Sitting in my little corner somewhere in Paynesville, Montserrado County and reading through President Joseph Nyuma Boakai’s Executive Order No. 143 – “Protect Liberia’s Beachfronts, Waterways and Wetlands”, it was of great interest to me.
By: Jonathan O. Grigsby, Snr.
It interests me because I am one Liberian that is very concerned about the [environment], especially when it comes to the protection of Beachfronts, Waterways and Wetlands across the country.
As I was reading through the Executive Order what caught my foremost attention was the opening paragraph: “As a way to safeguard Liberia’s coastal and wetland environments, President Joseph Nyuma Boakai, Sr., has issued Executive Order No. 143, establishing a Taskforce Against the Encroachment on Beachfronts, Waterways and Wetlands.
This brought an immediate relief to my many worries and burdens about how Liberia’s Beachfronts, Waterways and Wetlands are being massively misused without the second thought that they are of vital importance not only to Liberians but the entire world.
The Monday, February 24, 2025 Executive Order by the Liberian Chief Executive, underpinned the Liberian Government’s strongest commitment to the protection of Liberia’s natural resources, to mitigate environmental degradation and ensure public health as well as economic sustainability.
The Executive Order No. 143; informed Liberians that with the growing concerns over pollution, erosion and climate change, seeks to curb harmful activities that threaten marine and terrestrial ecosystems.
Another important thing that I grabbed from the Executive Order was that the Liberian Leader emphatically mentioned: “The unchecked encroachment and pollution of Wetlands, Waterways, and Beachfronts pose significant risks to both the environment and the livelihoods of Liberians, which is realistic, my fellow compatriots. There is huge evidence that is visible in the nine coastal counties about the unchecked encroachment.
To ensure that the Taskforce performs diligently, effectively and efficiently, President Boakai in Executive Order No. 143 underscored its Terms of Reference or (TOR).
Amongst the (TOR) are: To halt the degradation and backfilling of wetlands, waterways, and beachfronts, implement restoration measures for affected areas and Enforce wetlands regulations in collaboration with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Besides, it calls for Support of local authorities in managing conservation efforts, report and document violations, ensuring legal action against offenders, Raise public awareness on the environmental and economic benefits of preserving these ecosystems, Monitor and evaluate conservation programs and to Prevent the use of non-eco-friendly pesticides.
Moreover, President Boakai was strategic when it comes to the composition of the Taskforce, knowing that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Chair and the Liberia Land Authority (LLA), Co-Chair with other key government entities like Justice, Internal Affairs, Public Works, Mines and Energy, and Information, Cultural Affairs, and Tourism including representatives from the Liberia National Police and local municipal authorities for coordination and collaboration to put an immediate halt to the immense abuse of the country’s environmental, mainly with the growing climate change phenomenon.
Furthermore, the President’s Executive Order No, 143 is also in line with the Ramsar Convention in 2003, reaffirming its commitment to wetland conservation, which builds upon that foundation by strengthening enforcement mechanisms.
President Boakai further directed the immediate implementation of Executive Order No. 143 reinforcing Liberia’s leadership in environmental governance and climate resilience.
However, the Liberian Leader Executive Order was inclusive by calling on all citizens, businesses, and local communities to support this effort to protect the nation’s natural heritage for future generations. So the fervent call by President Boakai, suggests to me that the ‘Protection of Liberia’s Environments especially the Beachfronts, Waterways and Wetland is Everyone Business’.
From this point, I am also convinced that President Boakai before constituting this Taskforce thoroughly went through what is happening to the country’s environment and there is an urgent need to safeguard it, which I, from the depth of my heart, want to commend him.
But Mr. President, this Executive Order No. 143 issued by you required urgency because all our Beachfronts in the coastal counties are being used as toilets and dumpsites as well as illegal sand mining by unscrupulous residents.
For the Waterways, they are used as garbage sites where all plastic materials and other wastes are disposed of, stopping the free flow of waters and most interestingly hindering the to and fro moments of marines into the Wetlands and back into the Atlantic Ocean.
For the Wetlands, it is glaring as they are being encroached on in seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months and years from landfilling purposes for the construction of houses and business entities, among others.
Thanks, so much Mr. President for issuing Executive Order No. 143: To Protect Liberia’s Beachfronts, Waterways and Wetlands, which I stated above previously is Very Good; But what I would like to see is ACTIONS and not WORDS.
As it says, “Action speaks Louder than Words…… It is my hint on Executive Order No. 143.
Liberia and the Ramsar Convention
The Ramsar Convention is the inter-governmental treaty that provides the framework for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources. The Convention was adopted in the Iranian city of Ramsar in 1971 and came into force in 1975.
On November 2, 2003, Liberia became a party to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, designating five sites as Wetlands of International Importance to be managed according to international best practices.
The designated wetlands include: the Mesurado Wetlands in Montserrado County, the Lake Piso Wetlands in Sinje, Robertsport, Grand Cape Mount County, the Marshall Wetlands in Margibi County, the Kpatawee Wetlands in Bong County, and the Gbedein Wetlands in Nimba County.
Article 1, Section 1, of the Ramsar Convention defines wetlands as “areas of marsh, fen, peatland, or water, whether natural or artificial, permanent or temporary, with water that is static or flowing, fresh, brackish, or salt, including areas of marine water where the depth at low tide does not exceed six meters.”
Every three year, a conference is held where representatives of the Contracting Parties (COP) meet, which is the policy-making organ of the Convention to adopts decisions (site designations, resolutions and recommendations) to administer the work of the Convention and improve the way in which the parties are able to implement its objectives.
Liberia is one of the 172 signatories of the Ramras Convention that the Treaty focuses on because of the country’s five designate Wetlands, which are a big help in mitigating climate change.
It is from this background that Environmental Experts and International Environmental Organizations raised concerns over Liberia’s Immediate Past President, George Mannah Weah plan to construct a Hall on the Bali Island in honor of the Former India’s Prime Minister, Mahatma Gandhi.
Their objections were that Bali Island is part of the Five Designated Sites under the Ramsar Convention, as it is within the Mesurado Wetlands in Montserrado County.
Some of the animals on Bali Island are the Monkeys, Snakes, Lizards, Crocodiles, Birds and Turtles, among others that are of distinct characters that the world needs.
