MONROVIA – The Environmental Protection Agency of Liberia (EPA) has congratulated the winner of the 2019 Goldman Environmental Prize. The Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of Liberia EPA, Dr. Nathaniel T. Blama, Sr. in a statement issued in Monrovia on May 2, 2019 extended congratulations to the Environmental lawyer and activist, Atty. Alfred Brownell for snatching the world prestigious Environmental Award as the second Liberian to ever win such prestigious award after nearly 20 years.
The prize was established in San Francisco in Richard and Rhoda Goldman, founders of the Goldman Fund, which for six decades donated $700 million to nonprofit organizations that were trying to make the world a better and safer place.
The organizers said Brownell was selected based on his campaign to halt clear-cutting of tropical forests after the Liberian government signed concessions with the palm oil company Golden Veroleum. Under the deal, the company was given a 65-year lease on 220,000 hectares (543,600 acres) in Sinoe County, including land used by forest communities. Golden Veroleum is owned by the US-based Verdant Fund LP, whose sole investor is the Singapore-listed Golden Agri-Resources. The award was received on Monday, April 29, 2019.
Dr. Blama hopes that Brownell’s recognition will shine light on challenges the country faces in protecting its environment and tropical rain forest from logging, slash and burn farming, charcoal burning and Mining amidst the enormous effects of climate change in Liberia. The EPA CEO said that the agency is proud of Atty. Brownell’s achievement and contributions to the country’s environment.