….Validate Bong County Climate Change Baseline Reports
The Environmental Protection Agency with support from Environment and Climate Change Canada through NovaSphere on Thursday 22 August 2024 ended a two-day climate action forum in Gbarnga, Bong County.
Discussants at the forum brainstormed strategies to ensure strengthened and mature multi-level climate governance and institutional arrangements to address climate change in Liberia.
The participants included executives from the Environmental Protection Agency, national and international climate change experts, key stakeholders from line ministries of the Liberian government, Superintendents, and County Development Officers from the 15 Counties of Liberia. The forum also sought to establish more efficient and effective climate Measurement, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) systems and to mobilize investments and accelerate priority mitigation actions to achieve Liberia’s quota of the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) to address climate change.
Bong County Superintendent Loleyah Hawa Norris noted in welcome remarks that climate change is a harsh reality that requires a holistic approach and suggested that climate actions should be tailored to local livelihood activities. She also called for increased support to local authorities to tackle climate change in the counties. Superintendent Norris noted that local authorities need political support from the top and collaboration from law enforcers to clamp down on activities such as illegal mining and deforestation to reduce the risk of climate change at the county level.
The forum is part of activities under the West Africa MRV Climate Action Implementation and Governance in Liberia, Togo, Ghana, and the Gambia. The discussants pointed out that for the first time, Liberia has done comprehensive analyses of Liberia’s climatic conditions at the county level in all 15 political sub-divisions of the country. Another key objective of the meeting was to validate the 15 climate change county baseline reports, done by national consultants, and to incorporate feedback from local leaders and other stakeholders into the reports.
The reports, unique to each of the 15 counties, shed light on the climatic situations in the counties, analyzing the demographic and socioeconomic trends, geography, and topography of each county and the impact of climate change from first-hand local perspectives. The baseline analysis reports also highlight vulnerabilities to the impact of climate change at the county level and outline intervention areas.
The baseline reports further point out how climate change affects various sectors of the Liberian economy at the county level. “These reports shed light on how climate change is affecting sectors such as agriculture, fishery, transportation, energy, mining, and overall livelihood conditions at the county level. The good news is, these reports provide sound and evidence-based recommendations to address climate change in Liberia.” Mr. J. Negatus Wright, one of the authors of the reports noted.
Addressing the forum, Dr. Emmanuel K. Urey Yarkpawolo, Executive Director of the Environmental Protection Agency of Liberia (EPA) called on local leaders to integrate climate actions into their county development agendas. Dr. Yarkpawolo said the accelerating pace at which climate change is negatively affecting Liberia demands concerted actions from stakeholders in all sectors.
He acknowledged the support of international partners and argued that there is still a need to mobilize climate finance and ensure a strengthened climate governance. He asserted that while Liberian laws do not robustly address climate change, the country is a signatory to numerous international climate instruments such as the Paris Climate Change Agreement.
Dr. Yarkpawolo alarmed that there are illegal mining activities ongoing in the counties that require the collaborative support of concerned line ministries and law enforcement bodies. He pointed out that miners in most remote counties are using chemicals such as mercury and dredges to mine gold, destroying water bodies and leaving behind huge pits in the process.
“Mercury is a long-lasting chemical that can affect all of us. For example, when we mine gold using mercury, the mercury spreads in the water, thereby affecting fish that we consume on a daily basis. This is dangerous because mercury has the potential to damage our kidneys, cause deafness, and blindness, and cause our mothers to give birth to children with brain problems. There is a need to ban the use of mercury.” The EPA boss exclaimed.
He told the Superintendents and County Development Officers that the EPA has received rumors that local authorities in the counties contribute to the detrimental use of mercury by shielding those who use them with their power at that level.
He called for a robust and collaborative effort to prosecute illegal miners and those using harmful substances to protect the environment. Dr. Yarkpawolo added that illegal mining and the use of harmful chemicals injure Liberia’s efforts towards its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) to reduce climate footprints by 64% by 2030.
Liberia’s NDC outlines the country’s commitment to take steps to reduce high levels of vulnerability to the impact of climate change. This implies that the country should discourage and prevent deforestation, promote sustainable agricultural practices, promote and encourage improved waste management systems, ensure mining practices consistent with international best practices, and encourage those in the fishing and mining sectors to engage in responsible use of water bodies among others.
The EPA Executive Director also told the forum that Liberia is currently benefiting from a partnership with Environment and Climate Change Canada through NovaSphere to receive technical and financial support from the Canadian Government to reduce or remove all obstacles that impede the Country’s desire to fulfill its obligations under the Paris Agreement.
He disclosed that the EPA is expanding its impact by opening county offices in Gbarpolu, Grand Cape Mount, Montserrado, and Rivercess Counties as part of its 100-day deliverables. Among other responsibilities, the EPA county offices work in alignment with the EPA national office to address climate change at the county level.
Dr. Yarkpawolo added that authorities at the county level must integrate climate change actions in their development plans because the contexts vary. “In some counties, the needed climate actions are mitigation-focused. In others, the needed climate actions are adaptation-focused while some counties need both mitigation and adaptation actions to address climate change.” Dr. Yarkpawolo added.
John Forkpa Kannah, the in-Country Facilitator for the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) used the platform to further elucidate the NDC. Mr. Kannah told the gathering that the NDC emulates from paragraph 2 of Article 4 of the Paris Agreement and it outlines the commitments of member countries of the Paris Agreement to address climate change nationally and globally.
Under the arrangement, countries hope to reduce greenhouse gas (also called climate footprint) by 64% by 2030 by engaging in positive climate actions at the sectoral level. Liberia updated its NDC in 2015 and made its second presentation in 2021, adhering to a routine five-year submission. The country has an unconditional commitment to reduce climate footprint by 10%, with an arrangement to contribute to the remaining 54% target with the support of international partners.
Liberia’s NDC commitments are connected with improved climate actions in the agriculture, forestry, fishery, energy, waste, coastal zone, health, industry, and transport sectors. The roadmap for Liberia’s next NDC – which is set for 2025 – has been developed.
To adequately address climate change, the EPA and partners have also supported the creation of a Department of Environmental Science and Climate Change at the University of Liberia to increase the knowledge uptake in climate studies.
The Department is fully functional and awarding certificates in Environmental Science and Climate Change. In addition to running undergraduate and graduate programs in environmental sciences and climate change, Dr. Charles Ansumana, Dean of the University of Liberia’s College of Environment, Science, and Technology stated that the University has developed a baseline climate data collection methodology, which gives stakeholders evidence-based climate data.
It was also disclosed at the forum that the EPA is developing a monitoring, evaluation, and learning system to track progress and identify challenges in the country’s response to climate change. It was revealed that the EPA is developing a clear adaptation implementation plan for the agriculture sector as well.
The sessions ended with a shared experience of climate governance from Chile. Tomas Gomez, a Chilean who works for NavaSphere presented Chile’s institutional frameworks, legal frameworks, and step-by-step actions taken by Chile towards achieving carbon neutrality.
The participants pointed out similarities and variances in Chile’s approaches to climate change and those of Liberia. The goal was to borrow the positives from Chile to adequately address climate change in Liberia. The two-day exercise yielded a clear idea of what is contained in the county climate change baseline reports and strengthened strategies to address climate change in Liberia.
