FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Championing Direct Climate Finance, Community Empowerment, and the Gbarlin Customary Land Investment Program
ANTALYA, TÜRKİYE | November 2026 – As world leaders, policymakers, climate practitioners, and development partners gather for the 31st Conference of the Parties (COP31) in Antalya, Türkiye, Andrew Y. Y. Zelemen, a Liberian community development leader and advocate for customary land and forest communities, is bringing an important message from the ground:
“The people who protect forests must also benefit from the climate solutions built upon them.”
From November 9-20, 2026, Zelemen is representing the voices, aspirations, and experiences of forest-dependent and customary land communities across Liberia, emphasizing the need for climate policies and financing mechanisms that place communities at the center of climate action.
While global discussions often focus on carbon markets, emissions accounting, and climate investments, Zelemen is calling attention to a more fundamental question:
How can climate action improve the lives of the people who have safeguarded forests and natural ecosystems for generations?
Communities Must Be Recognized as Climate Leaders
For communities across Liberia, climate change is more than an environmental challenge. It is a livelihood challenge, a food security challenge, and a development challenge.
Customary land communities are increasingly facing the impacts of changing weather patterns, declining agricultural productivity, biodiversity loss, and growing economic pressures. Yet these same communities continue to serve as custodians of some of Liberia’s most important forest landscapes, delivering global climate benefits through local stewardship.
According to Zelemen, the future of successful climate action depends on recognizing communities not as passive beneficiaries, but as active leaders and partners.
“Communities are not waiting to be included in climate action. They have been practicing climate resilience, sustainable resource management, and environmental stewardship for generations. What is needed now is recognition, investment, and direct access to opportunities.”
Advancing a New Model of Climate-Smart Community Development
At the heart of Zelemen’s message at COP31 is the Gbarlin Customary Land Investment Program, a transformative community-led initiative designed to demonstrate how climate finance can directly support local development priorities while strengthening environmental protection.
The initiative promotes a vision of Climate-Smart Sustainable Community Development, where nature conservation, economic growth, and improved livelihoods advance together.
Built on the principle that the well-being of people and nature are inseparable, the Gbarlin initiative seeks to create practical pathways for directing climate investments toward community priorities, including:
- Climate-resilient agriculture;
- Sustainable community enterprises;
- Forest conservation and restoration;
- Women’s economic empowerment;
- Youth employment and entrepreneurship;
- Community infrastructure development;
- Biodiversity protection;
- Strengthened local governance; and
- Long-term climate resilience.
The model recognizes that communities are more likely to protect forests and ecosystems when conservation is directly linked to improved livelihoods, economic opportunity, and local ownership.
Direct Climate Finance: From Commitment to Reality
A central theme of Zelemen’s engagement at COP31 is the urgent need to ensure that climate finance reaches the communities that are on the frontlines of conservation and climate resilience.
For many communities, climate finance remains distant and inaccessible despite their critical role in safeguarding forests and ecosystem services.
Zelemen argues that a significant share of climate investments should move directly toward community-led initiatives capable of delivering measurable environmental, social, and economic outcomes.
“Climate finance should not stop with institutions. It should reach villages, communities, women, youth, and local leaders who are actively protecting forests and building climate resilience every day.”
Strengthening Integrity in Carbon Markets Through Community Leadership
As discussions continue around Article 6 of the Paris Agreement and emerging carbon market opportunities, Zelemen is advocating for a people-centered approach to carbon policy.
He believes that truly high-integrity carbon systems must go beyond technical standards and emissions accounting to incorporate:
- Respect for customary land rights;
- Meaningful community participation;
- Equitable benefit sharing;
- Transparency and accountability;
- Community leadership in decision-making; and
- Tangible improvements in local livelihoods.
“Environmental integrity and social integrity cannot be separated. A climate solution cannot be considered successful if communities bear the costs while others receive the benefits.”
Special COP31 Discussion at the Liberia Pavilion
As part of COP31 activities, a dedicated discussion on the Gbarlin Customary Land Investment Program and community-led climate finance will be held on:
Date: Monday, November 16, 2026
Venue: Liberia Pavilion, COP31 Center, Antalya, Türkiye
The session will provide an opportunity for policymakers, development partners, climate finance institutions, civil society organizations, and community leaders to explore innovative approaches for connecting climate finance directly to communities while advancing sustainable development and climate resilience.
The discussion will also showcase Liberia’s emerging experiences in strengthening customary land governance, community-based conservation, and inclusive climate action.
A Call for a New Climate Partnership
As COP31 advances global negotiations on climate action, Zelemen is urging decision-makers to embrace a new partnership with communities, one founded on trust, equity, and shared responsibility.
“The future of climate action will not be determined solely in conference halls or financial markets. It will be determined in communities, on customary lands, and in forests where people continue to protect the natural systems that sustain our planet.”
“At COP31, I carry the voice of Liberia’s forest and customary land communities. Their message is clear: let climate finance reach the ground, let communities lead, and let people and nature thrive together.”
Media Contact
Andrew Y. Y. Zelemen
Community Development and Climate Resilience Advocate
Liberia
