.959 --> 00:21:41.919
Yeah, so let's go.

00:22:06.360 --> 00:22:07.599
This is the dumping hole.

00:22:07.919 --> 00:22:09.879
This is where LAMCO used
to dump the iron ore.

00:22:10.720 --> 00:22:14.480
The conveyor belt was traveling to this

00:22:14.480 --> 00:22:17.279
and transporting the iron
ore down to the oven.

00:22:23.800 --> 00:22:27.760
If you look into the future and
see what has become of this place,

00:22:27.760 --> 00:22:32.080
you can already start to think, okay,
maybe we shouldn't only focus on the

00:22:32.199 --> 00:22:33.760
changes in the landscape.

00:22:33.959 --> 00:22:39.959
But we can also think about what that
landscape could become after it is used.

00:22:42.599 --> 00:22:45.360
And I think that's something
that more and more,

00:22:45.800 --> 00:22:49.839
you see conservation organizations,
people working in conservation,

00:22:50.160 --> 00:22:53.360
try to focus on the becoming of places

00:22:53.360 --> 00:22:58.000
so that it's not necessarily
seen as ruins

00:22:58.519 --> 00:23:02.199
but it's seen as something different
that can be a cautionary tale,

00:23:02.360 --> 00:23:06.000
but can also be something that people can go
for educational purpose,

00:23:06.519 --> 00:23:08.440
for relaxation and all of that.

00:23:14.400 --> 00:23:21.360
There is a danger where ecotourism or
conservation becomes extractive

00:23:21.959 --> 00:23:23.480
like mining.

00:23:25.160 --> 00:23:29.480
There was a mountain in this place where
we now have the Blue Lake and all

00:23:29.480 --> 00:23:33.120
the features on the mountain
and it was removed.

00:23:34.639 --> 00:23:36.720
Everything there was extracted.

00:23:37.040 --> 00:23:42.480
And what can the local people say that they
have benefited from that extraction?

00:23:46.639 --> 00:23:49.319
One thing that we need to remember is that

00:23:49.519 --> 00:23:51.480
East Nimba Nature Reserve

00:23:51.639 --> 00:23:53.839
is situated in a place.

00:23:54.080 --> 00:23:56.800
So the interests of the community

00:23:56.800 --> 00:23:59.879
also needs to be taken into account.

00:24:00.160 --> 00:24:06.040
So, if these people who have lived with this
forest or lived with this landscape,

00:24:06.040 --> 00:24:11.480
if they feel excluded, there's a tendency
that this area could be undermined.

00:24:43.519 --> 00:24:45.519
- So, Saye.
- Yes.

00:24:45.519 --> 00:24:48.040
What's this marking I see on the tree?

00:24:48.040 --> 00:24:50.519
It divides the two forests.

00:24:50.519 --> 00:24:55.599
It shows the demarcation between the Blei Forest

00:24:55.599 --> 00:24:56.919
and the East Nimba Nature Reserve.

00:25:06.199 --> 00:25:10.000
Where we sit now is ENNR
(East Nimba Nature Reserve),

00:25:10.080 --> 00:25:12.680
and where we're facing is the
Blei Community Forest.

00:25:17.559 --> 00:25:22.279
2003 was when they established
East Nimba Nature Reserve.

00:25:23.519 --> 00:25:25.000
The war had just finished.

00:25:25.000 --> 00:25:26.839
Charles Taylor started the process

00:25:26.839 --> 00:25:29.160
to make it a national park.

00:25:30.279 --> 00:25:33.360
The FDA (Forestry Development Authority)
were the only people managing the forest.

00:25:33.360 --> 00:25:34.800
Managing the forest, exactly.

00:25:36.120 --> 00:25:39.959
Before, there was an argument
between community and FDA.

00:25:39.959 --> 00:25:41.800
The community was not informed.

00:25:42.080 --> 00:25:43.839
They have taken most of our land.

00:25:46.559 --> 00:25:50.800
The communities are accused of
violation and going to the reserve.

00:25:52.279 --> 00:25:56.480
The FDA would say, "Community people doing this...
community people hunting..."

00:25:57.879 --> 00:26:03.680
And the community decided to know
why we have the forest around us,

00:26:04.239 --> 00:26:06.279
and we are not part
of the management?

00:26:12.599 --> 00:26:15.839
When the protected area was
conceived and declared,

00:26:16.239 --> 00:26:22.199
it was like communities out,
FDA and their partners in.

00:26:22.879 --> 00:26:26.519
But the conflict that happened
and people realized,

00:26:26.519 --> 00:26:28.120
okay, we have an opportunity here.

00:26:28.599 --> 00:26:32.680
Can we work with the communities so that we
manage this protected area together?

00:26:33.480 --> 00:26:36.800
East Nimba Nature Reserve
is unique amongst the

00:26:36.800 --> 00:26:42.199
protected areas in Liberia, because
this is a co-managed protected area.

00:26:48.760 --> 00:26:50.839
So this is the boundary line?

00:26:51.639 --> 00:26:54.879
So this is the boundary line that is
separating Blei Community Forest

00:26:54.879 --> 00:26:57.839
from the rest of the
surrounding forest.

00:26:57.839 --> 00:26:59.480
Yeah.

00:27:05.559 --> 00:27:08.760
We are always demarcating with
this red, indicating danger,

00:27:08.760 --> 00:27:13.959
that where you are going, it is illegal for you
to cross the line and go on the other side.

00:27:13.959 --> 00:27:17.319
That place is kept for a particular
purpose, for conservation.

00:27:20.760 --> 00:27:23.360
So when FDA came on ground
to do the demarcation,

00:27:23.360 --> 00:27:26.319
the community people, they met
resistance from the community,

00:27:26.319 --> 00:27:28.839
the community said, "No, you cannot
take away all of our land."

00:27:28.839 --> 00:27:30.559
"You can't take the 13,000 hectares,

00:27:30.559 --> 00:27:32.480
if you take it, we don't have
place for our farmland."

00:27:33.839 --> 00:27:37.160
So, then FDA and the community
went on the round table,

00:27:37.160 --> 00:27:39.400
and then they went back
and adjust the boundary line.

00:27:41.480 --> 00:27:45.800
So instead of 13,000, it went to
11,500 hectares of land.

00:27:48.360 --> 00:27:51.959
And then in there, the community
decided to ask FDA

00:27:51.959 --> 00:27:54.120
that we cannot
have the forests

00:27:54.120 --> 00:27:56.279
and then you come alone
to manage the forests.

00:27:58.000 --> 00:28:01.000
We want to join you as
surrounding communities

00:28:01.000 --> 00:28:04.000
to form part of the
management of the park.

00:28:04.839 --> 00:28:07.839
This is how in 2010, the
co-management agreement

00:28:07.839 --> 00:28:12.680
was signed between the government, which is
represented by FDA and the local communities.

