Environmentalist Alarms Over Wetland degradation

Liberian Environmentalist— Mark E. Tambah is concerned about the massive degradation of wetlands, one of the country’s most productive ecosystems now facing serious threats from its growing population.

Tambah is a trained environmentalist, registered Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and a satisfied expert to review developing countries. Since 2013, Tamba has taught at various universities in Liberia including the University of Liberia and the United Methodist University.

The IPCC was created to provide policymakers with regular scientific assessments of climate change, its implications, and potential future risks, as well as to put forward adaptation and mitigation options. Through its assessments, the IPCC determines the state of knowledge on climate change.

In an exclusive interview with The Liberia Agricultural and Environmental Journalists Network (LAEJN), in Monrovia, Tambah said the unauthorized construction and damming of wetlands for construction purposes are posing threat to a variety of species; calling for collective efforts to address the issues.

According to Tambah, Liberia is a signatory to several international instruments, stressing the Ramsar Convention is one of them.

He described the Ramsar Convention as an international governmental treaty that focuses on wetlands generally and Rama sites in particular, stressing that Liberia has about five Ramsar sites; one of such sites is the Mesurado Wetland which is now under serious encroachment from the population.

Liberia became a party to the Ramsar Convention on 2nd November 2003. As a signatory to the Convention, Liberia is committed to protect and sustainably manage wetlands, especially those declared as Ramsar Sites of International significance since February 2, 2017.

The Mesurado River, also known locally as the Du-River, is a major river that flows through the capital Monrovia, into the Atlantic Ocean which has become a threat of waste pollution and degradation from citizens.

“The Mangrove serves as carbon storage and that is the reason Liberia signed up to the Rock side convention. And I think the Environmental Protection Agency along with its partners have done well to advise people against encroaching on wetlands but that is not enough,” he said.

Meanwhile, Tambah is proposing a change in the communication strategy used by the EPA and its partners to boost awareness.

“We have been using one formula over and over again, it’s no longer working so what we can do now is to use the local languages and produce those messages across the country. Let the farmer in the village know why we should protect wetlands and the benefits we all stand to get as a country,” he added.

Despite calls from some Liberians to forcefully remove those occupying wetlands, Tambah disagrees with the method as he fears looming social problems ahead.

 

He wants stakeholders involved citizens directly in understanding the importance of wetland, especially those destroying the mangrove swamps.

“Public education through the local dialects on the importance of not degrading the wetland and awareness to strengthen the application and management of the Marine coastal environment is the best way to go, ” says Tambah.

While blaming the bulk of the situation on the part of population growth in urban cities, Tambah insists the government can achieve this if concrete and routine efforts aimed at increasing awareness are in place.

“Take for example, Monrovia was originally built for a few thousand people but now we have half of our 5 million plus population living here. With that you will get limited space, challenge to the sewage system, pollution among others,” Tambah adds.

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Story Written By: Darlington Porkpa/[email protected]/+231770127075