In a concerted effort to raise awareness about the critical importance of wetlands in Liberia’s ecosystem, a vibrant celebration marked World Wetland Day, with four distinguished panelists passionately advocating for the protection of these vital habitats.
Held at Robertsport, Grand Cape Mount County, the event brought together environmentalists, policymakers, and citizens to highlight the significance of wetlands in sustaining biodiversity and mitigating the impacts of climate change.
The panel discussion, chaired by Jerryy Garteh, Wetland International Focal Person in Liberia, featured experts from diverse fields, including Elizabeth Kamara, Blue Ocean Project Manager at Conservation International, Levi Piah, the Head of Wetland at the Environmental Protection Agency, and Joseph Charles, a Laboratory Technician at the Environment Protection Agency.
Elizabeth Kamara, Blue Ocean Project Manager at Conservation International in her presentation emphasized the unique biodiversity harbored within Liberia’s wetlands, citing their role as crucial habitats for numerous species of birds, fish, and other wildlife. She stressed the need for full conservation strategies to safeguard the country’s fragile ecosystems from degradation.
She reminded Liberians that wetland is not a wasted land to be abused, mismanaged and destroyed.
“We are not saying we should just preserve the wetland, we are saying we should conserve it meaning we will still ulitize the wetland but we should also make sure that future generations benefit from it”, Madam Kamara said.
Jerry Garteh, who presented on the topic “the protecting of wetland beyond border” said the protection of wetland reqired the collective and sincere effort of all communities.
He further stressed importance of enforcing existing environmental laws and implementing stricter regulations to prevent illegal that led to migration of species to other countries.
“Protection of wetland is not only limited to your community for example if you use chemical in your part of the wetland the chemical will slowly move to other communities that is protecting their and will affect them” ,Mr. Garteh adds.
“Wetland International has constituted some kind of measure to protect the wetland across West Africa and for us we have had a transboundary arrangement with Sierra Lone so when we are protecting the wetland Liberia Sierra Lone too has to protect their”,he narrated.
Echoing these sentiments, Levi Piah, from EPA wetland Unit emphasized the integral role of communities in wetland conservation efforts. He advocated for inclusive approaches that empower local stakeholders to actively participate in decision-making processes and sustainable management practices.
“Awareness is very key to the protection of the wetland so we need to do more awareness for the community to be aware of the important of protecting the wetland Mr. Piah.
Let us define what constitute livelihood activities in the wetland with that community members with know what to do and what not to do”, he expressed.
EPA technician, Joseph Charles in a statement added , calls for community awareness about the sustainable use of the wetland and that can be done with their full involvement
“ The dumping of waste in the wetland has an adverse effort on human existence. He presented on the role of wetland in Health.
As Liberia continues to confront environmental challenges, events like World Wetland Day serve as crucial platforms for mobilizing support, fostering dialogue, and driving meaningful change towards a more resilient and sustainable future.