00:28:17.919 --> 00:28:22.160
In East Nimba,
I represent community

00:28:22.160 --> 00:28:23.959
and I the chairperson.

00:28:23.959 --> 00:28:30.160
If there is any misunderstanding
between FDA and community

00:28:30.160 --> 00:28:32.959
we are the one that
gets to community

00:28:32.959 --> 00:28:36.199
and also understand what is the problem

00:28:36.199 --> 00:28:39.879
and we get to FDA, what is the problem
and we resolve these things.

00:28:39.879 --> 00:28:44.160
Because managing a park where the
community is closer and you don't collaborate

00:28:44.160 --> 00:28:46.599
it means the park will not
be managed properly.

00:28:47.720 --> 00:28:53.519
We feel that co-management is the best way
possible to protect and manage the reserve.

00:29:07.959 --> 00:29:11.360
So the forest is
naturally made by God

00:29:11.360 --> 00:29:15.919
that we consider as
a reservoir of opportunity.

00:29:16.800 --> 00:29:18.800
Anything relating to our life,

00:29:18.959 --> 00:29:20.800
we get it from the forest.

00:29:25.959 --> 00:29:31.279
We do hunting.
We do herbs extraction.

00:29:31.279 --> 00:29:33.080
We do fishing.

00:29:33.559 --> 00:29:38.160
We have Class C mining that
we do normally as a community.

00:29:42.760 --> 00:29:46.080
Since the demarcation, we have
the community forest where

00:29:46.080 --> 00:29:48.160
we introduce permit systems.

00:29:48.319 --> 00:29:51.080
Mining is not done in ENNR.

00:29:51.360 --> 00:29:55.639
Since the demarcation,
it is done outside of ENNR.

00:29:59.239 --> 00:30:01.120
I understand that you are
the owner of the place.

00:30:02.040 --> 00:30:03.279
So, how is the work going on?

00:30:03.279 --> 00:30:05.199
We have just started this.

00:30:06.720 --> 00:30:11.160
So, it's kind of like prospect
that we are carrying on.

00:30:11.800 --> 00:30:14.040
They are working for themselves.

00:30:14.040 --> 00:30:19.040
So, I bring them, they work for any
proceeds that will come from this place.

00:30:20.360 --> 00:30:26.720
And then when they work through their expenses
and other things that I do for them

00:30:27.800 --> 00:30:31.000
after we get any proceeds,
any good diamond

00:30:31.000 --> 00:30:33.800
they get their percentage
and I get mine.

00:30:34.599 --> 00:30:36.480
Everything here is 50/50.

00:30:37.160 --> 00:30:41.760
So, if they are buying any diamond,
that we will get for $100

00:30:41.760 --> 00:30:44.080
they carry $50, I carry $50.

00:30:44.080 --> 00:30:45.879
- Okay.
- That's how it goes.

00:30:54.720 --> 00:30:57.720
How often you can find diamond?

00:30:57.720 --> 00:30:59.839
It can be two months because
the job is very hard.

00:31:01.120 --> 00:31:03.720
So, when we start a job
before we can reach the gravel,

00:31:03.720 --> 00:31:06.919
sometimes it can be one month,
one month and a half.

00:31:07.720 --> 00:31:09.080
It's hard, the job is very hard.

00:31:11.839 --> 00:31:14.239
I do farm job and diamond job.

00:31:21.239 --> 00:31:24.800
We do cash crop farming also

00:31:25.599 --> 00:31:30.680
where we plant cocoa, coffee,
palm (oil) to survive on it.

00:31:33.680 --> 00:31:35.480
After the demarcation

00:31:35.480 --> 00:31:41.160
they are aware that they don't
do that into the reserve.

00:31:43.720 --> 00:31:46.519
Prior to LAMCO coming, our people used to

00:31:46.519 --> 00:31:48.199
extract things from the forest.

00:31:48.839 --> 00:31:51.839
Actually, there were certain areas
that ore used to come.

00:31:52.839 --> 00:31:55.800
They had blacksmith area,
where they bring the iron ore.

00:31:56.519 --> 00:31:59.239
When LAMCO, the surveyors first came,

00:31:59.680 --> 00:32:02.319
they settled in Gbapa.

00:32:12.080 --> 00:32:13.599
They were finding people around

00:32:13.599 --> 00:32:16.080
to take them into the forest,

00:32:16.080 --> 00:32:17.160
especially to the mine.

00:32:18.480 --> 00:32:19.559
It was my father that

00:32:19.559 --> 00:32:21.360
the community people invited him

00:32:21.360 --> 00:32:23.599
to take them to the mine.

00:32:26.599 --> 00:32:28.519
So he took the route up the mine

00:32:28.519 --> 00:32:32.080
where they used to go and do the iron ore.

00:32:34.160 --> 00:32:36.000
And they used to heat it
to prepare iron.

00:32:37.319 --> 00:32:38.919
It was at the time Sandy Clark came.

00:32:39.760 --> 00:32:43.559
So, he directed Sandy Clark
up all the way to the mine

00:32:43.559 --> 00:32:45.760
where some of the iron ore
was showing out.

00:32:51.000 --> 00:32:54.480
So, the person that my father
told was Johnny Gbah

00:32:54.680 --> 00:32:56.959
and the late Saye Messeh,

00:32:56.959 --> 00:32:59.160
was the one who was also
taking record for them.

00:33:02.519 --> 00:33:06.000
The three of them were used
from Gbapa to go up the mine.

00:33:35.480 --> 00:33:39.680
That's Sandy right from the beginning.

00:33:41.239 --> 00:33:43.959
1953

00:33:48.559 --> 00:33:52.680
Okay. He said, that way back when

00:33:52.680 --> 00:33:55.519
Clark came to Yekepa,

00:33:56.919 --> 00:34:00.319
he came and he went to Mount Nimba.

00:34:01.000 --> 00:34:03.040
He and his brother

00:34:03.040 --> 00:34:04.639
they went to look for jobs.

00:34:06.680 --> 00:34:08.440
The first job they gave to him

00:34:08.440 --> 00:34:09.919
was to do the survey,

00:34:09.919 --> 00:34:12.760
to be cutting and surveying.

00:34:17.400 --> 00:34:19.120
They cut for long.

00:34:19.120 --> 00:34:23.279
Certain time again, then Mr Clark said,
"Oh, there's people coming to do drilling."

00:34:27.919 --> 00:34:31.519
As they drill, they take the sample,
they package it,

00:34:31.519 --> 00:34:32.879
and then they carry it to Monrovia.

00:34:37.800 --> 00:34:41.239
The company come here,
break some rock we see.

00:34:41.680 --> 00:34:45.480
They say, "This rock it get money ooo...

00:34:45.480 --> 00:34:47.120
It get money ooo."

00:34:53.360 --> 00:34:55.959
When the company came,
when they broke some of the rock.

