EPA BOSS RE-ECHOES LIBERIA’S COMMITMENT TO PROTECT ENVIRONMENT AT UN ENVIRONMENTAL ASSEMBLY

Nairobi, Kenya-WTVNEWS:
As climate change, biodiversity loss, desertification, illicit wide life hunting and artisanal mining, waste management, and many others environmental pollutants remain a challenge to the safety of environments and in achieving environment goals, the Executive Director of the Environmental Protection Agency(EPA) of Liberia has assured Liberia’s commitment in fulfilling it’s national obligation under the multilateral environmental agreement.

Addressing the United Nations Environmental Assembly in Nairobi, Kenya over the weekend, Professor Wilson K. Tarpeh emphasized Liberia’s willingness in working to address environmental challenges, promoting economic development, and ensuring sustainable livelihood for Liberians.

Though immense and meaningful contributions have been made in maximizing, eradicating, and subduing environment related challenges, a lot still remains untouched, ranging from illicit wide life hunting, climate change, artisanal mining, waste management, pollution of water bodies and the air, plastic pollution and several others.

“Today, the world continues to face with major environmental challenges affecting human development. Prominent among these challenges are climate change, biodiversity loss, desertification, illicit wide life hunting and artisanal mining, waste management, pollution of water bodies and the air, plastic pollution and many others that have claimed the attention of the global community”. The EPA Boss asserted.

He further referred to those challenges as paramount setbacks, which have hugely affected global population and suppress the actualization of development prospects and visions.

“Despite on what we agreed in Vietnam four years ago, the global community is still challenge with many of these environmental issues which continue to degrade the environment affecting the livelihood of the global population making it difficult to attain the sustainable development goals”. He stressed

Despite the countless challenges, the EPA Boss highlighted intrinsic achievement made by Liberia in addressing those challenges at the nations level.

“In Liberia, under the able leadership of President George Manneh Weah, we have been able to do the following:Organized and hosted the First Post COVID Environmental and Climate Change Conference bring all relevant stakeholders which led to the formulation of a sectoral declaration in working together to implement Liberia’s Revised Nationally Determined Contributions”. He added

The Completion of The Latest Forest Inventory; Production of a Map on Ecosystem Services; Acceded to the Kigali Amendment in addressing the depletion of the ozone layer; Development of Liberia’s National Adaptation Plan; Updating of the State of Environment Reports; Development of a 5 year Strategic Action Plan to address Environmental Governance and Leadership in Liberia; Establishment of an Undergraduate and Graduate Programme in Environmental Science, Climate Change and Biodiversity at the premier University of Liberia and Mainstreaming Climate change in the Government of Liberia’s Development Agenda, Pro Poor Agenda for Prosperity and Development were all highlighted among the EPA’s achievables.

As the Assembly prepares to assemble in the coming months to strengthen ties at the World Summit on Sustainable Development, Professor assured to kickstart with the launching of a high level stakeholder meeting aim at hosting national consultations on key environmental thematic issues inorder to develop the country report that will form the basis of a realistic outcome out of Stockholm@50.

He applauded the United Nations Environment (UNEP) for it’s commitment, through the stewardship role they continue to play in promoting the protection and management of the environment across the globe.

“I also wish to extend our thanks to the United Nations Environment(UNEP) for the stewardship role they continue to play in promoting the protection and management of the environment and more important to bring us all together despite the COVID pandemic which had led to the loss of precious lives and disruption of the global economy”. He said