Abstract
· Liberia’s wetlands are quickly disappearing on account of unlawful settlements, weak enforcement of environmental legal guidelines, and public neglect, with the Mesurado Wetlands in Better Monrovia among the many hardest hit, environmental authorities warned throughout World Wetlands Day.
· EPA officers revealed extreme ecological injury, together with the lack of 19 of 27 pure islands within the Mesurado River Basin and shrinking habitats for wildlife, whereas former and present EPA leaders blamed poor enforcement, unlawful building, mangrove slicing, waste dumping, and misguided land gross sales by native authorities.
· The EPA introduced a US$3.2 million Wetland Safety Program focusing on the Mesurado and Marshall wetlands, however burdened that defending wetlands—key defenses in opposition to flooding and local weather change—would require stronger regulation enforcement and collective nationwide motion.
By Nemenlah Cyrus Harmon, New Narrative Local weather and Environmental Reporter
Liberia’s fragile wetlands are quickly disappearing underneath stress from unlawful settlements, weak enforcement of environmental legal guidelines, and widespread public neglect, environmental authorities warned Monday because the nation joined the remainder of the world to look at World Wetlands Day.
This 12 months’s observance is held underneath the theme “Wetlands and Conventional Data: Celebrating Cultural Heritage.” In a symbolic transfer, the Environmental Safety Company (EPA) hosted the occasion contained in the Mesurado Wetlands, aiming to highlight the accelerating destruction of wetlands within the coronary heart of Better Monrovia.
EPA Assistant Supervisor, Geography Data System Unit, Berexford Jallah, disclosed that Liberia dedicated 6,770 hectares of wetlands to the worldwide Ramsar Conference in 2006 however has didn’t adequately shield a lot of these areas, notably the Mesurado Wetlands, which sit inside a densely populated city zone.
Liberia turned a signatory to the Conference on Wetlands, generally often called the Ramsar Conference, in 2003, designating 5 Ramsar websites with a mixed floor space of 95,879 hectares.
In keeping with Jallah, scientific assessments present that the Mesurado River Basin as soon as contained 27 pure islands, however 19 have already been overtaken by human settlement, forcing wildlife into shrinking and fragmented habitats.
“These islands have been biodiversity hotspots,” Jallah stated. “Now animals just like the Diana monkey and African civet are working out of locations to go due to human settlement.”
Former EPA Govt Director Dr. Nathaniel Blama, in an interview with this reporter, blamed the regular destruction of wetlands on poor regulation enforcement and public attitudes that wrongly regard wetlands as idle or ineffective land.
“Wetlands should not wastelands,” Blama burdened. “They management flooding, assist fishing, retailer carbon, and shield lives.”
He famous that wetlands possess excessive carbon shares, describing them as “one of many richest habitats for carbon sequestration.”
Blama warned that unlawful building, mangrove slicing, waste dumping, and the sale of wetland land by native authorities are steadily degrading the Mesurado Wetlands. He referred to as for stronger authorities motion and a nationwide dialogue to deal with encroachment.
“The EPA must be a bit extra strong,” he stated.
In keeping with Blama, lack of public consciousness stays a significant problem.
“Individuals see wetlands as no person’s land, so that they encroach on it and begin constructing,” he stated, figuring out encroachment, firewood harvesting, and dumping as the best threats going through wetlands in Liberia.
Whereas Liberia just isn’t wanting wetland administration insurance policies, Blama stated enforcement stays weak.
“Implementation and enforcement of these legal guidelines are nonetheless a problem,” he stated, including that the Ministry of Inside Affairs wants better consciousness since wetlands are sometimes allotted by municipalities and native commissioners.
He referred to as for a multi-stakeholder dialogue involving the EPA, Forestry Growth Authority, Liberia Land Authority, municipalities, and native directors to curb wetland abuse.
“When stakeholders perceive the significance of wetlands, you don’t want folks policing them,” Blama stated. “They gained’t give them out.”
Blama additionally urged strict enforcement of environmental legal guidelines, warning that loopholes are sometimes exploited.
“Robust enforcement will function a deterrent to others,” he stated.
Delivering particular remarks, EPA Govt Director Dr. Emmanuel Ok. Urey Yarkpawolo described wetlands as amongst Liberia’s most important pure defenses in opposition to local weather change.
“Mangroves can retailer as much as 4 occasions extra carbon than tropical forests,” Yarkpawolo stated, warning that each mangrove lower worsens flooding, erosion, and local weather impacts.
Yarkpawolo stated Liberia’s wetlands are underneath rising stress from sand mining, unlawful land reclamation, mangrove slicing, waste dumping, and poorly deliberate city enlargement—actions he stated are chargeable for seasonal flooding, declining fish shares, lack of livelihoods, and weakened local weather resilience.
Though the EPA has taken actions resembling demolishing unlawful constructions and compelling violators to adjust to environmental laws, Yarkpawolo admitted the problem stays overwhelming.
“There are too many pursuits and violators,” he stated.
He introduced a US$3.2 million Wetland Safety Program focusing on the Mesurado and Marshall wetlands. The initiative contains hiring youth as wetland safety officers, restoring degraded areas, eradicating unlawful constructions, and selling eco-tourism.
Nonetheless, he emphasised that the EPA can not deal with the issue alone.
Yarkpawolo additionally cautioned the general public in opposition to buying wetlands, stressing that underneath Liberia’s land legal guidelines, wetlands are public property and shall be protected by regulation enforcement.
“The wetlands we shield at the moment will shield Liberia tomorrow,” he stated, calling for collective duty to safeguard the nation’s pure heritage for future generations.
This story was a collaboration with New Narratives as a part of the “Investigating Liberia” mission. Funding was offered by American Jewish World Service and the Swedish Embassy in Monrovia. The donors had no say within the story’s content material.
