Liberia’s announced presidential hopeful, Tiawan Gongloe, has criticized the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for allegedly allowing construction on wet or swamp lands.
He said building on swamp land and the cutting down of trees that should have been preserves for the country’s future does not augur well but this is largely due to EPA’s failure to educate the people.
Gongloe made these comments during the National Adaptation Plan (NAP) and Adaptation Communication (AdCom) official launch yesterday in Monrovia.
The event brought together both local and international partners including the United States, Sweden, United Kingdom embassies as well as the European Union Delegation in Liberia and Conservation International.
Also in attendance were the NAP Global Network, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), members of the Legislature and Civil Society Organizations, among others.
“EPA’s failure to apply or implement the law it means you are given room to people construct in wetland as well as the cutting down of the forest are all potential threat to the environment which could cause flood in our country,” the LNBA boss.
Gongloe reiterated that farmers should carry out farming at one place instead of farming from place to farming thus destroying the forest as the environment needs to be protected.
“It is the forest that preserves waters and not the other way around. Therefore, Liberia should take cue from Ethiopia, Mali, Burkina Faso and other countries by making sure the forest is protected,” he noted.
Gongloe then urged the EPA, Agriculture Ministry and other relevant agencies in the sector to carry out awareness that nobody is allowed to build in swamps or wetlands for the common good of Liberia.
The NAP is aimed at helping Liberia tackle the issues of climate change through a sound adaptation program that involves a whole society approach to achieve the goals, vision, and specific objectives.
NAP was developed through a consultative multi-stakeholder process and informed by sectorial climate vulnerability and risk assessments, and the disaster risk assessment.
The NAP focuses on six sectors that are priorities of the government in its efforts to adapt to the impacts of climate change: agriculture, coastal zones, forestry, energy, waste management, and fisheries.
NAP process builds upon the foundation and the experiences gained from the National Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA) to scale up adaptation efforts.
It process has added value by identifying gaps and tapping into opportunities for more effective climate-responsive planning and budgeting.
NAP has helped to establish the evidence base for adaptation; to strengthen the capacity of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); and to build the capacity of the ministries to enable integrating climate change adaptation into development planning and budget processes.
Training programs and knowledge platform have been developed to sustain the gains achieved through the NAP process.
On the goals and objectives of NAP process, the country has set its agenda and determined that by 2030 and will augment Liberia’s capacity to adapt and to systematically.