Monrovia – Deputy Finance and Development Planning Minister for budget Tanneh Brunson on Wednesday said low income profile of Liberia’s population has made the country vulnerable to climate change.
Report by Henry Karmo – [email protected]
Recently, Liberia has experienced pest infestation in Bong County and rainstorms in several parts of the country as well as flood in Monrovia and its environs, and Deputy Minister Minister Brunson said there must be a concerted effort aimed at improving the nation’s resilience to its impacts as well as making it a national priority.
She made the comments at the start of a four-day international conference on climate change held in Monrovia on the Least Developed Countries’ (LDC) Experts Group Meeting of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) , emphasizing the impacts of climate change on the lives of Liberians.
“Our coastal communities speaking in the context of Liberia are faced with the loss of lives and homes by retreating sea waves,” she said.
“Recently, our government embarked on a mission to relocate residents of the West Point Community. This community has lost significant land area to retreating sea.”
She told the gathering of climate change experts that in addition to land loss the agriculture sector was experiencing crop failure irregular rainfall pattern, leading to food insecurity and subsequently malnourishment and reduction of finance for farming population.
Members of the Least Developed Countries’ (LDC) Experts Group of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) are meeting for the second time since the UN climate change Paris conference.
The purpose of the meeting, according to an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) release, is to deliberate on the activities captured in the Least Developed Countries Work Programme 2016-2017 ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference to be held in November in the city of Marrakech, The Kingdom of Morocco.
Key amongst the activities will be how the Least Developed Countries Experts Group can provide support to the Least developed Countries to access funding from The Green Climate Fund for National Adaptation Plans (NAPs).
The NAPs are intended to address medium and long term adaptation needs for building the resilience of developing countries against climate change.
The meeting will also discuss the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and how countries like Liberia can best benefit.
The ratification by China and the USA of the Paris Agreement a few days ago has raised the expectation that this groundbreaking agreement may come into force as early at the end of this year.
About 25 experts drawn from developed and least developed countries as well as the green climate fund and several UN Organizations are attending the four days Meeting.
Thematic presentations and discussions on key strategic interventions will dominate the meeting, considering the needs of the least developed countries in adapting to climate change. The work of the LDC Expert Group is facilitated by the UN Climate Change Secretariat based in Bonn, Germany.
The Meeting will be climaxed on the fourth day by a field trip to the community of New Kru Town in Montserrado County to assess the vulnerability of the community as well as visit the Port City of Buchanan in Grand Bassa County to tour the coastal defense pilot project implemented by the Ministry of Lands, Mines and Energy.
It is the biggest of late in the Liberian environmental sector, meant to afford international climate change experts the opportunity to visibly see Liberia needs for possible assistance.