00:34:55.959 --> 00:34:59.279
Then they tell them, they say,
"Oh, this rock here it have money."

00:34:59.279 --> 00:35:02.239
But it was funny to them because they
never knew what kind of money was there.

00:35:03.839 --> 00:35:13.080
Then we see those company people,
they come to work there.

00:35:16.239 --> 00:35:19.879
They carry the drilling machine,

00:35:28.839 --> 00:35:34.760
It was a long time ago.
Nobody can remember it clearly now.

00:35:38.080 --> 00:35:42.720
We never knew that it's a big company.

00:36:02.080 --> 00:36:04.639
This is a terraformed landscape,

00:36:04.639 --> 00:36:07.080
it has been transformed by mining.

00:36:10.959 --> 00:36:15.879
It's beautiful now in its own unique way,
but it's a terraformed landscape.

00:36:20.160 --> 00:36:25.720
We need to think about how that transformed
this place and have made it what it is.

00:36:35.639 --> 00:36:37.360
Ladies and gentlemen.

00:36:40.319 --> 00:36:42.760
We want to take this time
to welcome you

00:36:42.760 --> 00:36:47.199
to our concession area, our
Project Phase 2 site

00:36:47.199 --> 00:36:49.639
for this unique occasion.

00:36:49.639 --> 00:36:53.599
Today in Liberia, ArcelorMittal
has written history

00:36:53.599 --> 00:36:57.559
that will go down for generations to come.

00:37:15.800 --> 00:37:19.680
It is with deep humility and pride
that I stand before you today

00:37:19.680 --> 00:37:21.919
to extend on behalf of the people of Nimba

00:37:21.919 --> 00:37:25.599
heartfelt welcome to this historic event,

00:37:25.599 --> 00:37:30.680
the official commissioning of the
AML Liberia Concentrator plant.

00:37:30.680 --> 00:37:34.639
Today we celebrate not
just an industrial facility

00:37:34.639 --> 00:37:37.279
but a milestone in Liberia's
development journey.

00:37:43.839 --> 00:37:49.919
We are spending about $3 billion,
we are creating 10,000 direct jobs

00:37:49.919 --> 00:37:55.040
and it shows the confidence
and trust we have in this country.

00:38:32.360 --> 00:38:36.760
This is a very joyous occasion.

00:38:36.760 --> 00:38:39.919
Many many years after that,

00:38:39.919 --> 00:38:46.120
what would be the story, what would show
that there was such an investment here?

00:38:46.360 --> 00:38:50.120
Today we are here,
we've done a lot of things

00:38:50.120 --> 00:38:53.760
now we're going to concentrate
on the Concentrator.

00:39:08.519 --> 00:39:12.959
In early 2000s, the International
Council on Mining and Metals

00:39:12.959 --> 00:39:16.040
decided to move toward conservation

00:39:16.040 --> 00:39:19.559
and actively engaged
conservation NGOs

00:39:19.559 --> 00:39:22.879
to make their activities more sustainable.

00:39:25.319 --> 00:39:26.400
Morning

00:39:28.239 --> 00:39:31.519
That kind of tied in
conservation and mining.

00:39:51.400 --> 00:39:55.599
So, the work by scientists
from the 60s and 70s

00:39:55.599 --> 00:39:57.239
to catalogue nature,

00:39:57.239 --> 00:39:59.760
made this place a biodiversity hotspot,

00:40:00.279 --> 00:40:02.919
which was co-opted by mining companies

00:40:02.919 --> 00:40:06.040
to promote ideas like biodiversity offset

00:40:06.040 --> 00:40:08.879
that they are now using
to present themselves as

00:40:08.879 --> 00:40:12.519
environmentally friendly or
environmentally sensitive companies.

00:40:16.760 --> 00:40:18.559
The East Nimba Nature Reserve,

00:40:18.919 --> 00:40:22.639
ArcelorMittal is using it to offset
their environmental footprint,

00:40:22.959 --> 00:40:27.959
the idea being that they are displacing
biodiversity through their mining activities

00:40:28.360 --> 00:40:33.559
and if they protect this forest, that kind
of like pay for what they are removing.

00:40:34.519 --> 00:40:37.120
So, this biodiversity conservation program

00:40:37.120 --> 00:40:39.239
is a way of protecting other areas

00:40:39.760 --> 00:40:44.319
outside of the mining concession
that are biodiversity rich,

00:40:44.319 --> 00:40:49.959
so that it's like if we are destroying
area A and we are protecting area B,

00:40:49.959 --> 00:40:54.360
then it means that we are offsetting our
environmental footprint as it relates to the

00:40:54.360 --> 00:40:55.760
loss of biodiversity.

00:41:16.760 --> 00:41:18.680
The East Nimba Nature Reserve

00:41:18.680 --> 00:41:25.199
being around ArcelorMittal concession area,
I think it is the only forest that they used to

00:41:25.199 --> 00:41:28.120
relocate most of the species
around where they mine.

00:41:30.440 --> 00:41:33.160
I think the protection of the park is

00:41:33.800 --> 00:41:36.279
part of their social corporate
responsibility.

00:41:37.639 --> 00:41:39.199
Around where they were mining

00:41:39.800 --> 00:41:42.120
there was a place that they
were about to do blasting.

00:41:42.120 --> 00:41:44.400
There were a lot of
different bat species there

00:41:44.760 --> 00:41:48.279
and then they used the park
and built an artificial tunnel.

00:41:48.559 --> 00:41:51.040
They relocated the bats
into the artificial tunnel.

00:41:53.080 --> 00:41:57.400
We were informed that they
want to relocate the bats

00:41:57.400 --> 00:41:59.919
and we had a discussion

00:41:59.919 --> 00:42:04.279
we went to the site
and it was a site we selected

00:42:04.279 --> 00:42:07.480
and they specially came
to build a tunnel.

00:42:07.480 --> 00:42:09.519
So they're going to place (the bats) there.

00:42:23.279 --> 00:42:27.279
Nimba is one of the hotspots
of bats because of this microclimate.

00:42:27.279 --> 00:42:31.000
A lot of very unique bats
exist on the Nimba range.

00:42:33.879 --> 00:42:37.400
As a flagship species they are important because
they are a kind of indicator species.

00:42:37.400 --> 00:42:41.000
They tell you a little bit about
the health of the ecosystem

00:42:41.319 --> 00:42:43.400
because they are feeding
off the insects which

00:42:43.400 --> 00:42:47.959
gives you an idea about the
health of the ecosystem.

00:42:51.239 --> 00:42:53.959
And these bats they
are very resilient.

00:42:54.199 --> 00:42:56.080
They have already started to

00:42:56.080 --> 00:42:59.080
use what was left by humans.

00:42:59.480 --> 00:43:04.160
So, the adits, the conveyor belts,
the shaft.

