CALIFORNIA — Liberian environmentalist and climate change professional, who’s also Project Officer in the Department of Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) and Technical Lead for Liberia’s National Adaptation Plans(NAP) at the Environmental Protection Agency of Liberia- Arthur R.M. Becker has successfully completed an intensive three (3) week Executive Course in Sustainable Environmental Management at the University of California-Berkeley (UC Berkeley) in the United States of America.

Mr. Becker was successfully selected in early 2023 through a competitive vetting process to participate in the 2023 cohort of the Beahrs Environmental Leadership (ELP) programme at UC Berkeley. Arthur joined the 22nd class comprising 28 natural resource management, environment, climate change and development experts/professionals from around the world (Africa, Asia, USA, South America, Europe, etc) to participate in this year’s Beahrs Environmental Leadership Program (Beahrs ELP)-2023 which ran from July 20- August 4, 2023. Preceding the face-to-face training their were four(4) sessions of online trainings held on July 5 and 6, 2023 and July 12 and 13. A total of 11 Africans participated in this years program who were drawn from Liberia, Rwanda, Malawi, Kenya, Niger, Tanzania,  and Ethiopia.

The Beahrs Environmental Leadership Program(ELP) organized since 2021 leverages the unparalleled faculty of UC Berkeley’s Rausser College of Natural Resources and their network of leaders in industry and government to provide a stimulating environment for learning and innovation and seeks to strengthen the capacities of new generations of environmental leaders around the world through access to state-of-the-art knowledge, and opportunities for peer learning, networking, and collaboration on a continuing basis. It’s a world class education available to environmental professionals from all backgrounds and areas of the world.

The training course included an intense  but specialized training session on fundamental steps, methodologies and practical approaches to the following core areas: systems leadership, Environmental Economics for decision making, power system in transition, project management, collaborative leadership and conflict resolution, conservation strategies, global ecosystems and solutions, ecosystem carbon, nature based solutions, marketing, water and global environment, waste and global environment, behavior change, business and environment, driving corporate sustainability innovation, environmental justice, gender equity for environmental sustainability,  environmental governance and leadership, environmental leadership etc.

The training also provided participants the opportunity to conceive practical ideas as well as design projects that apply to real world environmental situations and country specific cases using skills acquired from every thematic presentation. Each session gave participants the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge of the skills learned through practical practice sessions and interactive engagement.

As part of the programme requirement, all participants were placed into thematic groups and requested to develop specific projects using project development and management design and present them at the close of the training. Arthur Becker’s group at the close of the training, presented a project related to Climate Resilience in Agricultural systems. They provided an overview on the importance of climate Resilience to Agriculture, showcased different Climate Change related scenarios and impacts, challenges to Climate Resilience in Agriculture, solutions and also outlined indicators and measures for verification.

The Beahrs ELP “23’ also provided participants the opportunity have two(2) field visits, first to the San Francisco Bridge which is  a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the one-mile-wide (1.6 km) strait connecting San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean. The structure links the U.S. city of San Francisco, California which on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula to Marin County, carrying both U.S. Route 101 and California State Route 1 across the strait.  There was also another visit paid to the Point Reyes National Seashore which is  a 71,028-acre (287.44 km²) park preserve located on the Point Reyes Peninsula in Marin County, California. As a national seashore, it is maintained by the US National Park Service as an important nature preserve.

The official closing programme and certification ceremony took place on Friday August 4, 2023 at the University of California Student Union Building  Berkeley campus. It was graced by participants, Professors and staff of UC Berkeley Rausser College of Natural Resources including invited guests.

Mr. Becker is inspired about his life changing journey to UC Berkeley to participate in the Beahrs ELP ‘23’, acquire the great reservoir of knowledge and skills set and becoming an Alumni of the prestigious programme. He is also elated to join the professional global network.  For him, this motivates him more to lead change in his home country. Arthur promises to work more vigorously at home to contribute significantly to building strong, effective and sustainable environmental management systems, as well as contribute to environmental policy implementation that promotes vibrant sustainable development in his home country (Liberia) and beyond.  He also believes strongly the Beahrs ELP is an asset that has made him more equip and given him more inspiration to lead sustainable environmental change locally, nationally, regionally, and globally.  He will be actively involvement with sharing the knowledge acquired with stakeholders in Government sector line Ministries and Agencies, CSOs, youth, policy makers, women, environmental and natural resource management experts, students, etc. upon his return home.

 Mr. Becker developed two blogs during the ELP 23 programme, one titled: ” The Relevance of National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) to address Climate Change Impacts in Liberia” and another “Tale of a Life Changing Journey: How Determination and Persistence changed my story”. Both articles/blogs are expected to be published shortly.

Arthur R.M. Becker wishes to extend special  thanks and appreciation to the Environmental Protection Agency of Liberia family headed by Professor Wilson K. Tarpeh, Executive Director/CEO, the magnanimous donors and Programme team of the Beahrs Environmental Leadership Program including the Dean and staff of the Rausser College of Natural Resources at UC Berkeley and the NAP Global Network for their moral and financial support to enable him participate in this year’s prestigious ELP ‘23’ programme.