MONROVIA – With funding from the Global Environment Facility (GEF), Liberia Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) on Tuesday, 23 July 2019 commenced a three-day ‘Cross-Cutting Capacity Development’ (CCCD) technical training session in Buchanan, Grand Bassa County to understand and reconcile weaknesses and gaps in key environmental policies and legal instruments.
The CCCD is a Rio mainstreaming project implemented by the EPA in collaboration with UNDP with funding from the Global Environment Facility (GEF).
Aaron Wesseh, CCCD Project Manager said the project seeks to strengthen Liberia so that it can make better decisions to meet and sustain global environmental obligations.
According to him, this requires the country to have the capacity to coordinate efforts, as well as best practices for integrating global environmental priorities into planning, decision-making, and reporting processes.
Mr. Wesseh also noted that the objective of the project is to strengthen a targeted set of national capacities to deliver and sustain global environmental outcomes within the framework of sustainable development priorities.
Speaking further, Mr. Wesseh disclosed that the objective of the technical training session is to understand and reconcile weaknesses, gaps and overlaps in key environmental policies and legal instruments.
He said at the end of the training key recommendations that will result to strengthening of key environmental policies and regulatory framework through improved operational, interpretation, enforcement tools, and by-laws will be advanced.
Mr. Wesseh explained that training would help with the mainstreaming of the Rio Conventions into policy and regulatory framework strengthened and as well help stakeholders under key environmental policies and legal instruments.
In a brief statement delivered at the start of the training on behalf of EPA Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Executive Director, Dr. Nathaniel T. Blama, Frances B. Seydou, Manager of Intersectorial welcomed the participants and asked them fully participate in the training, which is intended to understand and reconcile weaknesses and gaps in key environmental policies and legal instruments.
For his part, Assistant Mines and Energy Minister Johnson Willabo said the ministry is committed to ensuring that the environment is sustained and maintained.
He said sustaining and re-claiming land being mined or used for other purposes have been the focus of the ministry