[{"bbox": [129, 154, 368, 187], "category": "Section-header", "text": "2 RATIONALE"}, {"bbox": [129, 218, 279, 245], "category": "Section-header", "text": "2.1 Context"}, {"bbox": [140, 273, 1135, 539], "category": "Text", "text": "Liberia is a least developed country with a population of 5.36 million (2022), which has increased by 50% in the last 15 years. Even though Liberia has experienced steady consolidation of its peace and stability since 2003, it is “becoming fragile” (OECD, September 2022). Key fragility factors include: weak human and institutional capacity; lack of transparency and accountability in Government’s processes; low public confidence in Government institutions; high youth unemployment (with roughly 78% of Liberia’s population being under the age of 35); high prevalence of gender inequality, particularly in terms of women's access to education, employment, and participation in decision-making processes; high climate change vulnerability; an undiversified economy, highly dependent on extractive sectors, with limited private sector involvement outside the extractive sector; a tight fiscal space that puts pressure on the Government’s ability to invest substantially in sectors that are key to Liberia’s development and economic growth."}, {"bbox": [140, 550, 1135, 711], "category": "Text", "text": "Despite these elements of political and socioeconomic vulnerability, in October-November 2023 Liberia\nsuccessfully organised its fourth Presidential election after the civil war that ended in 2003, for the first time\nwithout the presence of the UN peacebuilding mission. These free and democratic elections raised the\ninternational reputation of Liberia and demonstrated its impressive capacity for a peaceful democratic\ntransition. A new Government, which is committed to implementing reforms and strengthening transparency\nand accountability throughout the country took office in January 2024."}, {"bbox": [140, 722, 1135, 989], "category": "Text", "text": "A new **National Development Plan** called the ARREST Agenda for Inclusive Development Plan (AAID) is being developed through a multi-stakeholder approach and expert consultation. This process involves various groups, including civil society organisations, private sector representatives, and government institutions, building on county-level development plans. AAID will focus on accountability, transparency and inclusiveness, expanding on the earlier, more concise ARREST document, which stands for Agriculture, Roads, Rule of law, Education, Sanitation, and Tourism. Within this shorter ARREST agenda, promoting agriculture, fisheries development and forestry management stands out as a core objective aimed at facilitating sustainable economic growth and job creation. It also stresses the importance of rule of law and economic and financial governance to spur accountability and transparency in the public service. At the end of May, President Boakai formally endorsed the AAID road map."}, {"bbox": [140, 1000, 1135, 1266], "category": "Text", "text": "Liberia is endowed with an abundance of biological and natural resources in the **forest** sector. Its total forest area is estimated at 4.2 million hectares, representing about 43% of the country's surface and 40% of the remaining Upper Guinean Rain Forest. Nearly 700,000 households directly depend on the country's vast forest resources and agricultural biodiversity for their livelihoods. Nonetheless, the deforestation rate is estimated at around 2% per year, mainly due to agriculture, mining and poor governance, with uncontrolled logging exacerbating forest degradation. Deforestation undermines climate resilience and leads to biodiversity loss, soil degradation and increased vulnerability to natural disasters. The ARREST agenda supports climate-change mitigation initiatives and commits to implement all international agreements and protocols on climate change. It promotes community participation in environmental management programmes and encourages engagement in forest and biodiversity conservation efforts."}, {"bbox": [140, 1277, 1135, 1465], "category": "Text", "text": "Liberia's dependency on food imports has been significantly challenged by global market disruptions, notably exacerbated by the consequences of the Russian invasion to Ukraine, leading to increased food prices. Liberia continues to import over 60% of its staple food, rice. The country's economic reliance on **agriculture**, which represents 28.4% of its GDP as of 2023 and employs nearly 70% of its labour force – predominantly women and youth – underscores the criticality of enhancing food self-sufficiency. The new ministerial leadership is proactive with initiatives pushing forward the National Agriculture Development Plan 2024-2029 and working on a new investment plan."}, {"bbox": [140, 1475, 1135, 1582], "category": "Text", "text": "Strengthening **domestic revenue mobilisation (DRM)**, and **increasing fiscal discipline and oversight** are the cornerstones for national and sector-based reforms. It is necessary for Liberia to adequately allocate resources to priority sectors. Misallocation of financial resources and poor levels of budget execution hinder the State's ability to provide appropriate services to its citizens and to ensure equitable distribution of benefits"}, {"bbox": [1037, 1680, 1143, 1704], "category": "Page-footer", "text": "Page 5 of 33"}]