Paynesville – Stakeholders of the mining and conservation sectors of Liberia including the Society for the Conservation of Nature in Liberia (SNCL), the Ministry of Mines and Energy, Forestry Development Authority (FDA), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), USAID and other international partners have ended a one-day forum on the protection and sustainable use of Liberia’s Natural resources.
Report by Jackson F. Kanneh 00231770195412 / Jackson f [email protected]
Held under the theme: ‘Artisanal, Small-Scale Mining and Conservation for a Healthy Environment and Prosperous Liberia’, the one-day interaction is gear toward the promotion of mining in the country as well as the conservation of natural species in Liberia.
The forum, which is being supported by the USAID-funded West Africa Biodiversity and Climate Change (WA BiCC) program through a grant implemented by SCNL, is also aimed at creating support for the establishment of an Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining Sector Working Group.
Speaking at the forum on Wednesday, February 27, Deputy Minister for Operations at the Ministry of Mines & Energy Emmanuel O. Sherman highlighted the significance and contribution of low-scale mining in revenue projection.
Minister Sherman challenged miners and conservationists to hold together for the general benefit of the mining and conservation sector.
“The government of Liberia recognizes the immense potential of the Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining sectors and its contribution to national revenue as well as incomes and livelihoods for thousands of Liberians.
“The government of Liberia realizes it is imperative that those working with Artisanal miners and those working on conservation come together to coordinate and collaborate for the greater good,” Deputy Minister Sherman noted.
According to him, several measures are being put in place by the government of Liberia for the protection of both Liberia’s rain forest and natural resources.
“Several initiatives are under the way in Liberia to conserve and sustainably manage this precious resource,” he stated.
For his part, the Executive Director of SCNL Michael Garba called on players in both the mining and conservation sectors to collectively work together in order to maintain Liberia as a “hotspot” country in the world.
According to him, Liberia natural species will gradually vanish if proper mechanism is not put in place to protect them.
“As Artisanal miners, we need to come together to uphold our hotspot position, because if we do not do that, we will start losing our animal species.
Our strength in the global community is the forest, so we need to preserve them as a people or the generation tomorrow will judge us for failing to do it,” Garbo averred.
The West Africa Biodiversity and Climate Change program is a five-year learning program funded by USAID.
WA BiCC works in targeted areas to generate knowledge that informs local, national and regional practices in order to address critical climate change and biodiversity challenges in West Africa. Along with partners like the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Mano River Union, it strives to increase the capacity of institutions at all levels to achieve its three core goals: combating wildlife trafficking; and reducing deforestation, forest degradation and biodiversity loss.
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