The Chief Technical Advisor at the Environmental Protection Agency of Liberia (EPA), Levi Z. Piah has told a gathering of technical experts and Ministers at the African Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia that Liberia is one of few countries that still have a significant portion of the Upper Guinea forest which is vital in controlling green-house gas emissions and the fight against climate change.
Speaking Friday, October 25, 2019 on behalf of EPA Executive Director, Nathaniel T. Blama at the specialized Technical Committee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Water and the Environment, MrPiah said natural infrastructures such as coastal wetlands and mangroves are cardinal in the prevention of coastal erosion and climate change mitigation.
He disclosed that highland forest and coastal forest are diminishing and the challenges pose by climate change are becoming visible in Liberia.
Speaking further, Mr.Piah indicated that the government of His Excellency President Dr. George Manneh Weah considers agriculture as an engine for economic revitalization and growth, and most of Liberia’s agriculture programs are moving in the direction of climate smart agriculture and sustainable forest management.
“The country is engaged in diversified agriculture programs to include enhanced sustainable fishery, live stocks, and the blue economy,” he explained.
Amidst applause, Mr.Piah explained how Liberia hosted a global Blue Ocean Conference in March 2019, which focused on ocean acidification, marine protection, coastal erosion, and the blue economy.
According to him, efforts are being made by the Liberian Government through the EPA in sourcing funding to address the “Call for Action” derived from that conference.
“We acknowledge that policies and other frameworks being formulated at this Specialized Technical Committee platform will be beneficial to the country,” he told the gathering.
The former Margibi County Superintendent turned environmentalist lauded the chair of the meeting(South Africa)and on behalf of the Government and people of Liberia thanked the Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and the AU Commission for their hospitality and leadership exhibited during the technical and ministerial meetings.
“Liberia therefore endorses the various instruments being crafted by the Specialized Technical Committee,” the EPA Technical Advisor concluded.
