Society for the Conservation of Nature (SCNL) is leading efforts for the identification and establishment of more Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) to ensure the protection of Liberia’s wildlife and ecosystem.
Recently, SCNL held a three day workshop of Conservation Stakeholders to establish the National Coordination Group (NCG) of the KBA.
The NCG will be run by a secretariat that will coordinate all technical, financial and logistical arrangement of the identification and establishment of KBAs in the Country.
The Deputy Managing Director of the Forestry Development Authority (FDA), Joseph Tally described the efforts by SCNL as timely and in the right direction towards buttressing the FDA in conserving the Country’s biodiversity.
Mr. Tally said the FDA was actually appreciative that national conservation NGO like SCNL could look for grants from International donor to support its efforts in managing and protecting the forest.
He said the FDA remains supportive of any Conservation organization intention to work along with it in making the Liberia’s forestry sector viable by ensuring the protection of the ecosystem.
Mr. Tally said though there are data that points to the current state of Liberia’s biodiversity, the coming into being of the KBA assessors will help improve on the quality of data associated with the forestry sector.
He expressed the hope that after the establishment of the National Coordination Group, it would work along with the FDA to achieve its vision of protecting the biodiversity.
Rescue baby elephant
The Deputy FDA Boss however said FDA is investigating the status of the parents of a rescued infant elephant and disclosed that it is currently undergoing treatment in Konia, Lofa County.
Mr. Tally said FDA had not seen the parents of the infant elephant since it was rescued from the poachers, but said the FDA is collecting cogent information about the status of the parent elephants.
SCNL Science Coordinator, Jerry Garteh however, said conservationists have only been able to account for some of Liberia’s forest biodiversity as compare to fresh water biodiversity.
Mr. Garteh noted that Liberia’s fresh water biodiversity is yet to be accounted for and as such the establishment of the KBA will help conservationists gather data about species in the fresh water and the forest.
He disclosed that the intent of the KBA assessors is to know the habitat of key species and their contributions to the ecosystem and the number of key fresh water in Liberia.
“We have been told by the IUCN that West Africa has 12- Key fresh water and among the 12, Liberia has four of the twelve fresh water and among the four, three are found on the St. Paul River”Mr. Garteh said.
“I also want to inform you that there are some key fish species in Liberia for the past 100-years ago Scientists have not been able to see them and there is no data on them so we need to do assessment of those fishes and if we can get some than we will do EDNA to know whether they are living or not”, Mr. Garteh discloses.
“The EDNA process involves taking water sample to do lab testing to see whether those fishes exist and if nothing is found than we now declared them extinct”, he said.
Mr. Garteh said after the National Coordination Group will cross-across the entire forest sector including fresh water, to gather data from protected areas and areas deem to be potential KBA.
Also speaking a visiting Nigeria Conservationist, Dr. Joseph D. Onoja, said it is important to build the capacity of Liberians to protect their KBA.
Dr. Onoja said the KBA was birth as a result of major International Conservation Organizations including Conservation International and the International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN) among others, coming together to protect critically endangered species around the world of which Liberia is no exception.
Dr. Onoja, who also facilitated the NCG workshop, said he was in the Country to work with SCNL to build the capacity of Liberians to take charge of their own KBA and ensure the protection of key species against poaching and trafficking.
The National Coordination Group workshop was organized by SCNL in collaboration with FDA with support from the Critical Ecosystem Partnership fund.