00:43:04.160 --> 00:43:07.160
You already see them occupy
and take over these spaces.

00:43:10.720 --> 00:43:13.080
They moved into the tunnels that were

00:43:13.080 --> 00:43:15.040
left behind by the mining company.

00:43:15.040 --> 00:43:19.959
It shows you how the
adaptability of that species

00:43:19.959 --> 00:43:25.279
helps to make it more resilient in the
face of change or changes in the

00:43:25.279 --> 00:43:27.279
landscape that it naturally occupies.

00:43:36.519 --> 00:43:39.839
There are some bats that are only
found in the Nimba Mountains.

00:43:40.760 --> 00:43:44.239
Many of the species that are found
in this Upper Guinea Rainforest Zone

00:43:44.239 --> 00:43:47.120
are unique and found
nowhere else in the world.

00:43:47.680 --> 00:43:51.720
For a very long time, scientists would
come from Europe and then they would

00:43:51.720 --> 00:43:54.319
document biodiversity in Africa

00:43:54.319 --> 00:43:58.559
and documenting biodiversity
includes collecting specimen.

00:44:05.480 --> 00:44:10.040
So, I've been inspired by many scientists that
have explored these mountains

00:44:15.160 --> 00:44:20.120
Lamotte who collected a lot of
bat species on the Guinean side.

00:44:21.000 --> 00:44:23.639
And one of those species
was a Hipposideros bat,

00:44:23.639 --> 00:44:29.000
by the name of Hipposideros lamottei, in fact,
that species was named after Lamotte.

00:44:33.120 --> 00:44:38.959
He really has inspired young scientists
like myself to participate in such expeditions.

00:44:53.760 --> 00:44:57.639
You remember we took bats
from where they were mining now.

00:44:57.639 --> 00:44:58.480
Yes.

00:44:58.480 --> 00:45:00.120
Which place was that?

00:45:00.120 --> 00:45:01.480
It was Yuelliton.

00:45:01.480 --> 00:45:04.839
Yuelliton, exactly. So there is
still mining activity in Yuelliton?

00:45:04.839 --> 00:45:06.000
Yes, now it's getting more.

00:45:06.720 --> 00:45:11.080
So, you were saying that the
numbers have significantly dropped.

00:45:11.319 --> 00:45:11.839
Yeah, yeah.

00:45:12.599 --> 00:45:18.000
It kind of take around 10 to 15 years before
the animal can really settle down there.

00:45:21.599 --> 00:45:26.080
So, what we do here is we moved the bat
here so that the population will grow.

00:45:26.080 --> 00:45:28.680
Okay, so the last time you monitored
what was the numbers?

00:45:28.680 --> 00:45:32.800
Because you remember, we translocated
over 4000 individuals from

00:45:32.800 --> 00:45:34.800
from Yuelliton to here.
- Yeah.

00:45:34.800 --> 00:45:36.120
- Which was a lot, right?

00:45:36.120 --> 00:45:37.400
I think it was 4,000.

00:45:37.400 --> 00:45:40.360
And you remember last time
when we were translocating right.

00:45:40.360 --> 00:45:42.639
We would tag them. We put a
tag on some of them.

00:45:42.639 --> 00:45:43.639
Yes.

00:45:43.639 --> 00:45:46.279
Just to see if they would
go back to the old adit

00:45:46.279 --> 00:45:48.000
and we caught
a couple, I think 2 or 3.

00:45:48.000 --> 00:45:51.599
- They went back.
- Exactly. So they can move very long distances.

00:45:51.599 --> 00:45:55.760
Luckily we closed those old adits.

00:45:55.760 --> 00:45:59.800
We closed them and then the mining
company also crashed it down.

00:45:59.800 --> 00:46:01.080
Completely crashed. Okay.

00:46:01.080 --> 00:46:02.040
That's good.

00:46:02.959 --> 00:46:04.919
They have no choice but to go back here?

00:46:04.919 --> 00:46:08.639
Yeah, go back here. Or go in another
place around. Somewhere around.

00:46:08.639 --> 00:46:10.040
Yeah. That's awesome.

00:46:10.639 --> 00:46:12.639
But as far as monitoring, I'm not sure

00:46:12.639 --> 00:46:15.319
how the population
numbers are doing now.

00:46:15.319 --> 00:46:18.160
We still got more challenge because
they are not used to this place.

00:46:18.160 --> 00:46:20.599
You did a good job moving them,
let's see if we can

00:46:20.599 --> 00:46:22.720
see some bats that are inside.

00:46:30.360 --> 00:46:34.239
I would say, we were successful in
moving the bats but the species

00:46:34.239 --> 00:46:36.800
that we were expecting to find
here are no longer here.

00:46:39.720 --> 00:46:42.279
So, the cave is now occupied
by a different species.

00:46:46.959 --> 00:46:50.839
Okay. So, we’ve just caught a bat here,

00:46:52.040 --> 00:46:54.400
this one is a noseleaf bat.

00:46:54.400 --> 00:46:57.360
Which is a different species
from what we translocated.

00:46:57.360 --> 00:46:59.559
When you look at its face,

00:46:59.559 --> 00:47:03.080
you can see that there is this
structure here called the noseleaf.

00:47:03.080 --> 00:47:09.599
Basically, it's important because you know
that bats echolocate, so they emit sound

00:47:09.599 --> 00:47:11.199
to navigate their environment.

00:47:11.199 --> 00:47:13.800
When you look at the morphology
of the wing of this species,

00:47:13.800 --> 00:47:16.639
we say it is typically short and broad.

00:47:18.040 --> 00:47:22.919
And when you check for age,
you basically shine on the joint.

00:47:22.919 --> 00:47:24.959
You see the joint?

00:47:25.319 --> 00:47:29.720
So, when you shine on the joints
usually you can see light through.

00:47:30.000 --> 00:47:34.239
That means it's a juvenile.

00:47:36.080 --> 00:47:38.599
As far as the translocation it was a success

00:47:38.599 --> 00:47:40.959
because they were going to
mine the area so the bats

00:47:40.959 --> 00:47:46.519
were going to be obviously killed or destroyed
so we were able to save or rescue them from there

00:47:46.519 --> 00:47:48.120
and bring them here.

00:47:48.120 --> 00:47:52.760
But unfortunately they were not able
to stay here for a very long time

00:47:52.760 --> 00:47:58.400
which probably means they found another area
within the ENNR to use as a cave.

00:48:14.800 --> 00:48:19.800
So, I know ArcelorMittal had or have a
Biodiversity Conservation Program.

00:48:20.760 --> 00:48:26.559
Can you give us an idea about how that program
has been implemented over the years?

00:48:27.279 --> 00:48:34.959
Well, it is true that we signed
a conservation agreement with ArcelorMittal

00:48:34.959 --> 00:48:39.040
through the Government of Liberia,
which is the FDA.

