| Climate Change Fears & Threats -Monrovia, Buchannan, Robertsport To Benefit From US$2.9M Project |
| Published on October 22, 2010 | Email To Friend Print Version
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Three of post war Liberia’s coastal capitals have been selected to benefit from a US$2.9 million project as part of battling the impact of climate change in the country.
Sea erosion, one of the by products of the looming global climate change, has become a serious natural threats to Liberia, washing away seashores and homes in recent years.
Monrovia and Buchanan has been worst hit. Homes and businesses have been washed away.
There are about six costal cities in the country which face the menace of sea erosion, but the government has selected Monrovia, the country’s capital, Grand Bassa County capital Buchanan and Grand Cape Mount County’s Robertsport to benefit from the US$2.9 million project.
“We are pleased to declare [that] three costal cities: Monrovia, Buchanan and Robertsport have been selected to benefit from the NAPA [National Adaptation Programs of Action] pilot project,” Vice President Joseph Nyumah Boakai stated Monday when he officially launched the National Climate Change Steering and Committee and Secretariat (NCCSCS) in Monrovia.
The NCCSCS is a multidisciplinary team drawn from relevant land ministries, agencies, civil society, and development partners, seated in the Office of the President, to make and take policy decisions on climate change and related activities in the country.
Vice President Boakai disclosed that under the NAPA project, walls will be erected along the costal cities to minimize costal tidal waves that are eroding the country’s coastal areas. He did not say when the project will kickoff or whether the country has already received the funding.
Funding in the amount of US$2.9 million for the project is provided by the Climate Change Least Developed Countries Fund, but the Liberian Vice President said “…More money will be needed to adequately deal with the problem of costal erosion.”
NAPAs provide a process for Least Developed Countries to identify priority activities that respond to their urgent and immediate needs to adapt to climate change: those for which further delay would increase vulnerability and/or costs at a later stage.
“Climate change is a global issue considered a major threat to development. Not only is it an environmental issue, it also has social, economic, political and development dynamics,” Vice President Boakai, launching the NCCSC on behalf of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf stated.
The Vice President said even though the Liberia’s national emission level is negligible, “there is no escape for large and small states alike from this environmental problem”.
The Vice President said current erratic weather patterns in Liberia make it difficult for farmers to carry out normal agricultural activities. “Last year, we declared a national disaster due to the caterpillar infestation, which affected several counties. Although with less severity this year, the pest has returned. What we have now is a climate-induced crisis with far reaching implications for food security.”
“Our road rehabilitation is slowed due to unpredictable rainfall, leaving contractors with less time to complete projects,” he said, adding, “The prolonged rainfall is giving rise to an increase in water-borne diseases, especially malaria, typhoid fever, and cholera.
He lamented that the coastal cities are under threat due to coastal erosion that is climate-change embedded because of rising sea levels. “We have visited the communities of King Gray, Cece Beach, West Point and other areas to see, first-hand, what climate change is doing to our people.
The government, he said, is unwavering in its commitment to ensuring that every Liberian lives in a clean and healthy environment.
The NCCSC, seated in the office of the President, will be responsible for developing a comprehensive national framework to combat climate change in Liberia, the Advisor to the President on Energy, Environment and Climate Change and Secretary of the NCCSC, Christopher Neyor, said.
Mr. Neyor said it has become imperative for Liberia, not isolated from the global community and the effect of climate change, to institute a national policy to wrestle the global threat.
He said NCCSC is the country's national organization (as being established in countries around the world), dedicated to addressing all issues and policies relative to climate change.
He said developed countries have been held liable for the widespread effects of climate change and have agreed to pay the cost of arresting the phenomena in poor and developing countries including Liberia, under the Least Developed Countries initiative. Writes D K Sengbeh/ 06 586 531/ dakasen1978@yahoo.com
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