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Liberia, through the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), will receive about US$3.5 million dollars from the World Bank to develop programs that will strengthen the capacities of policy makers who are directly involved in the business of dealing with climate related matters.
In furtherance of these efforts, the EPA and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) concluded a three-day intensive dialogue in Monrovia.
Addressing reporters at the end of the consultative dialogue recently, the Acting Executive Director for EPA, Mr. Jerome Nyekan said participants learnt how climate change makes an impact on the agricultural sector, and how greenhouse gas emissions cause global warming.
Mr. Nyekan said the issue of agriculture is very relevant because the EPA and the agricultural sector employ about seventy percent of the nation’s labor force, and contributes around twenty percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
On the issue of climate change, he said although it is a global crisis, it must be seen as a very serious situation in Liberia due to the negative impact on livestock production, reduced soil fertility and its effect on water supply.
Statistics, he said, shows that 95 percent of Liberia’s energy comes from biogas products such as firewood, charcoal and palm oil.
Therefore, Mr. Nyekan said for Liberia to move into the energy production area requires significant investments.
To protect global environment, he said an additional US$7M dollars has been set aside by various international environmental institutions, the UNDP and other governments around the world, to undertake and execute a special project to build the capacity development for policy makers to help address climate change.
Already, he said what is known as the “Bali Road Map” which started in December 2007 under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has a timeline for reaching agreement on a number of international negotiation issues which are expected to be re-visited during the pending world Copenhagen Conference among key stake actors in December.
Meanwhile, Mr. Nyekan said with the US$3.5m dollars being earmarked by donors, it will help Liberia to be able to put into place some practical programs that will make people knowledgeable about the negative effects of a change in rainfall, rise in the sea level as well as coastal erosion problems, thereby protecting stakeholders in every possible way.
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