00:48:39.040 --> 00:48:41.919
But it is not

00:48:43.239 --> 00:48:46.959
to the fulfillment of the
management of the park.

00:48:46.959 --> 00:48:48.199
Okay.

00:48:48.199 --> 00:48:52.000
Because it is like prefinancing,

00:48:52.000 --> 00:48:54.559
and where do we have the money to prefinance?

00:48:54.559 --> 00:48:56.959
Because you are forced to
get money to buy batteries

00:48:56.959 --> 00:48:59.400
to get rations for the
patrol guards.

00:48:59.919 --> 00:49:03.480
So, at this time, we have
even gone 7 months,

00:49:04.760 --> 00:49:06.360
no patrol

00:49:07.839 --> 00:49:10.879
and it is just difficult
to say it.

00:49:10.879 --> 00:49:16.360
You can't say you are supporting me
to do something to yield fruitful result and

00:49:16.360 --> 00:49:21.040
the actual thing that is supposed to
empower the person you can't give it.

00:49:24.519 --> 00:49:26.599
When it comes to the
environmental impact

00:49:27.000 --> 00:49:34.040
efforts, real effort, tangible efforts should be
made to mitigate or reduce the impact

00:49:34.040 --> 00:49:37.040
of the mining operation on the biodiversity,

00:49:37.040 --> 00:49:39.519
because in the beginning of

00:49:39.519 --> 00:49:42.959
ArcelorMittal's Biodiversity Conservation Program,

00:49:42.959 --> 00:49:46.160
at least from the time I interacted
with this program,

00:49:46.160 --> 00:49:49.239
I saw that they were engaging
with communities.

00:49:49.239 --> 00:49:53.720
But since 2017, little action
has been taken

00:49:53.720 --> 00:49:56.879
to support the Biodiversity
Conservation Program

00:49:56.879 --> 00:50:02.040
in the way it is sold because ArcelorMittal
sells East Nimba Nature Reserve

00:50:02.040 --> 00:50:05.800
and the community forest around here,
as their kind of offset.

00:50:05.800 --> 00:50:08.080
If they are doing it,
then it's good

00:50:08.080 --> 00:50:12.599
but if they are not doing it, then it's
something that should not happen.

00:50:19.400 --> 00:50:24.160
If I think of the way corporate social
responsibility works,

00:50:24.160 --> 00:50:26.959
ArcelorMittal, they
are not good in that.

00:50:28.040 --> 00:50:33.480
The AML presence here will say, the
offset program supporting the reserve.

00:50:33.480 --> 00:50:35.599
But 2 to 3 years, no support.

00:50:39.839 --> 00:50:42.800
We still wait to see the
support coming.

00:50:43.959 --> 00:50:49.199
No other company or conservation group
is coming here because ArcelorMittal is there.

00:50:50.720 --> 00:50:54.959
So, okay like now more than two years
no, no support for patrol.

00:50:56.199 --> 00:50:58.839
Then that means violation
going on all over here.

00:50:59.199 --> 00:51:00.959
Nobody is detecting what is happening.

00:51:07.760 --> 00:51:09.160
We live in the community
with the poachers

00:51:09.160 --> 00:51:12.360
they see all, they see our activities.
So, if we sit at the park

00:51:12.360 --> 00:51:14.480
and don't have the support
to go into the bush

00:51:14.480 --> 00:51:16.599
because as we said we are working
with community people.

00:51:16.599 --> 00:51:19.199
They are community eco-guards
and they are not on government payroll.

00:51:19.199 --> 00:51:21.480
How can we send them into the
bush if we don't have support?

00:51:21.480 --> 00:51:23.040
So, if we say to the community
we've got no

00:51:23.040 --> 00:51:26.279
patrol rations, no GPS batteries,
no this and other things,

00:51:26.279 --> 00:51:28.199
no rain gear to
go into the bush.

00:51:28.199 --> 00:51:30.239
It means the poachers will be there
and doing their own thing

00:51:30.239 --> 00:51:32.400
because they are very aware
that we are not going to the bush.

00:51:42.160 --> 00:51:49.239
It just takes a poacher just a single one hour
to walk from his community into the park.

00:51:49.639 --> 00:51:52.400
Just one hunter and
then he goes there.

00:51:53.680 --> 00:51:56.839
As he is going there he is going there,
for example, with four to five cartridges.

00:51:56.839 --> 00:51:58.599
When he is coming out do you know
what he is coming out with?

00:51:58.599 --> 00:52:02.239
With four to five different species,
that they are coming out with,

00:52:02.239 --> 00:52:03.559
so it's a serious threat.

00:52:44.160 --> 00:52:46.879
I'm the only ranger
right now, here.

00:52:48.040 --> 00:52:50.000
So we have a lack of manpower.

00:52:50.360 --> 00:52:55.639
So, I am appealing that the office
who are able to help the guys

00:52:55.639 --> 00:52:58.360
that were trained under the FDA
from the community

00:52:58.360 --> 00:53:01.639
to join us to man the forest

00:53:01.639 --> 00:53:05.680
so that we will be able to
make the forest to be safe.

00:53:09.319 --> 00:53:10.720
Animal's home is the forest.

00:53:14.000 --> 00:53:21.040
Just quite recently we went to
Bossou (Guinea) to meet the foresters.

00:53:21.720 --> 00:53:26.319
The chimpanzees left from here,
and they settled down in the forest.

00:53:26.919 --> 00:53:29.120
There are chimps from
here that went there.

00:53:29.120 --> 00:53:34.040
Then the chimpanzee will travel by the belt
of the trees to come to Bossou into that forest.

00:56:07.239 --> 00:56:08.279
The chimpanzee,

00:56:08.559 --> 00:56:13.800
they are like humans in a lot of ways,
their social structure,

00:56:13.800 --> 00:56:15.120
their use of tools and all of that.

00:56:15.639 --> 00:56:20.839
But because they are able to use
both the unspoiled landscape and

00:56:20.839 --> 00:56:27.599
the farm-forest interzone between there,
you can find them in these spaces still thriving.

00:56:28.720 --> 00:56:32.360
The only problem with chimpanzees
is because of their size,

00:56:32.639 --> 00:56:35.239
you start to see more conflict.

00:56:35.239 --> 00:56:39.839
The more of their natural habitat is destroyed
and they have a smaller space,

00:56:39.839 --> 00:56:43.959
the shrinking of their natural habitat
pushes them closer to humans.

00:56:48.919 --> 00:56:52.000
And it's not necessarily
the removal of the forest

00:56:52.000 --> 00:56:55.919
but it's like the blasting
sound of the mining activities,

00:56:56.360 --> 00:56:58.000
the noise,
the vibrations,

00:56:58.599 --> 00:57:01.800
the machinery, the people,
all of these things drive them

00:57:01.800 --> 00:57:05.120
closer to other people
that are already in place

00:57:05.760 --> 00:57:10.080
and that can lead to conflict that can be
deadly for people and the chimpanzees.

