It is common today to think of the past as irreverent. This school of thought would say, today’s life is a whole new ball game. I am very far from being alone among those who deemed it appropriate to look back in order to guide the future. Without a real background on issues, hardly will we vision the future.

For example, reading history backward (projecting into the past happenings and patterns of life) tells us that today’s problems are in fact more complex (e.g. environmental issues, post-war reconstruction, etc.) than those faced by past governments. Bluntly put, Liberia is at the crossroad between the 20th century and of the 21st century.

Unfortunately, the country cannot ignore the fact that in our present state, there is so much unsolved baggage of underdevelopment of the 20th that is still with us. Therefore, there is urgency for us not to simply think of the past, over which we could do little about, but forecast and plan the kind of future that we want for our society. This article looks at the trends of natural resources management, specifically iron ore and forestry industries in Liberia.