00:57:13.000 --> 00:57:16.720
So it means that the minings

00:57:16.720 --> 00:57:18.519
from the edge of the mountains

00:57:18.519 --> 00:57:23.639
that ArcelorMittal are trying to mine,
are creating stress on the animals.

00:57:25.559 --> 00:57:27.959
No one would be happy to see
their home getting damaged

00:57:28.800 --> 00:57:29.599
where they live.

00:57:30.160 --> 00:57:33.160
This what is trying to
happen to these animals.

00:57:47.040 --> 00:57:51.800
They have had a series of human-chimp
conflict in Liberia as well around the Cocopa belt.

00:57:51.800 --> 00:57:55.040
Chimpanzees been attacking
children, harming them

00:57:55.040 --> 00:57:58.000
and one of the last victims even
died in the process.

00:57:58.199 --> 00:58:00.239
You see how the chimpanzee
attacked the child here?

00:58:00.480 --> 00:58:01.839
-Wow.
- You see?

00:58:01.839 --> 00:58:03.959
The chimpanzee attacked
on the boy.

00:58:04.239 --> 00:58:08.199
I remember meeting him at the hospital
and then he didn't survive in the process.

00:58:08.199 --> 00:58:11.599
You see the other victim, the
chimpanzee ate off the child's hand.

00:58:11.599 --> 00:58:12.519
- Wow.
- You see there.

00:58:14.639 --> 00:58:18.239
According to the parents
the boy left his parents

00:58:18.239 --> 00:58:20.599
and went on the farm alone.

00:58:20.599 --> 00:58:23.239
He went to like drive
birds (away) on the farm

00:58:23.239 --> 00:58:26.160
and while he was there,
the chimpanzee came

00:58:26.160 --> 00:58:29.199
and was just according to them,
making sound, making sound

00:58:29.199 --> 00:58:32.120
and the little boy threw a rock
and decided to chunk the chimpanzee.

00:58:32.919 --> 00:58:39.199
He was not informed on how chimpanzees behave
and how to also live in harmony with them.

00:58:39.959 --> 00:58:42.239
It's going to be a serious
problem on East Nimba.

00:58:42.239 --> 00:58:42.639
Yeah.

00:58:42.639 --> 00:58:46.080
Because almost East Nimba is connected to it,
just a corridor in between.

00:58:46.080 --> 00:58:46.720
Bossou.

00:58:46.720 --> 00:58:47.160
Bossou.

00:58:47.160 --> 00:58:49.879
And then the chimpanzees from
there come and then also

00:58:49.879 --> 00:58:52.599
come to the chimpanzees in East Nimba here.

00:58:52.599 --> 00:58:54.879
So to some extent, when they are harmed,
there's going to be a serious problem for us.

00:58:54.879 --> 00:58:55.680
Sure.

00:58:57.000 --> 00:59:00.959
I think we can plan a quick trip to see
how we can continue our awareness.

00:59:00.959 --> 00:59:03.559
Because it has been almost two months
we've not had our awareness there.

00:59:03.559 --> 00:59:04.040
Yeah, sure.

00:59:07.720 --> 00:59:09.959
Yeah, yeah actually it would
really be interesting

00:59:09.959 --> 00:59:13.199
because the children want to know
more about the forest.

00:59:13.559 --> 00:59:18.599
Oh Dada, when are we starting our
awareness in the communities?

00:59:18.599 --> 00:59:23.360
When we meet on Wednesday,
we decide on a plan.

00:59:23.360 --> 00:59:25.040
Okay, okay, we need to do something.

00:59:25.040 --> 00:59:27.400
Because we need to put our document
together for that awareness.

00:59:27.400 --> 00:59:28.000
Yeah, that's true.

00:59:28.000 --> 00:59:28.680
Okay.

00:59:28.680 --> 00:59:30.839
Okay. Thank you. All right.

00:59:33.959 --> 00:59:38.599
You know one thing, the last time
we were passing in one community,

00:59:40.040 --> 00:59:41.519
a little girl stopped me.

00:59:42.160 --> 00:59:45.279
She was like, "Are you a ranger?"

00:59:45.279 --> 00:59:46.639
I said, "Yes."

00:59:46.639 --> 00:59:50.080
She said, "Oh, do you think women
can also be rangers?"

00:59:50.080 --> 00:59:51.360
- I said, "Yes"
- Why not?

00:59:51.360 --> 00:59:52.919
It is very possible.

00:59:58.599 --> 01:00:03.160
The Lord's Prayer

01:00:20.360 --> 01:00:21.800
Put your hands together for yourself.

01:00:24.879 --> 01:00:26.400
Put your hands together for your family.

01:00:28.720 --> 01:00:30.599
Put your hands together for the teacher.

01:00:32.680 --> 01:00:35.199
Put your hands together for the Town Chief.

01:00:38.080 --> 01:00:42.959
We're here on behalf of the issues
that have been happening between

01:00:42.959 --> 01:00:45.800
the chimpanzee and the
children around here.

01:00:46.319 --> 01:00:50.400
So, we have been coming around
making sure we create awareness

01:00:50.400 --> 01:00:52.959
so that such thing cannot repeat itself.

01:00:52.959 --> 01:00:54.639
We don't want anybody to be afraid, yeah.

01:00:55.000 --> 01:00:59.000
Anything you want to say, you put your hand
up and you say, don't be scared, yeah.

01:00:59.000 --> 01:01:00.040
Nobody will laugh at you.

01:01:00.040 --> 01:01:01.239
So don't be scared. Yeah.

01:01:01.959 --> 01:01:03.959
You have not heard about baboon
(chimpanzee) before?

01:01:04.360 --> 01:01:06.160
What do you know about it?

01:01:06.160 --> 01:01:09.400
It can eat people.

01:01:10.279 --> 01:01:11.279
Anything you want to say,

01:01:11.279 --> 01:01:13.760
you say. You want say
it in English, you say.

01:01:13.760 --> 01:01:16.080
You want to say it in
Mano, you say.

01:01:16.199 --> 01:01:18.360
You want to say
it in Gio, you say.

01:01:18.360 --> 01:01:19.720
You want to say it in French.

01:01:19.879 --> 01:01:21.760
They can do bad things to people.

01:01:22.319 --> 01:01:23.720
They can do bad things to people.

01:01:23.720 --> 01:01:25.160
They can do bad
things to people.

01:01:25.319 --> 01:01:26.720
Okay, thank you.

01:01:27.599 --> 01:01:30.199
It has really affected children.

01:01:30.879 --> 01:01:35.160
But it's important to also make
sure that we also teach them

01:01:35.160 --> 01:01:39.480
how to take care of themselves when
it comes to avoiding the human

01:01:39.480 --> 01:01:42.400
and the chimpanzee conflict
that has been ongoing here.

01:01:42.839 --> 01:01:45.360
Because we want all of them to be
ambassadors of the environment,

01:01:45.800 --> 01:01:47.760
ambassador of forest, to know
the importance of the forest.

01:02:05.080 --> 01:02:06.919
You can see the fire on the road.

01:02:09.480 --> 01:02:12.400
New fire just broke on
the road, trying to off it.

01:02:14.319 --> 01:02:19.080
It's not easy to off. The more you
try to off and the more increasing.

01:02:20.199 --> 01:02:23.360
But no other way because
it spread all into the bush.

01:02:29.360 --> 01:02:33.639
As you can see, most
of our trees are burnt.

01:02:34.959 --> 01:02:38.040
We don't have shade now to sit under

01:02:38.040 --> 01:02:44.959
and then the gap covered with fire
affecting our protected area.

01:02:46.279 --> 01:02:49.400
Look at it around the lake.

01:02:49.919 --> 01:02:55.959
You can see how the fire burned
our trees that were planted by EPA.

01:02:57.959 --> 01:03:00.559
You can see it,
all the area is open.

01:03:01.839 --> 01:03:13.519
Usually in the month of December and February
we experience this every year on Mount Nimba

01:03:13.519 --> 01:03:21.120
on the reserve that a wildfire always begun
whenever it's too much hot on the mountain.

01:03:22.879 --> 01:03:25.120
Sometimes it gets hot for
a long period of time.

01:03:28.040 --> 01:03:31.879
Then in the month
of February 5th

01:03:31.959 --> 01:03:37.120
while on patrol we just see the heavy
smoke from the Orange Tower way

01:03:37.120 --> 01:03:43.040
and then we make a long hike around
checking and then we observed that

01:03:43.040 --> 01:03:49.040
beyond the mountain to the Ivory Coast side
there was two farms that people were burning

01:03:49.879 --> 01:03:53.879
and then the fire floated from
the air to fall to the mountains.

01:03:55.360 --> 01:03:59.400
This is the highest peak of Mount Nimba
and the fire was able to travel this far.

01:04:00.639 --> 01:04:04.160
I'm looking from our observation what
we're seeing down there,

01:04:05.639 --> 01:04:09.279
this fire came from the two
farms burning around Sehtuntuo.

01:04:09.680 --> 01:04:14.319
As we speak now you can see
the fire heading to us.

01:04:14.879 --> 01:04:21.559
So, we make a follow up to see all whether
there are some animals that were destroyed

01:04:21.559 --> 01:04:26.360
and then we saw a lot of animal footprints
in one direction running towards

01:04:26.360 --> 01:04:30.279
the Orange Tower way, like they
were running for survival.

01:04:32.160 --> 01:04:41.080
But one good thing is we never found the dead
animals and then we only saw their actions.

01:04:42.839 --> 01:04:48.000
The only thing the fire never do was it never
really disturb the forest itself.

01:04:48.639 --> 01:04:51.839
But on top of the mountain,
it was completely burned.

01:04:53.480 --> 01:04:57.919
The mountain when it was intact,
all those trees were on top.

01:04:58.279 --> 01:05:00.959
But now, because they are degraded mountains,

01:05:00.959 --> 01:05:05.480
so most of the trees have been wiped
away and making things different

01:05:05.480 --> 01:05:07.639
and the landslides are getting more.

01:05:07.639 --> 01:05:11.319
So, actually we really want this
reserve to become a forest again.

01:05:24.680 --> 01:05:29.839
So, each time the fire come in the years,
they can only be off by rain.

01:05:31.839 --> 01:05:34.879
There's no other means we can do.

01:05:37.680 --> 01:05:41.480
The only thing people can do is,
"Oh fire on the mountains...

01:05:41.480 --> 01:05:42.720
...fire on the mountains."

01:05:42.720 --> 01:05:44.239
They just shout and say that

01:05:44.239 --> 01:05:46.800
but there's no one that can
make any effort towards it.

01:05:47.000 --> 01:05:50.000
We all just struggle to off the fire
to see how we can stop it.

01:05:53.599 --> 01:05:57.239
Besides that, the rangers,
we are lack of manpower right now.

01:06:00.639 --> 01:06:05.680
We don't able to cover the
whole entire reserve to off fire.

01:06:07.239 --> 01:06:12.639
But however, we have to find
a solution to stop this.

01:06:15.720 --> 01:06:17.680
We want this to not happen to us.

01:06:23.279 --> 01:06:27.279
See the damage. See the damage.

01:06:29.959 --> 01:06:31.080
Look.

01:06:48.720 --> 01:06:50.319
What happened to me last year.

01:06:50.360 --> 01:06:50.879
Yeah.

01:06:51.319 --> 01:06:56.680
So, when I was burning the farm,
fire wanted to enter into the reserve.

01:06:56.919 --> 01:06:59.080
Oh, no, that was bad, man.

01:06:59.120 --> 01:07:00.120
I was confused.

01:07:00.239 --> 01:07:03.919
Yeah I'm happy that your fire
never burned the reserve.

01:07:03.919 --> 01:07:05.919
- I struggle a lot, I struggle a lot.
- Yeah, yeah.

01:07:06.239 --> 01:07:10.599
One fire came from around
the Thuo border, Guinea.

01:07:11.959 --> 01:07:15.480
Then the other one came from
around Yéalé, which is Ivory Coast.

01:07:15.480 --> 01:07:16.279
Behind the mountain.

01:07:16.279 --> 01:07:20.760
So, I was standing on the belt when I saw the
smoke coming towards our side.

01:07:20.760 --> 01:07:26.080
So, the fire came. It burned all the mountain,
some of the animals get drunk.

01:07:26.080 --> 01:07:29.680
Like the bushbuck was standing in the burned
area it was drunk, it could not move.

01:07:29.680 --> 01:07:32.360
The tourist had to go take it with
their hand to release it to the forest.

01:07:32.959 --> 01:07:36.400
Then the the pangolins
came into the camp,

01:07:36.400 --> 01:07:40.519
where the people camping,
it stopped among them there.

01:07:40.519 --> 01:07:42.839
Even the rock hyrax came from the mountain.

01:07:42.839 --> 01:07:45.639
It came and laid down right on top of the
rock where the fire already pass.

01:07:45.639 --> 01:07:47.279
It was drunk because of the heat.

01:07:47.279 --> 01:07:49.919
We went we stood over
the rock hyrax like this

01:07:49.919 --> 01:07:51.559
it can't wake up.

01:07:51.559 --> 01:07:54.360
- But was it breathing?
- No, nothing happen to it.

01:07:54.360 --> 01:07:58.160
The people asked me whether it was dead,
I said, "No, it's just sleeping."

01:07:58.160 --> 01:08:01.639
So, we left standing there it woke
up shook its head like this,

01:08:01.639 --> 01:08:05.279
it looked at everybody's face - one, one, one, one,
then it start finding a way to go.

01:08:06.959 --> 01:08:09.360
So that's why we are telling
you fire is not good.

01:08:09.360 --> 01:08:12.519
It even destroy most of the fruiting trees
we can eat on the mountain.

01:08:12.519 --> 01:08:17.000
Our mango trees, our guava where the animals
survive on the fire caught in there,

01:08:17.000 --> 01:08:18.480
they were all burned.

01:08:18.919 --> 01:08:21.279
So those are things that cause
the animal to migrate

01:08:21.279 --> 01:08:23.839
from your forest to go
to another forest.

01:08:32.559 --> 01:08:39.680
For this species of the Nimba toad, they also know
the challenge they face with in their habitat.

01:08:39.879 --> 01:08:42.760
They know the temperature
when it's getting hot,

01:08:42.760 --> 01:08:44.639
how to position themselves
under the rock.

01:08:45.760 --> 01:08:48.639
Usually when fire comes,
what the Nimba toad can do

01:08:48.639 --> 01:08:52.599
they go deep under the rock where
the fire will not able to capture them.

01:08:55.400 --> 01:08:57.199
The fire cannot go
under this rock.

01:08:58.519 --> 01:09:05.720
It takes time for them to escape the fire
and the heat from the fire can likely get to

01:09:05.720 --> 01:09:08.080
them quickly and destroy them.

01:09:08.639 --> 01:09:14.599
So, we are doing our best to
check here to see if we find them.

01:09:16.839 --> 01:09:20.080
So, they will always go deep
under the rock for some time,

01:09:20.080 --> 01:09:23.680
until the fire can cease down completely
before they can come out.

01:09:23.959 --> 01:09:26.800
Sometimes when some is
away from their burrow,

01:09:27.760 --> 01:09:31.120
they can get harmed by the fire
because they are not home.

01:09:32.120 --> 01:09:35.400
So, these are sometimes the
cause of these animals

01:09:35.400 --> 01:09:39.319
to be like lost in the world
because of this fire issue.

01:09:44.239 --> 01:09:48.440
One day when we find it alive,
then we know where it is.

01:09:51.959 --> 01:09:56.959
Yeah. It's also our main concern
to know what happened to them.

01:10:02.879 --> 01:10:07.279
But it's better to check and
make more effort to be convinced.

01:10:07.279 --> 01:10:12.360
You know, like, yeah,
we tried but we could not find it.

01:10:40.760 --> 01:10:43.279
The boundaries that are made
in this landscape

01:10:43.279 --> 01:10:48.160
whether it's for the mining companies that
come with the concession boundaries

01:10:48.160 --> 01:10:50.000
restricting the access of people.

01:10:50.319 --> 01:10:53.959
Whether it's the conservation actors
with the protected area

01:10:53.959 --> 01:10:57.760
restricting to a certain extent
the activities of people.

01:10:58.639 --> 01:11:04.360
These boundaries, they mostly keep out
people that are based in the landscape

01:11:04.360 --> 01:11:08.040
and the animals that are in the landscape

01:11:08.040 --> 01:11:10.400
they kind of like move
across these boundaries,

01:11:10.400 --> 01:11:14.080
even the international boundary
with Guinea and Ivory Coast.

01:11:18.000 --> 01:11:20.199
And the impact of
these activities, for example,

01:11:20.199 --> 01:11:24.879
especially the mining activities,
impact the population of these animals.

01:11:25.559 --> 01:11:30.440
But if there are certain extent of like,
use and care of use,

01:11:31.120 --> 01:11:38.160
these animals have the ability to rebound
after the stress that they are faced with has

01:11:38.160 --> 01:11:40.800
receded or ends

01:11:40.800 --> 01:11:46.040
and that is also linked to the way
the local people use the land,

01:11:46.400 --> 01:11:49.480
the level of stress that they put on the land,

01:11:49.480 --> 01:11:51.680
the land to a larger extent is

01:11:51.680 --> 01:11:54.080
able to regenerate, it's able to heal itself,

01:11:54.480 --> 01:11:57.080
compared to the actions
of mining companies

01:11:57.080 --> 01:12:01.400
that leaves these like big holes that are
very different from what the land was.

01:12:06.120 --> 01:12:12.720
But there's a certain point at which it is
difficult for the landscape to heal itself,

01:12:12.720 --> 01:12:17.800
because the actions of transformation
are so massive that at the end of the day,

01:12:17.800 --> 01:12:22.360
they lead to so much displacement in the
landscape that things just have to change.

01:12:38.599 --> 01:12:40.559
One thing I would
say is today is sweet

01:12:40.559 --> 01:12:46.000
but tomorrow it will be bitter because when the
mountain breaks down it will not grow back.

01:12:46.000 --> 01:12:49.319
You get money today,
tomorrow everything change,

01:12:49.319 --> 01:12:50.519
climate change.

01:12:50.959 --> 01:12:53.919
You break the mountain
now it can't grow back.

01:12:54.720 --> 01:12:55.879
Everything gone.

01:12:59.680 --> 01:13:03.599
The local people have always been
aware of the value of this place.

01:13:04.919 --> 01:13:10.400
But you have the people who have stayed in
this landscape and they will continue to be

01:13:10.400 --> 01:13:13.680
in this landscape because
for them, this is their home.

01:13:13.680 --> 01:13:15.360
This is all they have.

01:13:15.360 --> 01:13:16.519
This is what they know.

01:13:17.760 --> 01:13:24.519
The people are the constant that must be seen
as integral to holding this landscape together.

01:13:26.760 --> 01:13:31.919
I've always loved nature, loved being around
nature, loved being around the environment.

01:13:32.199 --> 01:13:37.160
So, even being a mother
cannot stop me from my dream

01:13:37.480 --> 01:13:40.959
and I think the best thing that I can do

01:13:40.959 --> 01:13:45.919
as a mother is to make sure I protect
the forest, protect the environment,

01:13:45.919 --> 01:13:49.319
protect the species that she
can grow up tomorrow

01:13:49.319 --> 01:13:53.839
and know that Liberia has
a lot of different species,

01:13:54.160 --> 01:13:55.400
and they are still there

01:13:55.400 --> 01:13:57.319
because I'm doing
it for her.

01:14:00.480 --> 01:14:06.360
Regardless of what happens in the landscape,
we have to remember that this landscape

01:14:06.360 --> 01:14:13.360
has people and it has biodiversity,
but it comes down to the people.

01:14:13.360 --> 01:14:17.519
If the landscape becomes
degraded, the people have to

01:14:17.519 --> 01:14:21.760
face that consequences, the
consequences associated with that.

01:14:24.000 --> 01:14:30.199
It's the local people who bear the greatest burden
of whatever happened in this landscape.